HL20: Vineet Arora, MD—Studies in Sleep, Success in Handoffs

Arora took an unusual path out of residency, spending two years pursuing a master's degree in public policy at the University of Chicago Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy after receiving her medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis.  At the time, she felt it was important to step back from medical training and concentrate on public policy. “I thought I should pause and learn this stuff, how medicine and healthcare systems are integrated,” Arora says.

Arora views her roles as mentor and educator as natural extensions of her research interests. “I see myself continuing to study and teach about handoffs and seeing if we can achieve better outcomes,” she says. “The nice thing about studying handoffs is that this area needs to be improved and be taught—a lot of our work now is focusing on how to teach it.”

“The hospital is a place of healing,” she says. “We are just at the tip of the iceberg how to improve practices, evaluate fitness for work, and attend to the needs of patients.

Arora’s resident days are long gone. “My husband will tell you, I always try to get enough sleep.”