Where are you from?
St. Paul, Minnesota
Where did you attend Medical School?
Where did you complete your residency?
Why did you choose Ophthalmology and your specialty?
I was first introduced to ophthalmology as a first-year medical student. During my rotation as a third-year medical student, I fell in love with cataract surgery and was amazed to see how happy patients were after surgery. During my PGY3 rotation, I did my glaucoma rotation found it really satisfying to be able to personalize glaucoma care to the individual patient.
Why did you choose WashU?
I was looking for a glaucoma fellowship with strong anterior segment surgery experience. The program here at WashU does an incredible job of giving you a broad exposure to the wide array of glaucoma surgery while also giving you the experience in anterior segment surgery. I really enjoyed my interview here and the fellows also seemed really happy!
Favorite memory of your residency?
There are too many to choose from! I was so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing co-residents during my time at the University of Minnesota. In addition, our program coordinator was like the residency program mom. Her door was always open to chat and she did an incredible job supporting our residents. Especially during the summer months, we would all go to happy hour after our Friday afternoon didactics were done at one of the awesome breweries or distilleries in the Twin Cities.
What did you learn in your residency that impacted you the most?
Patients care the most about how you treat them and communicate with them. You could be the world’s expert on a specific disease but if you cannot speak to the patient in terms they understand, your patients will not appreciate your expertise.
What excites you most about starting your fellowship at WashU?
I’m really excited to work closely with all the incredible glaucoma faculty here at WashU and continue to develop and refine my surgical skills.
What do you look forward to about living in St. Louis?
Everyone says the food in STL is awesome – I’m looking forward to checking out all the new restaurants and exploring the city.