Laura Modamio Gardeta, MD, a fourth year resident in ophthalmology at Hospital Universitario Fundacion Alcorcon in Madrid, Spain, completed a month’s observership at Kellogg in late February 2016.
Dr. Modamio was born in Madrid. She attended high school there, where she placed very high among the 20,000 high school graduates sitting for the three-day entrance examination to the university. With her score, Dr. Modamio was able to select the prestigious program at the Universidad de Alcala in Madrid. At the end of medical school came even more intense preparation to enter residency programs. With fellow graduates, she took a year off to prepare. “I never studied so hard in my life—maybe 16 hours per day—and I probably never will again,” she said referring to how competitive it is to gain positions in the most sought-after specialities of medicine in Spain - cardiology, dermatology, plastic surgery, and ophthalmology.
Dr. Modamio landed at the Fundacion Alcorcon, which trains two residents per year and has allowed her exceptional training in ophthalmic surgery. “I will have performed more than 350 cataract operations by the time I finish—and most other kinds of surgeries too,” she reported.
Dr. Modamio had not yet had exposure to lamellar and endothelial keratoplasty in her training, and for that she came to Kellogg. “I am so admiring of Dr. Soong and Dr. Mian who are so skilled and were so kind to allow me to see what they do and learn from them.”
Dr. Modamio has returned to Spain to complete her residency and search for a position as an ophthalmologist in Madrid. “What I will recall the most is how much the doctors at Kellogg support their patients, explain everything, and answer all questions. Of course, the support staff and good organization of the clinics make this possible. I will try to do this in Spain!”