Neeladri Misra, MD, FACP
Academic Hospitalist and Core Faculty at the Sutter Roseville Medical Center
Internal Medicine Residency Program, Roseville, CA
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at California Northstate University
College of Medicine in Elk Grove, California
Immediate Past Chair, Council of Early Career Physicians, ACP Northern California Chapter
1. What is your current professional position?
I am an Academic Hospitalist and Core Faculty at the Sutter Roseville Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency Program in Roseville, California, and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at California Northstate University College of Medicine in Elk Grove, California. I am also the immediate Past Chair of the Council of Early Career Physicians, Northern California Chapter.
2. Why did you choose internal medicine?
I wanted to be a doctor who didn’t shy away from the saying “I don’t know anything about that disease.” For me, internal medicine fulfilled that desire as it’s a field where you need to constantly learn. When patients come to see doctors, internal medicine physicians are the first doctors they see, and how an internal medicine physician can correctly diagnose a condition and then concur with a specialist is the key to solving the patient’s health issue. There is no greater satisfaction than being an internal medicine physician and helping a patient from their discomfort to being healthy again.
3. What trends are you seeing in your day-to-day practice (with patients, the health care system, or otherwise)?
Medicine is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of the white coat, the stethoscope, and the bedside exams: we prefer embroidered jackets, electronic vital sign machines, and an EMR that tells us what we need to do. Adapting to this change is important for clinicians; however, nobody is teaching the fundamental principle of being a doctor anymore—having compassion for a patient. Health care systems and patients have both become more demanding in their expectations from their doctor; in all this, the true value of being a doctor is lost.
4. What do you want to accomplish professionally within the next five years?
My goal has always been to be a better doctor tomorrow than today—it’s what I strive to do personally and what I also teach my residents and medical students. It doesn’t matter if being a better doctor for you means just reminding yourself to listen more to patients or finishing your notes on time, it’s about striving to achieve a small goal for yourself. I also wish to help nurture more activities within my local ACP chapter focused on education and networking, especially for the Council of Early Career Physicians.
5. Can you share a brief (and anonymous) patient encounter or professional situation that made you proud to be an internal medicine physician?
I think every physician has enough memorable encounters to write a short book, and I am no exception. However, helping patients in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic was an experience that made me feel the proudest. A situation where you are dealing with life and death on a daily basis—while striving to protect yourself and your family from the virus—was, for me, dedication to practice at the highest level of medicine you could have ever imagined. I feel that all of humanity remains indebted to doctors around the world, and I am proud I was a part of it.