Michelle
Ferreira
Michelle  Ferreira
Senior Assistant Resident
House Staff

Start Year: 2020

Basics

Hometown
Hagerstown, MD

Where did you attend university/college?
Swarthmore College

Where did you attend medical school?
Yale School of Medicine

What are your career goals?
I'm hoping to pursue a research-focused career in academic oncology focusing on expanding our knowledge of cancer immunotherapy and immune-related adverse events (irAEs).

Reflections on the Duke Program

What were you looking for in a residency program?
I was looking for a residency program that challenged us to grow as clinicians, educators, researchers, and people, but that also emphasized collaboration and collegiality. Duke's program perfectly encapsulated this!

What are the strengths of the Duke Program?
One of strength of Duke's IM program is the sheer breadth of clinical experiences that its residents are exposed to. Being one of the main academic/tertiary hospitals in the area, Duke has a very large catchment area and I've seen patients with very rare conditions being flown from all over the south to be seen at Duke. The volume of patients that we see routinely on our clinical rotations also helps us become very comfortably managing high-complexity and high-acuity patients on a routine basis. The learning environment, both structured and unstructured, is phenomenal. The program is invested in your success and education, and this is apparent in many ways, from the approachability of program leadership to the dedication of faculty to teaching house staff. However, the biggest strength of Duke's program, as multiple other residents have commented, is the people - everyone here, from medical students to attendings, is down-to-earth, kind, friendly, and excited about medicine.

What are your observations about the relationships between faculty and house staff?
The relationships between faculty and house staff was one of the main strengths that drew me to Duke for IM residency. Attendings always see you as part of the team and are invested in your education and success. Faculty is always incredibly approachable and equally down to chat about medicine as they are about things outside of medicine.

About living in Durham

Where did you choose to live and why?
I chose to live in downtown Durham. I love this location as it's walking distance from many fun shops and restaurants in downtown, but also just a 15-minute door-to-door commute from the hospital (even shorter after hours or on the weekends when you can park in the closer parking garage!). Even though this short travel time is a huge boon during busy rotations, it's also just far enough from the hospital that I feel like I am truly "off" when I am home and not in the hospital. It's also a 10-minute drive from most of the primary care clinic sites, so very centrally-located.

House Staff