This week is Resident Appreciation Week, a time to recognize and celebrate the incredible contributions made by our resident physicians. Medical residents work tirelessly to provide high-quality care to patients while balancing the demands of their rigorous training programs. Resident physicians are an essential part of our healthcare system, bringing energy, expertise and compassion to their work every day, and they are the future of medicine in Nova Scotia.
Dr. Freddy Lee is a resident physician training in ophthalmology. Born in Seoul, Korea, Dr. Lee moved to Canada with his family in 2003 and eventually settled in Halifax in 2006. After high school, he headed to Montreal to study at McGill University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Cognitive Science and then a Master’s in Neuroscience, focusing on brain tumor research. Ultimately, the East Coast called him back for medical school at Dalhousie University, where he now continues as a third-year ophthalmology resident.
“What drew me to medicine was the combination of using fascinating knowledge about the human body to treat diseases and working with people to improve their health and make an impact on their lives,” he said.
Ophthalmology wasn’t always on Dr. Lee’s radar, but he quickly found his passion for the specialty during medical school.
“Restoring and optimizing vision makes such a huge, tangible impact on how people interact with the world and their loved ones,” he explained. He also appreciates the unique mix of medicine, surgery and research within the field. “Ophthalmology has a great balance. It’s an exciting specialty with a lot of innovation in diagnostics and treatments. Even though it is focused on one organ, there is so much variety and room to carve out your own niche.”
One moment that stuck with Dr. Lee during his residency was receiving his first thank you card from a patient. “In training, it is so easy to get bogged down with all the academic and clinical responsibilities. Sometimes the weeks blur together, and as residents, we are constantly questioning ourselves. Did I make the right call? Am I doing enough? That thank you card was unexpected, but it reminded me that the small things we do can really matter to patients,” he said. “It wasn’t anything extraordinary, just taking an extra minute to explain something or being there to reassure them, but it left an impact.”
For those considering medicine or starting their residency, Dr. Lee has some simple but important advice. “Good luck and enjoy. Medicine is an amazing career that allows you to do incredible things for people, but it is not an easy journey. What gets you through are the people around you, your friends, family, classmates and colleagues. Having that community to share the wins and the hard times is so important.”
When asked if he had any final thoughts to share, Dr. Lee emphasized the importance of eye safety. “If you even think about it, wear safety glasses! We see far too many preventable injuries at the Eye Clinic,” he said.
This Resident Appreciation Week, we celebrate the hard work of resident physicians like Dr. Freddy Lee, who make a real difference in patients’ lives every day.
Photo of Dr. Freddy Lee.
