My name is Amol Utrankar.

I’m a resident physician in the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. That means my life is about 70% clinical practice, 20% studying, and 5% cooking, cleaning, and other activities of basic functionality.

Which leaves the other 5%, the passions and interests I think I still have, like:

• Health systems: How do organizational behavior, workflows, and culture shape the way we deliver care and the outcomes we achieve? More importantly, how can we do better?
• Clinical informatics: How do we build the tools and applications to help doctors and patients understand an ever-expanding volume of health data and apply it to make health care decisions together?
• Medical education: What are the needs of a changing, expanding, learning healthcare system, and what are the skills required to lead that evolution? How can we design technologies that better support learners at all stages of their careers?

Beyond my clinical duties, I’m an advisor to the First Aid/Scholar-Rx education technology platform; a leader on the Governing Council of the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ (ASA) Medical Student Component; and a researcher in consumer health informatics, shaping mobile applications for chronic disease management. I’m constantly on the lookout for new collaborations or projects related to these interests, so feel free to reach out!

Free time isn’t a concept I’m too familiar with, but on those rare instances when I find it, I enjoy exploring new cuisines, getting lost in my thoughts on wooded trails, and trying out the most eclectic of craft beers.

I’m a native of Edison, NJ, and a proud alumnus of Rice University (BA, 2014) and Vanderbilt University (MD, 2018). Though I’ll miss my 8-year ‘Southern stint’ dearly, I’m thrilled to return home and start my career as a newly-minted physician.

Thank you, reader, for sharing this journey with me.