This spotlight series highlights the individuals behind the white coats, their journeys, passions, and the impact they’re making in the field of medicine. Today, we highlight Aaditya Shah, MD.
Graduating Fellow: Aaditya Shah, MD
What are your future plans?
Starting private practice in the Chicagoland area, specifically the Northwest Indiana suburbs.
Why did you choose Ophthalmology and your specialty?
I chose Ophthalmology because of the ability to care for patients’ vision and eyesight, as that can drastically change one’s life. I chose retina in particular because I think it is a time when patients are particularly vulnerable, with the threat of permanent vision loss. I’ve always found retina surgeries to be a fascinating challenge, and I’m fortunate to be able to care for patients in this manner.
Why did you choose WashU Medicine?
When I came to interview here 6 years ago, I instantly felt the camaraderie and culture of the program in a unique manner.
What is your favorite memory of your fellowship?
There is one that will always trump all others, which is that we had Ariya during fellowship. There are so many other great memories from fellowship in particular as well: From a training perspective, learning from the incredible attendings and helping to teach/operating together with my co-fellows has been an absolute privilege. From a more personal perspective, there are so many people I’ve come to know who became a part of my family while we’ve been here including a lot of the clinic and operating room staff.
What did you learn in your fellowship that impacted you the most?
There are always going to be challenging cases clinically or in the OR, no matter what stage of your career you are in, and so it’s important to always remain critical of yourself and willing to grow/adapt your skills over time.
Favorite teacher or mentor and why?
I had 4 main clinical faculty here (Dr. Apte, Dr. Rao, Dr. Rajagopal, and Dr. Piggott). They’ve each taught me so much and in different ways, too. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to learn from them during this time.
What was your favorite thing about living in St. Louis?
Living in the Central West End made Forest Park incredibly accessible. From running, to taking long walks with the family, to visiting the zoo, I’ll definitely miss the proximity to such an incredible park.
What aspect of your training do you feel most proud of?
Anytime I had a chance to see something click for the first time with a resident/fellow whom I was operating with.
How do you hope to make an impact in the field of ophthalmology?
I’m going back to the area I grew up in (Northwest Indiana) and starting my own practice. There are great retina surgeons in the area already, and there are great universities nearby, but I think there is still room to care for many more patients in the area. I’ll be extremely happy simply to have a career focused on providing excellent care to the community that helped raise me. We’ll see where things go from there!
What advice do you have for incoming fellows?
Fellowship can certainly be a grind at times, but it’s an incredible final opportunity to learn from excellent mentors. Have fun and enjoy being at such an incredible institution!