CMR 2010-2011
2010-2011 Chief Medical Residents: Benjamin Singer, Lisa Van Wagner, Jane Wilcox, and Margaret Fitzpatrick.
Benjamin Singer
Hometown: Waterloo, IA
Undergraduate: Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Career Plans: Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Northwestern is a tremendous place to train in internal medicine. When I was a medical student I respected and trusted the internal medicine residents the most. It was an honor to match here in the Internal Medicine Residency.
Since the match in 2007, my individual growth has been immense. Northwestern’s supportive environment and universal commitment to excellence are inspiring. Our Internal Medicine Residency took me from an eager medical student to a competent young academic physician. During the three years, I provided care to hundreds of patients with an incredible breadth of disease processes at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and in my clinics. I feel extremely well prepared to care for any patient population.
At Northwestern, we are blessed with our faculty. I have been able to learn from distinguished clinicians in every discipline within internal medicine. While the faculty are towering leaders their fields, they are also approachable and friendly. They attend our resident conferences and teach more as colleagues than as instructors. However, I found that my peers were my best teachers. Working with our friendly, supportive, hard-working, and bright residents was a highlight of my residency. I am proud to care for patients alongside such talented and happy coworkers.
I am grateful to Northwestern for training me as a scientist as well. During my residency, I spent two months working with a cell culture model of lung injury and fibrosis. My lab was instrumental in uncovering the central role of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species in TGF-beta signaling. I was also fortunate enough to spend an additional month studying the clinical effects of a quality improvement project in the intensive care unit. My research has yielded abstracts, posters, and publications that have given me a strong foothold to begin my career as a physician-scientist.
Outside the hospital, Northwestern has allowed me to grow personally. I love Chicago and all the activities it offers including festivals, theater, and music. My wife and I regularly attend plays and concerts. Indeed, music is my hobby; I played viola in a community symphony orchestra during my residency. When you need to get out of the city, I can recommend some great weekend getaways just a few hours from Chicago including the Michigan lakeshore; Door County and Lake Geneva in Wisconsin; and Galena, Illinois.
My future appears bright to me. I am excited for a great year as Chief Medical Resident and the challenges of fellowship. I am supremely confident in the training and the opportunities for personal growth I have received at Northwestern. Please feel free to contact me or any of the other Chief Medical Residents regarding our program.
Lisa Van Wagner
Hometown: Glen Ellyn, IL
Undergraduate: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Medical School: University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA
Career Plans: Gastroenterology Fellowship at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Growing up in the Western Suburbs of Chicago I was always in awe of the “big city” and the amazing opportunities that awaited there. However, after attending undergraduate at Northwestern University I wanted to spread my Midwestern wings and I decided to move south for my medical school training. While I cherished my experience and the wonderful education I received, I greatly missed the excitement and opportunities that the city and an urban medical center had to offer. After interviewing at multiple large metropolitan programs, I found myself back in the Windy City. I quickly realized that Northwestern had everything that I was looking for in a residency program: a supportive and collegial environment focused on student and resident education, a diverse and complex patient population, and wonderful guidance for research and career development. On match day, my enthusiasm could not be contained at the thought of returning to my purple roots as a Northwestern University internal medicine resident.
The Northwestern University Department of Medicine is a place where rigorous training, exemplary clinical care, and innovative education come together. You will feel an incredible sense of autonomy and camaraderie among the housestaff in our program. I am constantly impressed by my co-residents, not only in their medical knowledge and exceptional patient care skills, but by their fervor and readiness to always lend a helping hand to a colleague, staff member, or patient’s family.
In addition to a wonderful working environment, the Northwestern hospital system provides a unique diversity of patients that allows residents to reach any career goal. As a large tertiary referral center, we have the opportunity to see a broad range of both rare and common diseases that allows us to train as high quality internists. Most importantly, we are affiliated with the Jesse Brown VA and our residents maintain an active outpatient continuity clinic for our deserving veterans. In addition, we are dedicated in multiple arenas to serving the uninsured population in Chicago through a variety of satellite clinics as well as a weekend volunteer clinic on the West side of the city.
I am especially proud of the varied and numerous research opportunities available here at Northwestern. Our residents receive dedicated research time and support for national conference attendance that promotes scientific innovation and collaboration, resulting in matches within the top fellowship programs in the country. Whether your interests lie in basic science, clinical, translational, or medical education, you will find a mentor here to help you achieve your research goals.
I cannot think of a better place to train than Northwestern and I am proud to be continuing here for my fellowship. My husband and I love this city and take every opportunity to enjoy its culture, dining and entertainment—and I promise, the winters are not that bad! I have been blessed with amazing friendships and professional relationships that continue to inspire me to become a better doctor. Good luck in your residency search and please feel free to contact me with any questions about our program.
Jane Wilcox
Hometown: Mauston, WI
Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Medical School: Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood IL
Career Plans: Cardiology Fellowship, Northwestern University, Chicago IL
When choosing a residency program I made a list of pros and cons after each interview in order to make an informed decision at the end of the season. Northwestern filled all my requirements of a strong academic program with excellent clinical training and opportunities for research, as well as a track record of successful graduates. However, there was a certain sentiment about Northwestern that was different from any place I had been, and I was unable to find a place on my list to qualify this further. Northwestern sits in the heart of Chicago, and you can feel the pulse of the city in the background of daily life here. Additionally, there is a dynamic energy of co-residents, fellows and faculty. Everyone is actively engaged in the mission of providing compassionate and evidenced-based quality patient care, advancing science and technology to improve human health, and training future leaders in academic medicine.
Northwestern’s large geographic and academic footprint allows for a unique diversity of patients. It is a high volume tertiary care center with both “horses and zebras.” It is common to see patients on the general medicine service who are participating in a clinical trial, as well as patients with heart failure exacerbations or community acquired pneumonia. It was also important to me to find a program that is committed to serving non-insured and underinsured persons. This commitment is carried over to Veterans at the Jesse Brown VA. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had during my residency has been providing care to the Veterans in my continuity clinic.
The faculty at Northwestern are tremendous. It is easy to connect with someone in your area of interest and perform clinical, basic or translational research. I have been fortunate to begin my career as a clinical investigator in diastolic dysfunction and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction during my residency and plan to continue this work this year and during my fellowship.
After recently completing my Internal Medicine Residency, I am proud to say I am a Northwestern graduate. These past three years have been truly amazing, from both an educational and personal perspective. I love Chicago and all the city has to offer. In my free time, you can usually find me with my husband at the Museum of Science and Industry, running along the lakeshore path, boating on Lake Michigan, visiting a new restaurant with friends, or checking out a local farmer’s market. I also feel extremely competent in my ability to treat any patient and look forward to the future with confidence that I am well-equipped for a successful career. I am excited about this year as a Chief Medical Resident, and am truly honored to serve in this position.
Margaret Fitzpatrick
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Undergraduate: University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Medical School: Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Career plans: Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
As the first person in my family to consider medicine as a career, I have often felt as though I’m wading through uncharted territory. Each step of the way presented unique challenges in deciding which institution was the best fit for continuing my training and continuing to grow as a clinician, teacher, and learner. I can honestly say that the decision to do my residency at Northwestern was one of the best I’ve ever made. My years here have been exciting and fulfilling and my co-residents inspired me every day to be a better doctor and a better person.
Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world, there’s no better way to say it than that! The arts, sports, food, theater, history, and overall culture of this city are phenomenal. Furthermore, the depth and breadth of clinical medicine and varied patient populations to which you are exposed as a physician-in-training in this city are unparalleled. I have truly enjoyed living here, both professionally and personally.
Within Chicago, Northwestern is one of many academic medical centers with excellent training opportunities. However, there are a few things I want to highlight that I think distinguish Northwestern. First, we have a particular commitment to academic excellence through protected research time for residents and access to top quality faculty mentors. This allows our residents to present at national conferences and publish articles in elite medical journals. Whether you are interested in clinical research, basic science, hospital medicine, quality improvement, epidemiology, or preventative medicine, there are projects and mentors available to guide you through the process. In addition, our residents gain exposure to underserved patient populations through rotations at the Jesse Brown VA Hospital and various community-based health clinics. Caring for these patients is both rewarding and educational. Finally, Northwestern offers an opportunity to rotate for a month in a rural medical clinic outside of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I took advantage of this and it was an invaluable experience for me, fostering an awareness of unique issues in international health and how cultural differences affect the practice of medicine.
At some point during your consideration of Northwestern for your Internal Medicine residency, you will hear the phrase, “nice, hardworking, and smart.” In that order. It is the creed of our program director, Dr. Diane Wayne, and-- more than any other collection of attributes-- it represents the qualities brought to the program by our residents. A great attitude, an ever-present sense of collegiality and a willingness to help each other sets Northwestern apart. Although the research opportunities, educational conferences, and faculty mentorship are outstanding, the camaraderie among residents was what ultimately drew me to this program. I couldn’t be happier staying on for fellowship and continuing my training at Northwestern.
