Bio
I had my eye on Critical Care Medicine since I left medical school. I found myself drawn to those life-threatening clinical scenarios where there is an opportunity to do the most profound act in medicine: to save a life. I came to Stanford because I saw something special; a multidisciplinary approach that contrasted with ‘silo’ critical care that I saw elsewhere. The opportunity to work side by side with Medicine, EM, and Neurology colleagues, and to train fellows with diverse backgrounds is scintillating and humbling at the same time. Learning from colleagues outside my specialty in a positive, upbeat environment, is the greatest gift that Stanford has given me.
I particularly relish the ‘hands-on’ nature of Critical Care practice, and the opportunity to appreciate the particulars of each patient that make them unique and their puzzles that must be solved. I enjoy the physiologic monitoring and thinking that is central to our practice and am especially interested in pushing the envelope of education and training of our fellows to perform bedside procedures with real expertise and low risk. I have a goal to create a high- quality educational video for every procedure in Critical Care, so that the ‘timeout’ before a procedure includes, not only the identification of the patient, side, etc, but also a review of how that procedure is to be done. Reducing the risks of invasive procedures is a core strategy for providing the best care of critically ill patients. Knowing how to make sense of physiologic information in real-time is equally essential.
Also, since medical school, I have been enchanted by endocrinologic disorders and as an Anesthesiologist/Intensivist, founded the first Perioperative Home at Stanford for patients with pheochromocytoma. Having cared for 292 of these patients over the years in the clinic, ward, OR, ICU, I appreciate the expertise one can acquire by seeing a large volume of patients with a rare condition. Each patient is their own story and identifying that is very important.
I have also been heavily involved with Global Health missions all over the world (Central/South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, Middle East) and have spent nearly 2 years cumulatively in this endeavor: to care, to teach, to equip. While helping improve a system of healthcare is important, one cannot overlook the impact of changing the trajectory of a single life.
