adminDr. Vasudevan’s workplace and community:
Dr. Vasudevan practices in both the city of Philadelphia and the Philly suburbs. We visited him at his Penn Medicine office located in a residential city neighborhood with tree-lined streets and plenty of restaurants. It’s a health care setting that’s also a firmly-entrenched part of the community.
He seems to enjoy taking advantage of all the city of Philadelphia has to offer and was quick to recommend a few lunch spots in the area. When PAMED met with him, the fried plantains served at a local cafe were a favorite guilty pleasure.
What inspired him to become a physician:
Initially, he chose his career path out of a desire to be helpful to others and for the intellectual challenges that medicine provides. However, he says that the reasons he stays in medicine ultimately matter more than the reasons that first motivated him to become a physician.
“More important is what you get out of medicine once you get into it,” he asserts. Dr. Vasudevan enjoys being able to interact with patients from all walks of life and noted that patients have a real desire to understand their options. He says that a physician’s role goes beyond giving the right medications and right treatment—it’s to help patients learn.
What he tells students about the profession:
It’s easy to get bogged down with day-to-day challenges, he says, and that problem is not unique to medicine. He would remind students what an opportunity they have to make an impact, what good fortune it is to have the privilege of patients entrusting them with their care.