When Arielle Stafford graduated from Bridgeport High School in 2008, she had already been dreaming of becoming a doctor more most of her life.  

 

She began her journey toward that dream at Shepherd University as part of the MedSTEP program, which is an early acceptance program to West Virginia University School of Medicine. Applicants are accepted during their senior year of high school and held to the highest of standards throughout college in order to earn their spot at WVU. Stafford graduated from the WVU School of Medicine in 2016.  

 

As a resident, she had the opportunity to explore her options through rotations, which has landed her a coveted fellowship with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Only two residents are chosen annually for the Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship and Stafford is thrilled to be selected.

 

“My mom was a huge inspiration for me pursuing a career in medicine,” Stafford said of her mother Lisa Stafford.  “She is a psychologist and I always loved learning about the psychiatric conditions, so I wanted to become a psychiatrist.  After my surgery rotation as a third-year medical student, however, I knew that was my calling.”

 

With strong surgical skills and wonderful mentors, Stafford matched into a general surgery fellowship at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia which was made up of 70 percent female residents.

 

“Surgery is historically a male-dominated field so it was important for me to go to a place with strong female role models,” she said.  “I was fortunate to be mentored by Dr. Lucy De La Cruz, an extremely driven breast surgeon who helped guide me through the process of applying for the breast surgery fellowship.”

 

After many years school, residency placements, and fellowship experience, Stafford then endured the arduous process of applying for the breast surgical fellowship, which included interviews, visits, and an extensive application matching program. Her fist choice was the Mayo Clinic, which she was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit prior to COVID-19 restrictions.  

 

“The program is easily one of the best breast surgical oncology training programs in the country,” she said.  They were ranked the No. 1 hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report and their cutting-edge research, clinical trials and expertise set the standard for breast cancer care.”

 

Stafford was not only selected for the fellowship, but was also selected to present her research at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual conference, which was originally scheduled for Las Vegas but was switched to a virtual format.

 

“Had the conference remained in-person, I would have been presenting in front of thousands of surgeons,” said Stafford.  “I was still thrilled with the opportunity to present virtually and to be able to network with so many professionals in the field.”

 

Not to be slowed down because of COVID, Stafford explored ways to help fellow medical workers during the pandemic.  

 

She realized that the hospital in which she worked did not have face shields, so she designed one out of vinyl, foam and ribbon and her family helped tweak the design and make their home into a PPE factory.  

 

After giving over 200 to her own hospital, she began sending them all over the country.  

 

She also shared her instructions for how to make them on social media and ended up making and donating more than 1,600 shields.  

 

Her mom also made masks out of operating room sterilization material with a filter pocket and the two distributed around 400 of those to medical professionals, all for free.Because of her commitment to safety during the pandemic, she was awarded her residency’s Leadership Award for the best senior resident of the year.    

 

With wedding planning in the works and her fellowship beginning in August, Stafford is learning all she can about breast surgical procedures in preparation for her upcoming experience. Through the fellowship, she will be studying all aspects of treating breast cancer including medical oncology, breast imaging, radiation, pathology, genetics, psychology, reconstructive plastic surgery and more.  

 

“Ideally, I will stay in an academic institution after the fellowship so I can teach and stay active in research,” she said.  “I would also like to focus on the disparities of care to give rural patients more access to quality breast care.”