WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
I grew up in a small town in Maine, where I always imagined I would pursue a career in science (there was a short period when I thought I would be a soccer player, but I definitely lacked the physical talent). My father is a chemist, and his passion for scientific exploration exposed me and my brother to the lab very early in our lives. After graduating from Dartmouth College, I worked in translational bench-to-bedside research at Massachusetts General Hospital in cancer genetics; that’s where I discovered my desire to pursue medicine.
MY PATH TO RETINA
I still remember when I first got the hang of indirect ophthalmoscopy. James Banta, MD, one of the legendary educators at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (BPEI), was the first to show me. However, it was my chiefs and senior residents who really helped me visualize my first giant retinal tear, toxocariasis, acute retinal necrosis, and retinal detachment. After scrubbing into my first buckle-vitrectomy as a first year, with chief resident Sarah Read, MD, PhD, I was hooked.
SUPPORT ALONG THE WAY
I have many amazing mentors who have played a critical role in my journey. Stephen P. Christiansen, MD, at Boston University, and Teresa C. Chen, MD, at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, were instrumental in guiding me to ophthalmology when I was a fledgling medical student. Nina Berrocal, MD, at BPEI, has been a constant guiding light for me, from the management of tough surgical cases all the way to how to raise my kids wisely. Harry W. Flynn Jr, MD, also at BPEI, taught me the power of observation and the durability of the scleral buckle as a surgical tool. I am lucky enough to continue my relationships with many of my mentors even now.
Dr. Fan’s advice: Be open to every opportunity that presents itself, even if it may be out of your comfort zone! You never know what future opportunities or relationships may come from opening that door.
AN EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER
My chief resident year was professionally the most amazing year of my life. Among all the crazy experiences, my most memorable patient was a 16-year-old who came to me with bilateral open globes, multiple metallic intraocular foreign bodies, lens violation, and retinal detachments from a motor vehicle accident. With my third-year resident at the time, Anne Kunkler, MD, we took him emergently to surgery in a grueling 5-hour case to repair both globes.
The patient required a few additional surgeries, but I’m delighted that he is now 20/50 OD and 20/30 OS!
