My specialty is pediatric medicine in the hospital. I chose this because I have the opportunity to practice so many different aspects of pediatrics and hospital medicine. I work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), on the Pediatric Ward, and I am a transport physician, which means that I help to stabilize extremely sick children who need to be transported to Kaiser Oakland by ambulance. This is a challenging field and I like the challenge. Parents need so much more support when it is their child who is sick. I want to give them that support and care.

I’m very happy to be at Kaiser Oakland for a number of reasons. I like that the patient population is so diverse, that all the pediatrics sub-specialities are available for our patients, and that I’m able to teach residents in our residency program.

My affiliations and interests include:

Member of American Academy of Pediatrics
-  Mentor for residents in Oakland Residency Program
-  Clinical teacher for 2nd-year medical students from UCSF
-  I like to travel and cook. I specialize in Asian Cuisine. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya and raised in Texas. I speak English, basic Spanish, and Gujarati.

I have one helpful suggestion I’d like to share with patients and their parents. When you’re in the hospital, it can be chaotic. A bit crazy, really. There are many staff members who will interact with you. Some of them may be nurses, physical therapists, residents, pharmacists and many more. I want to strongly encourage you to voice your questions. If you’re not sure who a staff member is, please ask him or her. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible with the situation. Always ask if you have a question.