English Alum - Amar Parikh, Doctor, NYU Langone Medical Center

Degree and Year: 
BA 2009
Professional Title: 
Doctor
Employer: 
NYU Langone Medical Center

 

Professional Background: 

After graduation, I went to medical school at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, a prominent medical school in New York City known for both its commitment to East Harlem and to the humanities. After this, I matched at NYU Langone Medical Center for internal medicine residency training.
 

How has being an English graduate from Duke University helped shape your professional success?: 

One of the most important aspects of being a good doctor is the ability to connect with people from a variety of ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Because effective communication is so critical to establishing this connection and building trust between doctor and patient, I feel that being an English graduate has formed the foundation of my ability to connect with and care for my patients. As an English major at Duke, I was constantly pushed to write and express myself in a thoughtful, meaningful way, which has served me throughout my medical training. Patients are more than just their illness - they are humans with important stories to tell, and the skills I gained as an English major have helped me recognize, interpret, and share these stories. I am the current editor of the Humanities section of NYU's award-winning medical journal, Clinical Correlations, and have published reflective pieces of my own. It is my training as an English graduate from Duke University that has helped foster my interest in storytelling and reflective practice, which has ultimately helped make me a better physician.