Where are they now: Allen Belshaw, MD

So it's been 26 years since leaving Utah for Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Looking back at residency, it amazes me how clearly I remember those years with my incredible and eccentric fellow residents and brilliant and long-suffering faculty. Who can forget Erika Lloyd working out on the stairstepper in the VA call room at 3am reading her Sabiston, being stuck with Jonathan Giles on a portaledge on El Capitan during a freak storm, and the night descent of the bobsled with Eric Scaife.  I won't divulge my most vivid memory of Stacy Shackelford, but suffice it to say that she is the toughest human being I know. 

Utah's training program prepared me well for a surgical practice in a small community.  My mentors emphasized sound judgement and demonstrated integrity and commitment to their patients. Those qualities turned out to be critical when you live and work in the same town for a quarter century. 

My practice has changed over the years.  I started off doing vascular, endocrine, and complex GI and oncologic surgeries. Low volumes of those procedures meant having to fine tune my practice and now my only vascular cases are the result of orthopedic and gynecologic misadventures. Trauma remains a constant part of my workload.  Robotic surgery has taken hold of our hospital and it is now a part of my practice, though my relationship with the robot is a complicated one.  My surgical partners and I have avoided hospital employment and maintained an independent practice.  This has paid off tremendously, despite the hassles of being a small business owner.

A few years after moving to Steamboat, Cathy, an anesthesiologist I met in Utah,  and I got married and we have two kids, Annika (21) and Erik (19).  They took full advantage of growing up in a ski town and now both are nordic ski jumpers on the US Ski Team,  competing on the world cup circuit. Their home base is Lillehammer, Norway, and they are hoping to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy in 2026. Cathy and I enjoy going to their competitions in Europe, though winter trips to Scandinavia have some drawbacks.

When I read about my fellow Utah alumni and their interesting career trajectories, my own seems pretty tame by comparison. But there are some things to recommend a longer stint at a small community hospital. One is having a deeper involvement in the community and administration of the hospital. Serving on various boards and administrative roles in the hospital helped me connect with the town and get a voice in how the hospital is run.  I also learned that in a hospital, history repeats itself every seven years (seven years is the half-life of an administrator). Another advantage of a small hospital is greater autonomy. I have been able to arrange my schedule to be more involved with my kids as they were growing up. Although call coverage can be burdensome, currently I  do a one week on, one week off work schedule. This allows me to travel frequently with family and to pursue my climbing, skiing and biking adventures. 

I am deeply thankful to my mentors and faculty at Utah- Dirk Noyes, Jim McGreevy, Ed Nelson, Jeff Saffle, and so many others who were demanding and supportive through my five years of surgical training.  I can't imagine a better group of teachers,  fellow residents, or place to live when going through such a challenging and formative experience.