Meet Our Alumni: Yale Neurocritical Care Fellowship
May 09, 2022ID7809
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- 00:08I did my residency at Yale and
- 00:10I knew that I loved the program.
- 00:12I loved the people. I I knew that I
- 00:15wanted to stay at a program that was
- 00:18more neuro focused as opposed to more
- 00:21critical care focused with some neuro.
- 00:24And Yale is one of those types of programs.
- 00:28I knew that the program is one that
- 00:31is always trying to improve on itself.
- 00:34Every year there are some major improvement,
- 00:37usually based on or often based
- 00:40on feedback from the fellows.
- 00:41And I really liked that aspect.
- 00:43I also love that.
- 00:48There's the opportunity to work
- 00:49with these giants in the field.
- 00:51People that are brilliant that are amazing.
- 00:53Clinicians, world renowned researchers
- 00:54but yet everybody is on a first name
- 00:57basis and you can text anybody anytime
- 00:59you vice chair of the department,
- 01:01the division chief of Nikku or any other
- 01:03subdivision and just ask for their
- 01:04opinion at any time and and they're
- 01:06more than willing to just chat with you.
- 01:08So it it sort of checked all my boxes
- 01:11and was the best of kind of all worlds.
- 01:14It's very balanced curriculum
- 01:16for fellows you got.
- 01:17As to all the major technologies and
- 01:20your ICU, but then you also develop
- 01:23a very solid clinical background,
- 01:25and I also like that there are.
- 01:28But you know, large diversity
- 01:30of attendings from all different
- 01:31perspectives who have trained
- 01:33in all different places.
- 01:36Actually, there are a lot of reasons.
- 01:38I thought the yellow would
- 01:40be the best program for me.
- 01:41Yeah, it's a really well rounded
- 01:44and covering every aspect of
- 01:47the critical care. I chose
- 01:49Yale for fellowship because it was where
- 01:51I had made my home over the course
- 01:54of residency and chief residency.
- 01:56I'd grown to appreciate my
- 01:58relationships with people there
- 02:00and enjoy my life in New Haven.
- 02:02I'd had a sneak preview of the
- 02:04neuro ICU and it's at Yale.
- 02:06That I decided on this career path so
- 02:08it just felt natural to go for it.
- 02:10Exactly where my interests have
- 02:12been captured in the 1st place,
- 02:14I knew that at Yale I would see
- 02:17everything learn from incredible
- 02:19people from across disciplines.
- 02:21And of course I don't need to tell you.
- 02:23Yale has a reputation, it's a good one.
- 02:26So training at Yale comes with the long
- 02:28term benefit of that stamp of solidness.
- 02:30Wherever you go afterwards.
- 02:36I felt very well prepared.
- 02:37Nothing surprised me.
- 02:39The first year I didn't really
- 02:41see anything that I hadn't
- 02:43seen before. As a fellow,
- 02:44my fellowship gave me a great foundation
- 02:47and all the tools I needed to find
- 02:49my way through any new experiences.
- 02:51I really realized every day how
- 02:54well I was trained as a neuro
- 02:57intensivist at Yale Fellows
- 02:58are going to be in many cases.
- 03:01Of course you are going to staff
- 03:02a patient, so we are attending,
- 03:04but you have a lot of. Anatomy.
- 03:10So when I realized that there
- 03:11was sort of a burgeoning field
- 03:13of critical care, EG it seemed.
- 03:17Like an amazing opportunity
- 03:19for me to sort of meld my two
- 03:22interests and sort of be able to.
- 03:25Have that bit of epilepsy
- 03:26and EEG that I love,
- 03:28but still be able to practice
- 03:29in the NICU with the high acuity
- 03:31patients and it was just an
- 03:33opportunity I couldn't pass up.
- 03:39I left fellowship with so
- 03:41many memories that changed
- 03:43me and will be with me forever.
- 03:46I think for me the most memorable thing
- 03:48was really the camaraderie with the AP.
- 03:52Our food all the time
- 03:54when you take care of so many patients
- 03:56that are so sick and such a variety
- 03:58of diagnosis, there are a lot of.
- 04:01A lot of patients that
- 04:02stick out in your mind.
- 04:04I think the the one that sticks out the
- 04:06most to me though is it was actually
- 04:08not so much the patient but their family.
- 04:11It was the first time as it was an older
- 04:14gentleman he came in with a pretty
- 04:16terrible brain bleed unfortunately.
- 04:18But the interaction with the family and
- 04:21sort of helping them through the process of.
- 04:25Having a loved one who's critically ill
- 04:27and and who's really not getting better
- 04:29and sort of going through the decision
- 04:32making process about goals of care.
- 04:34I just for whatever reason,
- 04:35I just really connected with this family.
- 04:37I saw myself and my family in them
- 04:40and it was the first family that I
- 04:42gave my personal cell phone to it.
- 04:45Sort of helped remind me in in those
- 04:47moments where patients aren't going
- 04:48to do well and it's gets you down that
- 04:50you know you still can make a really
- 04:52big difference for the families who do
- 04:53go on and and really need somebody to
- 04:55help them through the those tough times.
- 04:57And so even though it wasn't a great,
- 05:00happy,
- 05:00uplifting story or an uplifting outcome,
- 05:03it's still.
- 05:04Was an inspiration for me.
- 05:10I'm really going to miss it that I when
- 05:12I leave, I think you know there's.
- 05:14There's a lot of great
- 05:15institutions out there.
- 05:16I'm really excited to kind of go
- 05:18out into the world and and finally
- 05:20be an attending and practice
- 05:21in different places.
- 05:22But there's not going to be
- 05:23anywhere that's quite like.
- 05:24You know,
- 05:25you can make your own path.
- 05:26I think there are so many
- 05:29electives that I did a lot of Miku
- 05:31and I did a lot of EG as well.
- 05:34And I even took. A week or two
- 05:39to learn how to do bronchoscopy.
- 05:40So I think I would say you can
- 05:43actually turn it into whatever.
- 05:44Like you can turn the fellowship
- 05:46into whatever you want it to be.
- 05:48Goal where the opportunities and
- 05:49resources exist and then don't waste them,
- 05:52you are going to be super
- 05:55strong neuro intensive based.
- 05:56Please be who is going to be
- 05:59confident on anything and.
- 06:03Yeah, so you have to come to Yale.