First year Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery resident Alexa N. Pearce grew up visiting her grandmother and the rest of her mother’s family in Western Pennsylvania, so it holds a special place in her heart. She was also drawn to the Department because of “the incredible research opportunities and robustness of the surgical exposure across subspecialties at UPMC.” She also appreciates that residents are given an impressive amount of autonomy, but always with appropriate guardrails.
When she rotated here as a fourth-year medical student, Dr. Pearce also fell in love with the people – residents, faculty, patients, OR staff, and beyond. “Pittsburgh has a way of wrapping its arms around you!” she said.
As for what drew her to otolaryngology, Dr. Pearce said she has been a crafter for as long as she can remember. Her maternal grandmother was a seamstress and her paternal grandmother a painter, so she got her hands on as many art projects as she could in their presence – from crocheting to bead weaving to painting watercolors. She knew from entering medical school that these interests would likely point her down a path in surgery.
“Once I discovered the breadth of ENT in medical school, I quickly realized it was an incredibly artistic specialty, with a penchant for fine-tuning the balance between aesthetic and functional surgical outcomes,” Dr. Pearce said.
Right now, she is most interested in head and neck surgery and facial plastic surgery, but she is excited to see if/how her interests change as she gains more exposure to the subspecialty spectrum. Interested in academic medicine, Dr. Pearce hopes to dedicate a portion of her time to research as an attending. She has developed her skills in medical illustration over the last several years and hopes to continue publishing this work as well.
Dr. Pearce has a BA in Art History and French Language from New York University. She returned home for medical school, attending the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.