Vascular Surgery Current Fellows | Atrium Health

	Aravinda Abeysekera, MD Senior Fellow Hometown: Staten Island, NY Medical School: Ross University General Surgery Residency Program: Hofstra NSLIJ – Staten Island University Hospital What attracted you to our fellowship program? The program's reputation as having cutting-edge facilities and the opportunity to work alongside some of the world's most renowned vascular surgeons drew me to this fellowship program. Additionally, the case volume of complex endovascular procedures, aortic reconstructions, abdominal aneurysms, complicated cerebrovascular cases and mesenteric reconstructions was exciting. What have you enjoyed most so far? The autonomy to make decisions during surgery, the complexity of patients and the volume and variety of surgeries continue to aid in my development as a vascular trainee and boost my confidence as an open and endovascular surgeon. What do you enjoy about living in Charlotte? Living in Charlotte offers an affordable cost of living, a mild climate with a pleasant spring and occasional snow during winter, a young and vibrant city with thriving nightlife and numerous concert venues and beautiful parks and art to enjoy.

	Dale Coffey, DO Senior Fellow Hometown: Waynesville, OH Medical School: Ohio University General Surgery Residency Program: New Hanover Regional Medical Center What attracted you to our fellowship program? When interviewing for vascular surgery fellowship, I looked for a program with exceptional operative volume and a great balance of both open and endovascular cases. CMC has just that, with outstanding numbers in both complex endovascular and open aortic surgery, which I discovered was exceedingly rare to find on the interview trail. As such, this program quickly jumped to the top of my rank list. I am confident that my training here will provide me with the experience and education I need to feel prepared to tackle anything in practice. What have you enjoyed most so far? The complex vascular pathology referred to CMC continues to amaze me. This, coupled with a well-balanced operative experience in the cath lab and the operating room with an appropriate level of graduated autonomy, has allowed me to mature in both my surgical skills and clinical decision-making. The service is well-supported by APPs who make our lives as fellows much more enjoyable and educational. What do you enjoy about living in Charlotte? My family and I spend the majority of our free time outdoors. We will often walk or run one of the parks or greenways around town and have enjoyed exploring the many trails at the U.S. National Whitewater Center located here in Charlotte. Lake Norman is also a great place to hang out in the summer.
	Eric Goldschmidt, MD Junior Fellow Hometown: Duluth, MN Medical School: Loyola University of Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine General Surgery Residency Program: University of Toledo What attracted you to our fellowship program? The program has a strong reputation for case volume and complexity for both open and endovascular cases. There is good volume of open aortic surgery as well, which is a current problem area in many fellowships. I enjoyed the interview day as well, and every surgeon that I interviewed with was engaging and passionate about training fellows. What have you enjoyed most so far? So far, I have enjoyed the variety of cases that I've been able to scrub. There is a high level of graduated autonomy that I've enjoyed as well. What do you enjoy about living in Charlotte? At this point I have not spent much time exploring the city, but there are an abundance of parks and recreation areas that are great options for getting outside during free time. Also, there are plenty of good restaurants we've been able to try.
	Joseph Wasselle, MD Junior Fellow Hometown: Melbourne, FL Medical School: University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine General Surgery Residency Program: University of South Florida Health Tampa What attracted you to our fellowship program? I was impressed by the diversity of both endovascular and open cases in addition to the complexity of cases. What have you enjoyed most so far? There is an emphasis on fellow education with excellent autonomy. What do you enjoy about living in Charlotte? This is a great city, especially for raising a young family.