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<bold>Sharon Fekrat, MD, FACS,</bold> is Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Associate Chief of Staff for Surgery, Durham VA Medical Center. She can be reached at the Department of Ophthalmology, Duke Eye Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710; email: <email xlink:type="simple">[email protected].
<bold>Disclosure:</bold> Dr. Fekrat has no relevant financial disclosures.
Darius M. Moshfeghi
Sharon Fekrat
Interview with Sharon Fekrat, MD, FACS
Darius M. Moshfeghi, MD: Who has had the greatest influence on your career?
Sharon Fekrat, MD, FACS: Many people, too numerous to name here, have greatly influenced my career along the way. Of special mention, my mom and dad take the prize because they have been there for decades - planting the "go to med school and be a doctor" seed in my head as a young child in the 1970s, and sacrificing so that I could have the opportunity to go to Georgetown University and Oxford University in England and then the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. My parents have also provided over-the-top childcare for the first 18 years of our children's lives so that I could prosper as an academic vitreoretinal surgeon. My amazing husband of 27 years has also been incredibly supportive every step of the way as we grew together, from premed students to academic surgeons at Duke.
The late Dr. Ramesh Tripathi supported me as a medical student at the University of Chicago as I went through the ophthalmology residency application process and to him, I am grateful; may he rest in peace. As a resident and fellow at Wilmer, Dr. Morton Goldberg had given long-lasting advice at pivotal decision-making stages of my career; his guiding words of wisdom I still remember to this day. Being on-call 24/7 for 365 days for retina and trauma as the post-fellowship Wilmer Chief (while pregnant, too) was an opportunity of a lifetime that put the finishing touches on my preparation to take over the patient population of the late Dr. Robert Machemer (may he rest in peace) at Duke upon his retirement in 1998.
Dr. Moshfeghi: What was the defining moment that led you to your field?
Dr. Fekrat: It was a process. I remember sitting in a medical school lecture looking at...