As a night hospitalist, or nocturnist, at one of the pre-eminent cancer hospitals in the world, I specialize in the care of cancer patients who are acutely ill and require admission to the hospital. Many of the conditions I treat are complications of patients’ cancers or treatments, including tumor lysis syndrome, spinal cord compression, neutropenic fever, and hypercalcemia of malignancy that necessitate urgent evaluation and management. People with cancer often have multiple medical problems and present to the hospital with non-oncologic reasons for admission. I specialize in the comprehensive medical care of people with cancer, including heart attacks, heart failure, COPD, venous thromboembolism, GI bleeding, and end-stage renal disease. The ability to care for a breadth of conditions afflicting multiple organ systems and the interactions between these systems are what draw me to practice hospital medicine. Furthermore, I’m drawn to the institutional commitment to patient-centered care through upholding patient preferences and compassionate communication that is foundational to the mission of MSK.
My research focuses on preparing trainees for commonly encountered hospital emergencies occurring overnight through simulation and feedback. To that end, I supervise transitional year interns undergoing internal medicine training and advance practice providers, paying particular attention to developing diagnostic approaches and management frameworks for common overnight events that occur in the hospital. Prompt recognition of a deteriorating patient can literally be the difference between life and death — a charge I take to heart every night I come to work.
A hospitalist is a doctor with special training in caring for people in the hospital.
