Dr. Khan
About
About Dr. Khan
I am a board-certified pulmonary and critical care physician. The practice of medicine has changed over the last decade. I had thought about specializing in OB-GYN, then pediatrics, and finally settled onto pulmonary and critical care. I found ‘my people’, like minded attendings and fellows who become friends and mentors for life, when I did my critical care rotation. I was single when I made my career choice, and to this day, know that I made the ‘right choice’ for me. The demands of the profession – and when I say this…I say this with a heavy heart …. the demands of insurance companies, payers, administrator’s and unrealistic patient and family expectations, have led me to look toward ‘other’ ways to ‘find my voice’ and connect with my patients in a unique way. I still love what I do, when I am allowed to ‘do the job the way it should be done’, free from the demands of administrators , insurance companies….without the burden of clicking buttons and filling out check-boxes on EMAR so the hospital gets paid and I get credits for fulfilling ‘quality metrics. It’s all supposed to add up to ‘improved patient safety’…this ‘buzz word’ that makes it hard to argue with it all…
I yearn to look outside this world…where I sometimes spend more time in front of the computer than my patients, to connect with patients on a more personal level.
My passion to heal remains alive, and I want to educate patients and empower them with tools to be pro-active partners in their health care, to be able to navigate a system that often feels broken and burdensome.
The mission of my blog is to make physicians who work on the front lines more ‘human’ , share our stories and share patient stories, to give patients a window into this world of busy nurses and doctors, with constant bright lights and beeping alarms, ‘code blues’ and end of life scenarios, cancer, breathlessness and so much more.
I have changed patient demographics, and scenarios to protect privacy. I am not using identifiable patient information. The advice given in this blog is in no way meant to direct patient care.