Ethically Informed Clinical Heart Care
As a cardiac electrophysiology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, Danish Zaidi, MTS '16, provides ethically informed clinical heart care, emphasizing healing and patient rights.
Danish Zaidi, MTS '16
Danish Zaidi, MTS ’16, Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellow, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
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Describe the work you do today:
As a cardiac electrophysiology fellow, I am learning to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders through medical management, interventions like catheter-based ablation, and implantation of devices like pacemakers and defibrillators. I also serve on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Pennsylvania, where I work to promote ethical conduct of clinical investigators and protect the rights and welfare of participants in research.
How has your HDS degree experience influenced your career journey?
HDS introduced me to countless colleagues and mentors in medical ethics with whom I continue to collaborate. In the classroom or at the Dean's Community Tea, conversations with faculty and peers—many of whom later became friends—helped me learn how different people and communities make meaning of illness. Opportunities through HDS to research palliative and end-of-life care or work with chaplains at Boston Children's Hospital led me to further graduate study in bioethics at Harvard Medical School. These experiences cultivated a deep interest in the distinction between "treating" and "healing" patients, ultimately leading to a career in cardiology.
What career advice would you offer to current HDS students?
Learn from and befriend the students around you who look and think differently than you. In doing so, you may find opportunities for collaboration and growth that you did not expect.