Christian Shigley

’13 shares his pathway to becoming an orthopedic surgeon. After graduating from Harvard University in 2017, he attended Brown University graduating in 2022. He is now in his fi rst year of residency with the University of Washington.

under the umbrella of sports medicine. I became fascinated by the biomechanics of fixing muscles and bones and how quickly patients could restore their function and mobility.

Tell us how you went from medical school to your current position?

The transition from medical school to residency is pretty rigid. During the fourth year of school, students apply to and interview at residency programs. Afterward, the student and the program will rank each other before some computer determines which students are “matched” to which program. So, there are no multiple acceptances or choices to be weighed, just a letter with a binding contract. It’s akin to being assigned a deployment in the military. Pretty serious!

Did you know you wanted to return to the Seattle area?

I always wanted to come back to Seattle. I enjoyed my time and experiences in New England, but it never swayed my goal to return. I love the outdoors here, the considerate and friendly culture and being closer to my family. Plus, the University of Washington is one of the top orthopedic programs in the country for their research, diverse patients and pathologies and national reputation.

How has your residency gone so far?

It’s going well! I’m five months into my five-year program and it’s rewarding to finally be able to provide healthcare every day and study it at home to advance my skill set. I’m involved in stabilizing patients in Harborview’s ER, participating in the operative repairs of their orthopedic injuries, seeing patients in the ER, guiding their postoperative care, and ultimately getting patients out of the hospital to their families and friends. After five years of residency, I’ll do a one-year fellowship—where you truly specialize—before going into practice. I hope to do a fellowship in hand surgery versus foot and ankle surgery, for example.

What do you do in your free time?

When I get to escape the hospital, I like to keep active by working out, running around Lake Union, carrying my kayak down to South Lake Union and hiking. I’m really looking forward to skiing and snowboarding this winter at Crystal Mountain. I also make it home a decent amount to visit my parents and dog, Thor and for dinner (and steal the leftovers).

Did you always know you wanted to be a doctor?

Did you go straight from college to medical school?

I took a gap year between college and medical school. I came back home to Sammamish and worked at Fred Hutch during that time. I was involved in cancer research on engineering immune cell receptors for a new cancer treatment approach called adoptive T-cell therapy. During that year, I also coached junior football for Eastside Catholic Junior Football with my dad, Mike Shigley. Throughout this time, I became interested in providing healthcare to athletes and read about specialties that practice sports medicine. Orthopedic surgery was the only surgical specialty

I knew I wanted to be a doctor once I took biology in high school, but my reasons evolved. In high school, I liked the idea of going into a career that utilized biology, where the focus of my work would be to help others, in line with the servant leadership values that EC instilled in me. During college, I recognized how much I valued teamwork from my 11 years of playing football, including during college. I also enjoyed the lab research I performed but missed seeing the clinical impact of my work and the patients it would affect. When I volunteered with lower socioeconomic patients helping them access community resources to benefit their health, I realized that I wanted a career where I could build rapport with my patients to help them improve their health and lifestyle.

Options Program Reunion, June 2022

We were thrilled that our Options Program alumni were able to hold a reunion in early June! About 20 students plus family and friends met in Issaquah with representatives from the Class of 1994 through the Class of 2021 #LifeIsBetterWithOptions

Class of 2001 Reunion

Members of the Class of 2001 met at Tavern Hall in Bellevue one weekend over the summer and had a great time catching up with friends old and new.

Homecoming Alumni Reception

It was great to see our alumni return to EC for the 2022 Homecoming Game! Alumni re-connected with classmates and teachers at an Alumni Reception held in the big white tent (out of the rain) with the game live streamed to not miss a play.