Fellow Focus in Four: Megan Leila Baker, MD

Fellow Focus in Four – Megan Leila Baker, MD, Nephrology

Fellow Focus in Four introduces you to fellows from each section of the Department of Internal Medicine. This month's fellow is Megan Leila Baker, MD, a clinical/research fellow in Nephrology.

Why did you choose medicine?

Growing up in a small rural farming town without anyone even remotely in medicine in my family, the idea of pursuing medicine was nowhere on my radar growing up or for much of my early education. With a chemical engineer and software developer as parents, the importance of math and science were emphasized a lot growing up, and I ended up entering college thinking I would be a biomedical engineer. Then I fell in love with chemistry and thought I would get a PhD and teach. It was only when I took a semester with advanced biochemistry and physiology courses through the medical school at my university that I realized going to medical school was an option for me, and the best fit for my interests. Through shadowing physicians at my university’s hospital, I was able to see some of the concepts I loved learning about in the classroom translate to meaningful and impactful interactions and relationships with patients. By midway through college I realized that medicine was the very last place I looked for a career, but a perfect fit for me. Telling my parents I was going to be a doctor and not an engineer — I think it was a little let down for them. Unlike choosing medicine as a career, I chose internal medicine as a specialty early in medical school and never wavered from this choice, finding meaning in the patient-physician relationship in this role and relating deeply to the field’s culture of valuing curiosity, clinical reasoning, and research.

Why did you choose Yale Department of Internal Medicine for your fellowship?

I moved out of the Midwest away from all my friends and family to join Yale as a resident three years ago, and unexpectedly fell in love with the field of nephrology early in my residency training here. After interviewing all over the country considering all possible options for fellowship, I was not surprised to end the season feeling that there was no match for what Yale Nephrology offered as a trainee. My decision to stay was mostly made through my time as a resident. I witnessed how rigorous training, close mentorship, and high expectations allowed the fellows to grow to be exceptionally strong clinical nephrologists and educators here. The fellows (and the faculty) truly enjoyed one another’s company and time spent together both in and outside of work. Finally, the faculty do absolutely anything to support their fellows’ career goals here. From the newest to most senior, internationally recognized faculty, the whole department is incredibly invested in each of its fellows’ growth, personally and professionally.

What was your path to Yale?

I grew up in Hemlock and then Midland, Michigan before moving two hours south to Ann Arbor for my undergraduate training at the University of Michigan. I spent four years there as a double major in the Department of Chemistry before moving 45 mins east to Detroit, where I went to Wayne State University School of Medicine for my medical training. After another four years obtaining my MD, I was thrilled to be welcomed to Yale as a Traditional Internal Medicine Program resident in 2018.

What's a fun fact about you?

Lots of spinning has kept me relatively sane through the pandemic, and my Peloton leaderboard name is a wordplay on “foot processes.”

Perks of living in New Haven? Connecticut?

Lots of perks. All the hiking opportunities and ocean accessibility here. There are a lot of pretty fantastic restaurants here too (even outside the pizza). This area is small enough to be very easily livable and affordable, you can easily have a car and have space for yourself, but big enough to have all the amenities you want -- museums, theaters, the aforementioned restaurants, frequent big name concerts here (before COVID, hopefully again soon), breweries/wineries, numerous seasonal events. Lot of incredible history here too. There are lots of cute towns along the coast which are fun to explore. Connecticut and New Haven are also so great for how close we are to so many other interesting places - NYC is a $30, 2 hour train ride away. Boston is close. Maine and Acadia are a road trip vacation. Lived here for four years and there are still a lot of things on my bucket list of to-dos.

What is your 5-year goal? 10-year? Overall career?

I will end up becoming an academic general nephrologist at a large university training program like Yale. I am pursuing research in the latter half of my fellowship, and have yet to decide how I want to balance my love of clinical work and patients with my interest in research. Still figuring out the rest.