Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicki Rao.
Hi Nicki, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in San Diego and knew I always wanted to go into medicine as I had many role models in healthcare. I ended up going to school all the way in England at Kings College London, and realized my passion for whole person centered care and communication. I came to do my residency in the United states in family medicine and realized that people were not having the same in-depth conversations with patients that I was about their goals, priorities, and wishes for end-of-life. One of my mentors noticed that I enjoyed talking with people and encouraged me to pursue a fellowship in palliative care. Once I further looked into this I realized this was my kind of field. I later pursued fellowship at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles and then returned back to Pennsylvania to build a palliative care program to serve a rural community in Central Pennsylvania. 6 years, 2 kids, and one pandemic later, I decided to return back to San Diego closer to my family and him now working with the Sharp system to improve palliative care services around here. It is truly a gift to do this type of work and I also realized that many people do not know what we do and often confuse with hospice care. In January I started my social media platforms to explain most of patient’s and how they are healthcare workers the importance of palliative care and how we are different than hospice care.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey to where I am now has had many ups and downs, but now looking back I can see that every obstacle was there to really teach me something. Living across the world from family definitely brought me a certain strength and independence and resilience and set me up for success when I did my residency across the country for my family. My residency was also a new program and that was difficult at times to be focusing on learning medicine as a doctor while also trying to improve the program which I was in. However now knowing that that program is still there 10 years later it is rewarding to know that a lot of the changes I made were for the better of people who came after me. Building my palliative care program of course being a palliative care physician during the pandemic was very difficult, and I am grateful that things are little bit better now. And of course up uprooting my whole life to move back to San Diego was very difficult but was absolutely worth it to be closer to my extended family here, and for the weather of course 🙂
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a palliative care physician which means that I support patients with serious illness, many of them are close to end-of-life and they may be facing extra challenges such as pain or other symptoms. For example, someone may be in the hospital suffering with pain and wanting to be at home, but they are being given extra treatments instead. I will sit and talk with her patients about their goals and make sure that their family understands what the patient may want and how that may be different than what the medical team is suggesting. We can sometimes iron out plans to get patient’s home, or get them to a hospice home where they can live other time peacefully and with dignity. I am known for my ability to connect with people and advocate for them. I am most proud of all the times I have spoken up for my patients to other doctors when they did not feel heard, and got their wishes to come true. I have had many patients have dreams of making it to a certain event, whether it be the wedding of their family member or another life circumstance that is upcoming, and being able to support them so they can attend this event in a dignified manner brings me a lot of professional satisfaction.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I think my emotional intelligence and desire to connect with people has been very important to my success. Growing up I was always seen as someone more emotional = sometimes that was not portrayed as a strength, but it has actually been a key to my success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nickirao.com
- Instagram: @palliativecaredoc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/palliativecaredoc
- LinkedIn: Nicki Rao MD
