Where did you attend medical school and post grad training?
I did medical school and postgraduate training at the Christian Medical College in India, then served on the faculty for 3 years, pursued infectious disease training, additionally worked at the Communicable Disease Center in Singapore and with the WHO in Uganda and Kenya on HIV, before making a mid-career decision to relocate to the US and restart training here.
George M. Abraham, MD, MPH, MACP, FIDSA, FRCP
Professor of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Emeritus President, 管家婆心水论坛
What inspired you to choose internal medicine?
I was poor at math in school and so engineering or other math-related specialties didn鈥檛 appeal to me. I loved biology and the fascination of the intricacies and complexities of the human body made going into medicine a natural career choice. After medical school, I almost went into Ob/Gyn but the intellectual challenge of internal medicine, where it felt like trying to guess what was in a sealed envelope just by looking at clues on the outside, was a thrill that I could not shy away from, leading me to go down the pathway of IM.
Describe your internal medicine journey and how it has shaped your career.
Having gone into a career in internal medicine and infectious disease, I have loved the intellectual challenge, the need to know not only more detailed aspects of a specialty but also more broadly about the entire specialty of medicine, which is so vast, but yet, necessary to chart the course of evaluation and management in a patient has been daunting but invigorating.
Additionally, I have learnt to build longitudinal relationships with my patients, have learnt the art of celebrating happy life events with them, but also grieving with them in their losses, supporting them through health challenges, etc.
Lastly, I have learnt that I am often their most trusted source they turn to, whether it is healthcare decision making, career, relationship, financial and other challenges of life.
How has internal medicine training given you the skills, insight, and/or experience needed to become a leader?
As I described prior, the breadth and depth of internal medicine, both in terms of the knowledge challenges, but also in terms of taking charge of decision-making, interacting with other members of the healthcare team, educating patients, families and trainees, have all helped shape my vision and execution of my varied roles in leadership. The ability to engage people who may not always agree with you, taking charge in complex situations, intellectual humility and decisiveness in responses to situations have all been important virtues that I have learnt and continue to learn from as part of my leadership experience.
What advice would you share with medical students or trainees that are interested in a leadership role?
A good leader needs to possess a wide variety of attributes in leadership, some of which could be Listening, Empathy, Attitude, Dreaming big, Effectiveness, Resilience, Sense of Purpose, Integrity and Packing someone鈥檚 parachute.
What are your interests and hobbies outside of medicine and how do you balance your work and personal life? Anything you have learned along the way to pass on?
Outside of professional life, I enjoy music, am a church organist, I am a foodie and love to try new food or cuisines, I love to travel. I spend at least 14 hours a day at work and about 10 hours every weekend (when not traveling) which is how I juggle all the different tasks and responsibilities I shoulder, but the interests and hobbies outside of work help balance the stresses and long hours at work, which makes all of it worth it. I am always conscious about incorporating some meditation and quiet time in the mornings, as also a fitness routine to offset the long work hours.