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Residents & Fellows Spotlight: Gregory Bligard, MD

Gregory Bligard, MD, PhD

(First Year Resident)

Where are you from?

I was born and grew up in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and went to college at the University of Iowa.

Where did you attend Medical School?

Washington University in St. Louis

Favorite memory of Medical School?

Directing the annual Medical School Musical.

Favorite memory of your intern residency year?

Putting down my stethoscope for the last time at the end of the year, hopefully never to be used again. (Real answer: getting to know all my incredible co-residents.)

Why did you choose Ophthalmology?

Vision is an incredibly important facet of well-being for patients, and we have such a rewarding ability to help the quality of life for patients with ocular disease. In addition, the eye is a fascinating organ, and ophthalmology is a specialty with an excellent balance between clinic and surgery requiring precise technical skills both in procedures and in the exam, all of which appeals to me.

Why did you choose WashU?

They took me! I also knew from my time as a medical student here that Wash U Ophthalmology was full of faculty and fellows who were all excellent teachers and who cared a great deal about resident education. It is a very welcoming department where I knew I would feel at home for the next phase of my career.

How did you survive during quarantine?

In the Spring of 2020 I went on paternity leave and spent quarantine at home with my newborn son while my wife almost immediately returned to work as a fellow in high-risk obstetrics. Then I did my intern year during academic year 2020-2021, so somehow quarantine never really changed any of my plans.

What are you most looking forward to during your residency?

Learning from all of my outstanding mentors and colleagues.

What are you not looking forward to during your residency?

Is this a trick question? I don’t look forward to 24-hour call, but there’s no use complaining.

What specialty are you most interested in?

I don’t know! I have basic-science research experience in retina, which I still find fascinating, but I have also found the other subspecialties to be equally fascinating as well, and I have had only minimal experience with most of them at this point. So I am keeping an open mind.