WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The parents of Murtaza Adam, MD, immigrated to the United States from India in the early 1980s. He was raised in southeastern Wisconsin and spent much of his youth exploring local trails, swimming and wakeboarding on the lake, experimenting with photography, and obsessing over astronomy and comparative religion. Academically, a lack of direction led him down a path with varied career options. Dr. Adam decided on a career in medicine because of the challenges, rewards, stories, and curiosities that come with treating disease and healing patients.
HIS PATH TO RETINA
Dr. Adam was on his MS3 anesthesia rotation at the Medical College of Wisconsin and had no concept of what an ophthalmologist did; he remembered little from the first-year medical school ophthalmology didactics. After placing a patient’s IV, he followed them back to the OR for surgery with Dennis Han, MD, who became his first mentor in ophthalmology. What he witnessed in the OR defied his imagination, he recalled. “Beautiful” was the only word that came to mind when he first saw Dr. Han focus his microscope on the posterior pole. Dr. Adam was floored by the ingenuity, optics, and skill required to peel a membrane off of the macula. From that moment, he was sold on a career in retina.
SUPPORT ALONG THE WAY
He credits Dr. Han and Douglas J. Covert, MD, for their mentorship and encouragement to pursue a residency in ophthalmology. Many individuals during his residency and fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia contributed to his professional and personal growth, including M. Ali Khan, MD, FACS; Christopher J. Brady, MD; John Pitcher, MD; Ehsan Rahimy, MD; Marc Spirn, MD; Joseph Maguire, MD; Julia A. Haller, MD; Arunan Sivalingam, MD; Sunir Garg, MD, FACS; Jason Hsu, MD; Omesh P. Gupta, MD, MBA; Carl Regillo, MD; and Allen C. Ho, MD. These people, and so many others, inspire him and are still sounding boards for questions and ideas.
Dr. Adam’s Advice: Expect to feel challenged and distraught at times, but don’t bottle those feelings up.
AN EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER
Dr. Adam recalls treating a young patient in his first year of practice who presented with bilateral retinal detachments. She had a bumpy postoperative course but recovered well. Now, 5 years later, she is a third-year medical student who has aspirations to become a retina surgeon! She has already coauthored several abstracts and papers with Dr. Adam. He said that it has been a gratifying experience to mentor someone who has the makings of a future leader in retina and truly understands the journey of a retina patient.
ADVICE FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW
No matter how many patients you treat in fellowship, cutting the umbilical cord of training is hard. Dr. Adam remembers feeling the true burden of responsibility on his shoulders after starting practice. The field of retina is simultaneously challenging and rewarding because retina specialists treat the most complex part of the eye in some of the most vulnerable patients. The retina always finds a way to humble us, and it is all too easy to forget your successes and linger on your failures. If you focus first and foremost on the patient in your chair, ask colleagues and mentors for help when you need it, and maintain the same level of curiosity you had in training, you have the recipe for an incredible career.
