Evan Frigoletto
“As residents, we have to rely on one another a lot. We succeed together, we fail together, but most importantly, we learn together. Being in a position where I can focus more on helping my co-residents has been one of the most rewarding challenges of my residency.”
Evan Frigoletto, M.D., said serving as the chief resident during his final year in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Residency Program has been a personal highlight of his medical training because it allows him to further dedicate himself to helping others.
Dr. Frigoletto said the aspect that excited him most about serving as the chief resident was the opportunity to become more involved with providing guidance and support to his co-residents.
“As residents, we have to rely on one another a lot,” Frigoletto said. “We succeed together, we fail together, but most importantly, we learn together. Being in a position where I can focus more on helping my co-residents has been one of the most rewarding challenges of my residency.”
Frigoletto said that this responsibility paired well with the reason he developed an interest in medicine in the first place – to help people. He explained that he was initially inspired to pursue a career in medicine thanks to his aunt, Cathy, who worked as an ER nurse. He would periodically volunteer with her during her weekend shifts, and he said it was there that he developed his passion for helping others.
“Seeing firsthand the effects that healthcare workers can have on patients’ lives was eye-opening to me,” Frigoletto said. “I knew almost immediately that was what I wanted to do for my career.”
This passion for helping others later compounded with Frigoletto’s first exposure to ophthalmology as a medical student. He said he first developed an interest in the field due to its balance of medicine and surgery. However, he later fell in love with the specialty after seeing the overwhelmingly positive effects standard ophthalmic procedures can have on patients.
“Being able to perform a highly successful procedure on a patient, such as a cataract surgery that can instantly improve their vision, is such a rewarding feeling. One of the things that makes ophthalmology such a fulfilling career field is how often we get to have patients leaving us in a better condition than when they arrived,” Frigoletto said.
Frigoletto said teamwork among residents is crucial to growth during residency and that through working together, they can ensure excellent care for patients.
“As residents, one of the best ways we help our patients is by helping each other become better physicians,” he said. “I hope that I’m able to help our junior residents in the same way that former chief residents helped me and that we can come together and continue to provide the best care possible for our patients.”