Gastroenterology
Jenn Peng (IU School of Medicine)
My name is Jenn Peng, and I will be starting as a first year gastroenterology fellow. I completed both my medical school and residency here at IU School of Medicine. The decision to stay for GI fellowship was easy. Not only are there amazing role models and mentors within the faculty and fellows, but also the educational opportunities here are truly endless. Fellows are exposed to a wide variety of GI pathology in addition to specialized training in advanced endoscopy, complex IBD, motility and transplant hepatology. The expert attendings here provide world-class education and are generous in their approach to teaching. Most importantly, I value the camaraderie and family-like atmosphere IU School of Medicine promotes within its GI fellowship program. Fellow well-being, happiness and priorities truly come first. I am very excited to continue my training here.
Cardiology
Fatima Ezzeddine (Mayo Clinic)
As an international medical graduate, IU School of Medicine was the first home for me in the United States. I still remember when I interviewed at IU School of Medicine, I felt very comfortable and welcomed. I was also impressed by the great things the residents had to say about the program. What stood out about IU School of Medicine during my interview trail and residency training was the diverse patient population seen in a four-hospital system. The unparalleled clinical experience, strong emphasis on resident education and supportive environment pushed me to do my best every day. As I advanced through my training, I had a growing interest in cardiology, particularly in electrophysiology. At first, I was a little bit hesitant about being focused on electrophysiology that early in my training. However, with the help and guidance of great mentors, I realized that my early exposure to the electrophysiology field gave me enough time to become familiar with this analytical subspecialty. Overall, I felt well prepared for fellowship following residency. I matched at Mayo Clinic (Rochester) for cardiology fellowship, and the transition has been very smooth. If I had to go back and do residency again, I’d definitely choose IU School of Medicine.
Hematology/Oncology
Bharathi Muthusamy (Cleveland Clinic)
I chose IU School of Medicine for residency because of the diversity of patients due to its multiple hospitals and the solid clinical training I would get. As someone who went to medical school at IU, I saw first-hand how well-trained the residents were before starting residency. I did my sub-I in the ICU and near the end was totally surprised to find out that my resident was going into endocrinology and not pulmary/critical care. She was not only so capable clinically, but she was so excited about learning. It definitely helped that both the staff we were with were enthusiastic about teaching and answering all our questions. I knew after this experience that I wanted to be part of such an environment. Since graduating and starting hematology-oncology fellowship, I can't stress enough the importance of a program that helps you feel confident clinically and as a leader. I have felt it has made my transition a whole lot easier since I was given a good amount of autonomy during residency. Also because of the emphasis on education at IU School of Medicine, I feel comfortable asking questions to my staff and co-fellows. If there was some sort of "glitch in the matrix" and I had to do residency again, I would still choose IU School of Medicine. I am lucky to have trained in such a supportive learning environment.
Ahmed Khalid (IU School of Medicine)
I actually had no idea I wanted to be a part of IU School of Medicine Internal Medicine really badly until I had my pre-interview dinner and my interview day. I was blown away by how nice and friendly the people were including the residents, the coordinators and the program directors. Even though I spent less than 24 hours in the city, it felt like a nice cozy place to be. Having spent a year in the program now, I am so glad and thankful I came here and that this place chose to have me. The greatest asset this program has is its people. Everyone from the program director down to the residents has been very approachable, friendly and easy to work with. I imagine intern year is not easy anywhere but the people here made sure I never felt overwhelmed and that I had all the help I needed. Perhaps most importantly, I feel like this program has instilled in me the value of always helping or offering help to your colleagues, interns or medical students. This culture of always having people to count on and never ever feeling like you're alone is what makes this program a cut above the rest. 10/10, love this place.
Hospital Medicine
Dan Edwards (IU School of Medicine/VAMC)
I went into intern year with an open mind regarding what my future career would look like. I remember going through subspecialty rotations and finding aspects of each that I appreciated. By the time I became an upper-level resident, I ultimately fell in love with the variety, acuity and work-life balance that hospitalist medicine can provide. I feel like IU prepared me quite well as a budding hospitalist. As a four hospital system, I was able to train in a variety of settings and was exposed to a wide range of demographics, including our underserved/underrepresented population at Eskenazi, our veterans at the VA and more specialized cases seen at IU Health Methodist and University Hospitals, our quaternary-care referral center accepting transfers from across the state. The majority of our time on the general medicine wards was spent at Eskenazi and the VA, which provided a steady volume of patients without feeling overwhelming, thanks to non-teaching hospitalist teams making sure our resident teams stayed under cap. This program also did a great job fostering autonomy, allowing me to feel prepared running rapid responses/codes and performing procedures by the time I was an upper level, all while having additional support readily available if it was ever requested. Finally, as an added bonus I found it helpful when looking for jobs to be comfortable with three of the most widely-used EMRs in the country (Epic, Cerner, CPRS).
Ambulatory General Internal Medicine
Erica Swanson
On my interview day, I was met with the most down-to-earth people I know, and I left thinking it would be such an honor to be a part of the IU School of Medicine's team of residents. This has proven to be true in my short time here so far. The transition to intern year is tough, and I have found that the people around me have been what have helped me the most so far, whether that be my fellow co-interns, upper year residents, chiefs, attendings, nurses/support staff and administration. Beyond the people, I was drawn here for the unique global health opportunities with AMPATH, ambulatory block education with training in nutrition, exercise and wellness, as well as diverse training sites to serve the underserved population in Eskenazi, veterans at the VA and more of a private sector at IU Health Methodist Hospital. Indianapolis itself is an affordable Midwest city with much to offer, from multiple food choices and outdoor parks without the hassle of long commutes. I am happy to call it home for the next three years!
Pulmonology/Critical Care
Russell Purpura (Cleveland Clinic)
My wife and I couples matched to IU School of Medicine from Texas for emergency medicine and internal medicine without every stepping foot in Indianapolis, except interview day. We both knew the IU School of Medicine programs would best prepare us and our future for multiple reasons. I personally wanted a wide variety of clinical pathology with high volume. This was easily attained since IU School of Medicine residents rotate between four hospital systems including a VA, county, tertiary and private hospitals. I also wanted robust learning opportunities during rounds and at daily conferences, along with personal teaching opportunities to interns and medical students. Each of these expectations at IU School of Medicine were met and more. I was constantly pushed to improve my clinical judgement, my bedside manner and my communication skills. I was inspired most by the pulmonary and critical care staff at IU School of Medicine, which was the career path I chose. My research mentor, Babar Khan, MD, and other mentors such as Graham Carlos, MD, and Gabe Bosslet, MD, supported me throughout all of residency and their guidance was ultimately how I got into my dream fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. I wouldn’t be the doctor I am today without IU School of Medicine's diverse pathology, staff and learning opportunities. I strongly encourage all future applicants to consider Indy as your home during residency.
Nick Iannazo (IU School of Medicine)
When applying for residency there are a ton of factors that go into making this important decision. When I went to medical school in Chicago, I always thought I would eventually make my way back to Connecticut where my family is. I never really gave the Midwest a second thought, until my interview at IU School of Medicine. The people I met during my interview day helped me realize what a special place this is. Every time I tried to rearrange my rank list, IU School of Medicine always seemed to be at the top, even though I didn't have any family members within a 12 hour drive. I ended up matching here and it was the best decision of my life. Here I met a great group of people while also receiving a fantastic training in internal medicine. IU School of Medicine gave me the ability to tailor my residency into what I needed to get me to my fellowship, even when I changed my focus after my first year. Due to the size of the program and all of our clinical sites, I was able to experience everything I wanted to in order to make my fellowship decision. I enjoyed the program and the city so much that I decided to stay for an extra chief year and then three more years of pulmonary/critical care fellowship. It is true that there are a lot of things that go into picking a residency, but for me it was the feeling I had when interviewing at IU School of Medicine that made the most difference to me. Given the opportunity, I would chose IU School of Medicine every time.
Nephrology
Skye El Sayegh (IU School of Medicine)
Looking back through residency years makes me feel so grateful and glad that it was at IU School of Medicine. There will be days that feel like eternity, you will feel overwhelmed and stressed at times, but these will pass and you will be glad you went through it in a place like IU School of Medicine. Days were long but years were short and I didn’t want to end my journey with IU School of Medicine and that’s why I decided to stay for fellowship! I met and became friends with great mentors, I began some everlasting friendships. Rotating at four different hospitals with different EMRs and different house staff might seem overwhelming but that's what made IU unique and made me stay. IU School of Medicine will provide you with great educators, you will see so many pathologies and disease processes that you might only read in textbooks somewhere else. If you want to become an expert in your field, IU School of Medicine is the right place for you! For me, nephrology fellowship was my ultimate goal and the residency program had paved the way by introducing me to mentors and experts in the field of nephrology. The chiefs will work with you to tailor your electives and help you find research potentials based on your future interests. I ultimately decided on pursuing fellowship in the same program I did residency in as I know it will pave the way to a prosperous future career armed with enough knowledge. The other major bonus I got by choosing to stay with IU School of Medicine for fellowship is that I got to stay in a city that I can call home-away-from-home, as I am an international medical graduate from Lebanon, where my family is. Indy has its own charm from the gorgeous scenery of its parks to the mouthwatering restaurants. You will be glad you chose IU School of Medicine for residency, coming from a resident who decided to stay for fellowship as well!
Endocrinology
Mickey Voss (Wisconsin)
IU School of Medicine was a wonderful place to train for residency! All faculty, staff and residents create a wonderful learning environment while providing excellent patient care, from your first day as an intern to graduation. The program leadership is very supportive of residents and goes above and beyond to address resident concerns and well-being through rapid and meaningful changes. A few examples from my three years at IU School of Medicine included leadership:
- Changing the call schedule at multiple hospitals to create night float systems
- Creating new rotations focused on resident learning and subspecialty exposure
- Granting personal days for life tasks outside of medicine in addition to vacation
These are just a few changes in just three years demonstrating how IU School of Medicine truly cares about residents and helps make them successful. One other way the program helps residents achieve their goals is by providing days off for fellowship/job interviews. This was a huge benefit for scheduling my fellowship interviews that many residents from other programs didn't enjoy. Residency is challenging wherever you train, but I loved my time at IU and would choose to train here for residency again if given the choice. Thank you to everyone at IU School of Medicine for a great three years!
Karthik Subbu (University of North Carolina)
When applying for residency, I knew I wanted to be a part of a program that would support me and a place I could call home. At IU School of Medicine, I felt supported from day one. The relationships with my co-residents and faculty helped nurture my growth from a brand new intern to a confident and capable resident, now pursuing endocrinology fellowship at UNC. The residency assigns you to a faculty mentor and an upper-level “big sib” early on who you can lean on for advice. In addition, the four hospital system at IU School of Medicine not only provides a breadth of training opportunities but also teaches you to adapt to the different clinical environments you come across and this helped me become more efficient. Also, knowing that I wanted to pursue a career in endocrinology, which is primarily an outpatient-based specialty, I liked that IU School of Medicine gave me the opportunity to join the primary care track. Through this, I had a second half-day of clinic each week during non-ward months, which I dedicated to an endocrine clinic where I worked with attendings in the community setting. These experiences helped a lot not just with my fellowship application but also ultimately now in my role as a fellow.
Rheumatology
Vivianne Allsop
I arrived at my interview day feeling a little frazzled after missing the pre-interview dinner due to a late flight, but it didn’t take long for IU School of Medicine to win me over. What struck me most was the people I met, from the kind fellow interviewee I sat next to in the conference room (my future co-chief resident) to the enthusiastic interviewer who would become my primary care preceptor and a close mentor. I felt that it would be a great place to get strong clinical training in a supportive environment and was thrilled when my husband and I successfully couples matched at IU School of Medicine. As I went through residency, my interest in rheumatology grew and I had a chance to work with mentors, present at a national meeting and even create my own special elective to explore my interests within rheumatology. At the same time, leadership was thoughtful about making sure I had a strong background in all areas of internal medicine. I feel well prepared as I start my rheumatology fellowship and I’m grateful for the education I received at IU School of Medicine.