Get to know Francesca Andronic, MD, general surgery resident.
Career goal: Trauma surgery
The combination of the multidisciplinary approach to all patients and the teaching from our esteemed attendings culminates in the ideal development into a well-rounded physician.
What makes your Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) training program different from others across the country?
I truly believe our culture here at LVHN is unique – one that is open to cultivating a dynamic learning environment while also challenging us to new heights of autonomy year-by-year. For example, we emphasize early operative experience, early autonomy in the ICUs and ownership of trauma alerts. Of course, you have the proper oversight with attendings, but we learn to strive for independence early on.
What has been the most extraordinary part of your training experience so far?
The support that I get from our attendings and peers – we’re here for each other’s successes and bad days. We look out for each other and prop up each other when we’re going through new twists and turns during our journey.
What is one memory you have from your training so far that will stick with you for your career?
I was working with a vascular surgeon on yet another femoral-femoral artery bypass and was finally feeling comfortable with my PGY-2 role within the case, until the surgeon looked at me at the beginning of the case and said, “OK, now you work on your side and I’ll do mine.” The autonomy that we receive early on and the case numbers that we have speak for themselves at the end of our training.
What is one piece of advice you would share with someone as they select a training program?
I would encourage you to ask the program how they would handle life events – whether that’s a personal illness, relative falling ill, getting pregnant, etc. You want a program that will work with you to overcome these hurdles, which are even more magnified while you are in training.
What does it mean to be a resident at LVHN?
Residency anywhere is a challenging feat. At LVHN you are exposed to a high-volume Level I Trauma Center, which helps guide your development into an enthusiastic and efficient leader who demonstrates our core values: compassion, integrity, collaboration and excellence. You’ll work with our colleagues at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, surgeons in the trauma bay, emergency medicine physicians in the ER or cardiologists helping you figure out atrial fibrillation in the middle of the night. The combination of the multidisciplinary approach to all patients and the teaching from our esteemed attendings culminates in the ideal development into a well-rounded physician.