Theresa Lii ’12 MD’16
Age: 26
Hometown: Plano, TX
Undergrad school and major : Brown University (PLME), Neuroscience
Specialty: Anesthesiology
Residency: Stanford University School of Medicine
When did you decide to become a doctor?
I applied to the Program in Liberal Medical Education in high school, so I made that decision remarkably early. Looking back, I think it was a gamble, even though at that time it didn’t feel like it. I knew that I enjoyed learning about the human body—especially the brain—and that I wanted a career where I could help others through direct patient care or through medical research. I feel fortunate that I ended up really liking most of medicine. It was a fantastic decision.
How did you choose your specialty?
As an undergraduate, I spent a year studying abroad at the University of Cambridge [in]a lab that was researching the molecular mechanisms of chronic pain. This experience opened my eyes to the staggering lack of good treatments for chronic pain, and it was then I decided that I would devote my career to advancing the field of pain medicine.
However, pain is a fellowship, and I needed to find a base specialty. Luckily, I fell absolutely in love with anesthesiology during third year. I loved working with my hands, the fast-paced OR environment, and making clinical decisions every minute. I also enjoyed reassuring patients and seeing them wake up comfortable, happy, and pleasantly surprised that their surgery is over. Anesthesiology residency also affords me the most opportunities for pain research, and that was important to me as well.
Anything you’d like to add?
I’d like to give a shout-out to my mentors in anesthesiology. I was introduced to the specialty by Heather Panaro [MD, clinical assistant professor of surgery (anesthesiology)]. … She was exceptionally kind, and when I started organizing intubation workshops at the Medical School, she generously volunteered her teaching skills at every one. … Stephen Panaro [MD, clinical assistant professor of surgery (anesthesiology)] … became my longitudinal mentor and, in many regards, pushed me to become the best future physician I could be. I cannot thank them both enough.
