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John Bertoni, M.D., chairman of the department of neurology at Creighton University Medical Center, graduates Jeffrey Thornton, M.D., and Carolina Ionete, M.D., and Pierre Fayad, M.D., chairman of the department of neurological sciences at UNMC. |
Dr. Ionete, who served as the elected associate chief resident in the past year, was voted resident of the year for the second time during her residency. Her outstanding performance during her residency was illustrated by her ranking in the top 10 percent of her peers nationally on the Residency In-Service Training Exam (RITE) during all three years of her residency. All neurology residents training in the United States take the same RITE exam every year and are ranked according to their performance. This year, she was ranked in the top 3 percent on the RITE exam of all examinees nationally.
Dr. Thornton who served in the past year as the elected chief resident, ranked in the top 10 percent of his peers nationally on the RITE exam in the past consecutive two years of his residency. This year he was ranked in the top 2 percent of his peers nationally. He also was recognized as the resident from the program with the best and consistent improvement in performance.
“We are very proud of our graduates and all our residents in training,” said Pierre Fayad, M.D., director of the residency program and Reynolds Centennial Professor & chairman of the department of neurological sciences at UNMC. “These graduates represent the future generation of neurologists that will take care of us and our community.”
Dr. Ionete will begin a neuroimmunology and multiple sclerosis fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Mass. Dr. Thornton will serve the community through a neurology private practice in Omaha.
During the graduation dinner at the Champions Club in west Omaha, Dr. Fayad thanked the staff, nurses and faculty from UNMC and Creighton University who tirelessly contribute, on a daily basis, toward the education and training of its residents. He also bid farewell to UNMC faculty member Pierre Giglio, M.D., who was chosen by the residents as the “Attending of the Year” for his dedication to teaching and who is moving to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C.
Jose Biller, M.D., professor neurology and neurological surgery and chairman of the department of neurology at Loyola University – Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, Ill., was the Distinguished Visiting Professor and delivered the keynote address.
Dr. Biller gave career advice to graduates distilled from his own experience and practice. He advised the graduates to “take time to discover where your passions and talents intersect. Don’t sweep anything under the rug, share your passion and let it shine.”
He also reminded them to question, examine and scrutinize before coming to conclusions. “Don’t leave the examination room without knowing what is going on with your patient,” Dr. Biller said. “Remember there is no substitute for a thorough history and physical examination. People won’t remember how quickly you solved the problem, but they will remember how well you did.”