Meet Ilan Fellus
“Even if I can’t take all the pain away I hope I can at least provide some relief. I hope my patients will know that I care, and that I do my best to make them better.”
In the mending of the broken and the healing of the sick, Ilan Fellus sees the profound beauty of a career in medicine.
Ilan always knew he wanted to be a doctor. “When I was 3 years old, my parents asked me what I wanted to be and I told them I wanted to be a gynecologist. I don’t even think I knew what that was. I just know I never wanted to work as anything else.”
Ilan saw the connection his dad, who is also a family doctor, had with his patients, and wanted to emulate that in his own career. “Those relationships were profound to me.”
“I don’t think I would have been happy doing many other things. I’m a people person, and I like to interact with others on a daily basis. I thought- what better way to interact with them then by helping them?”
Jewish medical ethics have always interested Ilan, and he notes the many innovations that come from Israeli medicine. “Israel is used as an example of good medicine and innovation, and I think as a country, it uses the Jewish principles of compassion and helping others to better its medical care.”
Going through medical school is difficult, and not every day as a doctor will be fulfilling, but Ilan knows that he only needs to remember the reasons he’s doing what he’s doing to stay motivated. “At the end of the day, I work as a doctor to help people as they go through difficult times in their lives.”
Ilan wants to be the kind of doctor whose patients know he cares. “That’s the most important thing, because as a doctor, you won’t always be able to heal others. It becomes more about being able to alleviate suffering. Even if I can’t take all the pain away I hope I can at least provide some relief. I hope my patients will know that I care, and that I do my best to make them better.”
Ilan Fellus is currently doing his residency in Family Medicine. Family and emergency medicine are of special interest to him, and he hopes to have a family practice and work in the emergency department a few shifts a week.
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Jumans of Toronto is a window into the lives and passion of Jewish young adults making their mark in the world. A 50-part series, Jumans is inspired by Humans of New York. If you’d like to recommend someone awesome to be highlighted, please send an email to adina@thehousetoronto.com.
Written by: Adina Samuels