A super informative and interesting interview with Dr. Prathibha Varkey, the President of the Mayo Clinic Health System. Dr. Varkey leads over 17,000 employees serving 16 community hospitals and 50 multispecialty clinics across 39 communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Dr. Varkey is a Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.
Dr. Varkey earned her MBBS from the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India. She completed her internal medicine residency at the Yale New Haven Health Hospital of Saint Raphael and a preventive medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. A nationally recognized expert in Quality Improvement, Dr. Varkey is a past president of the American College of Medical Quality, has authored over 80 publications and is the editor of two books: Medical Quality Management and Mayo Clinic Board Review on Preventive Medicine and Public Health. From 2001 to 2013, Dr. Varkey held leadership positions at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, including Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine, Medical Director of Ask Mayo Clinic, Program Director of the Preventive Medicine Fellowship and Director of the Quality Improvement Curriculum.
Dr. Varkey's clinical practice focuses on preventive medicine.
Eli and Lucy really enjoyed this interview, learning more about Dr. Varkey’s background, hearing her perspectives, and receiving some great advice. It was an amazing interview that we are sure you will enjoy!
Show Notes & Links Of Interest
Introduction [00:10]
Dr. Prathibha Varkey
Interview Begins [03:20]
Question: Could she introduce herself? [03:41]
Question: What was your childhood like and where did you grow up? [03:55]
Question: What does it mean to be an internal medicine doctor? [05:11]
Nancy Drew [05:20]
Question: How does preventative medicine differ between countries? [05:50]
Question: What do each of your different titles represent? [08:15]
Harvard School of Public Health [09:27]
Yale University [10:29]
What is the hardest thing you have had to overcome and what are some ways you did that? [10:43]
What are some of the best methods that you have found for fighting self-doubt and dealing with failure? [11:50]
Clarified that she went to medical school when she was 17. [14:25]
What was it like attending medical school in India and then coming to the United States? [15:07]
Of all her accomplishments, is there one that she is most proud of? [16:27]
Who were her mentors over the course of her career? [16:54]
How does she recommend finding mentors? [18:32]
How does she see the field of medicine to be influenced by technology and AI in the future? [19:57]
Gianrico Farrugia, M.D. [20:40]
John D. Halamka, M.D., M.S. [21:50]
How does she see technology helping out for rural medicine? [24:45]
What advice would she give a young woman who is starting out her career? [28:20]
What advice for women wanting to get into the medical field but also wanting to have a family? [28:58]
How does she feel about the phrase “Empowered women empower women”? [31:14]
What one quality or trait does she feel that young women should embrace in pursuit of their dreams? [32:05]
Interview ends [33:42]
Wrap-up [33:49]
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