Thriving on challenge, finding a specialty

During second year, Casey scrubbed into her first surgery — a microsurgical case on neurosurgery service. The high-level training, mental challenge, physical demand, and the tangible outcomes of surgery were reminiscent of the demands and skills she experienced training on the soccer field.

"I was planning on going into neurosurgery until one week in the plastic surgery clinic changed everything for me. The breadth of plastic surgery surprised me. I witnessed the seamless collaboration across almost all other specialties, creating solutions for complex problems to care for patients from young to old and head to toe, treating anything from cancer to congenital malformation. The artistic nature of the field also resonates deeply with me. In 10 years, I see myself as an academic microsurgeon, involved in research, mentorship, and lots of complex reconstructive surgery!"

Casey reflects on how she loves to be challenged and tends to thrive when she is fully immersed in something, constantly growing, and contributing to something bigger than herself.