Ajay Menon, MD

Get to know Ajay Menon, MD, transitional year resident.

Career goal: Vascular neurologist, clinician-researcher

What makes your LVHN training program different from others across the country?

I find LVHN’s tight-knit community of residents and physicians and the open learning environment they promote to be truly exceptional. As an intern, I found the program director, physicians, senior residents and fellow interns to be incredibly accessible and always there to bring out the best in you. The very fact that so many of our residents/fellows chose to stay here and train incoming residents is a testament to this.

As a resident transitioning into neurology, I’ve had the privilege of training with leaders in neurology here at LVHN. Being a Comprehensive Stroke Center and the primary tertiary hospital in the region, the patient exposure and learning opportunities are spectacular.

What has been the most extraordinary part of your training experience so far?

I found LVHN to offer incredible exposure to various subspecialties in internal medicine. These elective rotations give interns a solid foundation in medicine as they then transition into their advanced specialty of choice.

As someone who will be joining the neurology program here at Lehigh Valley after my intern year, I am also incredibly thankful to have worked closely with my co-interns and senior residents in the internal medicine program. The friendships formed through learning and growing together in residency are truly unique, and I’m glad I get to keep working with them throughout the rest of my residency.

What is one memory you have from your training so far that will stick with you for your career?

I am always grateful and humbled by the trust our patient community places in us. Providing care for complex and severely ill patients is certainly challenging and desired outcomes are not always reached, but I often find families thanking us for our perseverance and effort. It’s certainly a reminder of why we truly practice medicine – to serve our community.

What is one piece of advice you would share with someone as they select a training program?

Choose a place where you feel welcomed and supported – a program that pushes you to become the best physician you can be. Residency involves constant learning. Finding the right fit that matches your learning style, goals and lifestyle is very important. At LVHN, I found this program to always emphasize resident education, while providing a spectacular learning environment, diverse patient population and wide variety of pathology.

What does it mean to be a resident at LVHN?

Being part of a supportive family of well-rounded medical professionals helping each other to be the best version of themselves, providing holistic care to a diverse patient population.