Valerie Arkoosh, MD – Candidate for Congress (Part 1 of 3)

Valerie Arkoosh, MD, is an Anesthesiologist, past President of the National Physicians Alliance, and a candidate for Congress running in Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional district, located in Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County. We recently spoke to Dr. Arkoosh about her roles as a physician and health policy expert. Where were you born and raised? I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. Where did you go to college and what was your major? Northwestern University and I got a BA in Economics. Why did you choose Economics and not a more traditional pre-med major? I knew I wanted to go to medical school but I also came from a family where my dad owned his own business and I wanted to have a broader background. I knew once I got into medical school I would be doing science for the rest of my life so I thought this was a great opportunity to make sure I knew about some other things as well. Are there any other physicians in your family? No, I was the first one. Val Arkoosh, MD, center with her family on graduation from medical school How did you select the somewhat unglamorous field of Anesthesiology? I really like physiology and pharmacology. And, I really like to do things with my hands but I didn’t want to go as far as being a surgeon. So, it was just sort of the perfect blend for me of medical decision making, pharmacology, physiology, and being able to do some procedures. When did you decide to specialize in obstetric anesthesiology? For many years early in yo...
Source: Inside Surgery - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Interviews Anesthesiology candidate congress National Physicians Alliance Northwestern Source Type: blogs