Class of 2021 Spotlight: Mentorship Helps Abi Recktenwald Find Perfect Career Path

Going into her third year, Abi Recktenwald had a wide range of interests across medicine and surgery. However, on her pediatric rotation early that year, she encountered a child who needed a complex plastic surgery procedure to cover a skin defect. It was through the experience she realized plastic surgery was her calling.

Recktenwald was aware that a surgical residency and career would be difficult, especially with her late start to pursuing it. She said the great female mentorship she had through her four years at the UK College of Medicine was crucial to keeping her on track.

Cortney Lee, MD, clerkship director and associate professor of surgery, mentored her on some of the nuances of succeeding in the role of a surgeon and a mom. (Recktenwald’s child was less than a year old at the time.) Jamie Ward, coordinator for general surgery, kept her informed about upcoming meet-and-greets, programming, and other resources. The College of Medicine student affairs team, including Michelle Lineberry, EdD, and Berry Seelbach, MD, helped Recktenwald with scheduling when she became pregnant her second year of medical school. And in her third year, when she questioned whether a career as a surgeon was the lifestyle that suited her, Lesley Wong, MD, plastic surgery program director and mentor for her medical school research course, “was supportive every step of the way.”

Now, Recktenwald is following her dream, enrolled in the plastic surgery residency program at the University of Kentucky. n

Class of 2021 Class of 2021

After a long, challenging year dealing with COVID-19 and coping with its effects, the College of Medicine was able to celebrate the Class of 2021 during in-person Match Day and graduation events – a series of moments that reminded us of the college’s mission to prepare the next generation of physicians to improve health in the Commonwealth and beyond. n