Medical Education and Leadership, Part 5: Foreign Medical Graduates in Leadership with Atul C. Mehta, MD

Vital Capacity

In this episode, Atul C. Mehta, MB, BS, discusses his path to become a physician, his early struggles once he arrived in the United States and some of the changes he’s witnessed in how bronchoscopies are performed.

• Intro :00
• About Mehta :23
• The interview 1:25
• In your own words … how did you get into medicine? 2:14
• Can you share a little bit about your initial struggle coming to the United States? 7:10
• Is your altruistic nature as a physician and mentor a result of coming from a humble background when you started your medical career? 13:14
• You still work 15, 16 hours a day for almost 50 years … How do you have the energy to do that? 17:10
• What have you seen that has changed from when you saw your first flexible bronchoscopy to now? 20:07
• How do you find time for family with all you do and how do you do justice with that? 24:53
• How do you prevent burnout in this demanding career? 28:21
• You have worked in different countries … how did those things happen? 33:15
• How old were your kids during your time working in India and Abu Dhabi? 37:01
• I know you have family in Bollywood … are you a big fan of Bollywood? 39:42
• Do you have a moment to share any failures that you felt were really important to learn from? 40:30
• Do you have very fond memories from your childhood, or any med school quotes that you think of? 43:37
• Is there anything else you’d like to share? 45:40
• Thanks for listening! 45:49

Atul C. Mehta, MB, BS, is professor of medicine, Lerner College of Medicine; endowed chair in lung transplantation, Cleveland Clinic and founder and president of the American Association of Bronchoscopy.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Bhardwaj at [e-mail]. Follow us on Twitter @HealioPulm @abhi_bhardwaj99.

Disclosures: Bhardwaj and Mehta report no relevant financial disclosures.