Dr. Anderson was born and raised on a farm in Delta, Utah. Even though he’s practiced neurosurgery in major hospitals and lectured around the country, he feels most at home in small-town areas serving the kinds of good people he grew up with.

Born and raised on the family farm, he worked side-by-side with his dad throughout adolescence. One day driving around the farm, his Dad asked him, “what will you do with your life?” He said he wanted to be a farmer. To which his Dad replied, “okay, but you have to go to college first. You can make more of yourself with your mind than you can with your back.”

As young Dr. Anderson considered his father’s advice, he began noticing how much respect the single town doctor in Delta received from the community. This was the beginning of his interest in medicine.

He began his university education at Weber State, where he met his wife in the cadaver lab during a human anatomy class. They literally met over a dead body! After marrying in 2003, his wife became a nurse and they went on to the University of Utah after finishing his undergraduate degree. At the U of U, he worked in the ARUP laboratory, which is one of the largest and best labs in the country. He worked in infectious disease and even ran the department for a time.

He attended medical school in Portland, OR at Oregon Health and Sciences University. At first, he studied orthopedics. But one day, he was exposed to neurosurgery which had never crossed his mind as an option before. But when he looked at the actual procedures and saw that they allowed him to still work with tools and drills and use his hands like he always loved doing on the farm, he was hooked. And he really loved the science. His passion for neurosurgery led him to change his focus and follow the lengthy but rewarding path of becoming a neurosurgeon.

After graduation from medical school, Dr. Anderson began his 7-year residency in Hershey, PA. He worked in a small, rural community and felt right at home with the mostly blue-collar people he served.

During his time in Hershey, PA, he completed two prestigious fellowships. One in minimally invasive spine techniques, which allowed for quicker patient recovery times. He also spearheaded the extended recovery program to help patients avoid opioids during the rise of the opioid crisis. His second fellowship was in functional neurosurgery and focused on restoring essential motion, managing pain, and other related specialties.

During his residency, Dr. Anderson knew he didn’t want to enter the world of academia. He wanted to run a rural practice. But the business of running a practice is not something they teach you in medical school. Wanting to really understand the business side of healthcare, he entered a Masters of Health Care Administration program with an emphasis in finance and completed his degree as a full-time resident.

When he finished his residency and entered the real world, he found his newly acquired business of healthcare knowledge extremely helpful. In hospitals, the administrators and doctors often butt heads. They don’t speak the same language or share the same point of reference. But with his knowledge of the business of healthcare, Dr. Anderson bridged the gap between administrators and doctors. He can speak the doctor’s language and the administrator’s language. As something of a pioneer in these joint fields of expertise, his department chair at Penn State invited him to create a new curriculum to teach residents all about the socio-economics of healthcare. Each year he returns to host workshops on this important topic.

Dr. Anderson and his wife have 5 children and are happy to return to Utah to be near family. In addition to spending time with family, he loves to hunt and hike. Being out in the fresh, crisp air enjoying the quiet simplicity of nature is one of his favorite things. He also loves to travel the world and meet amazing people from all walks of life.

Dr. Anderson’s motto is, “I treat you the way I want my parents to be treated.” In his experience, he’s discovered that once you get to talk to the person as a real person, taking care of them is not actually the hard part. His warm demeanor and friendly nature make his patients feel confident and safe in his able hands.