Shirisha Avadhanula, MD
Episode 197

Narrator:

Welcome friends, to another episode of the Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today, and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, welcome friends, to another episode of Story & Experience Podcast. I am delighted to be able to connect with this particular guest, you will see why, you will see why, I promise she'll be amazing. And if you are brand new to the podcast, we have 100 questions. They cover stories and experiences that shape this person into the leader that they are today. I will ask the first 10, and then they're going to choose between 11 and 100 where they want to go. It becomes more vulnerable closer to 100, so we'll see how the conversation goes.

Let me begin with the first one. Could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So I'll tell you my name, and then you tell me if people mispronounce it. So, my name is Shirisha Avadhanula.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

And yes, people do mispronounce it. I've heard every iteration of my name possible, but I certainly appreciate people trying-

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... because names are important and names tell a story. So, I appreciate people trying.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Shirisha, is that right?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Shirisha, you got it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, I got to get that right at least. So, that's great, Shirisha, that's fantastic. Now, what do you do for work?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So here at Adventist, I have two roles. I am an endocrinologist and I am also the Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program here in Tulare, California.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fantastic. Now, so how long have you been doing that?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So, I have been in my program director role for about a year now. I have been an endocrinologist for about six or seven years. I trained at Georgetown, I did my fellowship training at Georgetown, and then I went to the National Institutes of Health for an additional year of academic training.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Right, as you do.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

As one does. And then I found myself in one of the largest academic centers on the planet, I found myself at Cleveland Clinic, being a staff endocrinologist there before I was recruited to Adventist. Really loved my job there and ultimately ended up here, which is of course, a much longer story.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We have to find out at some point, yes.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So like I said, I was a staff endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Working there, I was also Medical Director for the Inpatient Virtual Health program for the enterprise, and really enjoyed my work there. We really focused on building programs for patients who reside in rural areas, so just providing healthcare access for them on various different levels on different platforms, virtually, of course. And I, of course, life happened and I ended up meeting somebody that lives in the Central Valley that grew up in the Central Valley and works here. So, I was thinking initially we were going to pack up all of his stuff and he was going to move to Cleveland, he would take a job at the Cleveland Clinic.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fair enough.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

And we would live our life there.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I'm glad you worked it out.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

But we worked it out because I started visiting the Central Valley and I started really meeting people here and understanding what the need was. And very quickly, I made the decision to leave my job, my big prestigious job at the Cleveland Clinic, and move to the Central Valley to serve here.

My husband and I are the only two endocrinologists in Tulare County. So for a population of about 500,000 people, we are the only two endocrinologists here, so you can understand the need. But that said, I have trained and I have practiced and worked in some of the most important and prestigious institutions on the planet, but there is no better prestige than serving in a community like this.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Now, I have heard through the grapevine that we have a really great program going on right there that you're really enjoying leading it.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

We do, so we have-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, you're very passionate, yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... a phenomenal, phenomenal residency program. So for those of you, for those of us that are listening that may not know what residency is. So residency, someone does residency when they finish medical school and they train for a few years under the auspice of a more experienced physician in the specialty that they choose. So I lead a program for internal medicine residents, and internal medicine is focused on general medicine treating adult patients. We have a wonderfully built program here in Tulare County, our residents are very happy, and I am so proud to say that our residents are choosing to stay and serve in the community that has taught them. And that is the most-

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... satisfying thing of

Japhet De Oliveira:

That is great, and it's actually a really high rate, right? That's what I heard.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

It is, it is, so in-

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's above national records.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

It is, it's above national average. Typically, residents will stay in the area that they train in, that's fairly normal. But what we're seeing here in Tulare County is something really special. We're training our residents and more than 50% of our residents are choosing to stay here.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fantastic.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

They're choosing to build a life here, and that is really something. We take a lot of pride in training our residents because I want to train a resident that if I, god forbid, end up in a hospital or if my family member, God forbid, ends up in a hospital, I want to feel confident to say that, "It's okay, my resident is there, they will take care of you." So, we are training them to be doctors that we can be proud of, that we only wish could treat us.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I love that, I love that. Hey, that's fantastic. All right, doc, that was a brilliant introduction there. I've got to ask just a couple other kind of fun ones. Where were you born?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I was born in Ottawa, Canada. Yes, I am a Canadian.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, Canadian? Canadian.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Proud, proud Canadian who ended up in California.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Did you grow up in Canada?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I did, I did, I grew up in Ottawa. I did most of my schooling there and then I moved over to the US for residency.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. So now as a child growing up in Canada, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So, that's different, that's a different path. I grew up, I grew up singing, so I assumed I would become a professional singer. I trained since about the age of three.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

And my claim to fame as I call it, when I was 11 or so, I think I was 11, I won the Canadian version of Star Search.

Japhet De Oliveira:

[inaudible 00:07:11].

Shirisha Avadhanula:

And that was my winning song was Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler, I still remember. So, I grew up thinking that I would become-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Difficult song.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... a professional singer and life had other plans, and here I am.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, that's good. I presume you still sing.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I do, I do, for fun.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, good, good. Now, are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Oh, I'm an early riser, but I must tell you, I have a three-month-old son and I have a two-year-old son. So what used to be an early riser, I am now an all-day person, so I don't sleep anymore.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fair enough, that's fair enough. Now, in the morning when you get up, first drink of the day?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

First?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Coffee, tea, liquid green smoothie, what do you have?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I would say water with lemon, that's my first drink of the day.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah, yeah. All right. Hey, that's good, that's good. That's impressive. And then personality-wise, would people describe you as an extrovert or an introvert, and would you agree?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I think people would describe me as an extrovert and I would agree, because I do think I draw energy and motivation from the people around me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. This morning when you woke up, whatever hour that was, what was the first thought that went through your mind?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Oh, I have this podcast today.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, good, hey, all right, all right.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

It was actually the first thing that went through my mind.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, good.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Good. Thanks for making it easy, that's good. All right, all right. Leadership question, and I'm going to hand it over to you. Are you a backseat driver?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

No, I don't think so, because I love to populate my team with people who do things that I know I cannot. I love to diversify my team, bring people in that have different talents, different cultural backgrounds that are just better than me at things that I cannot do. So I love to give people the reins and have them drive and kind of just oversee them and I'm there to support them when they need me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Beautiful, beautiful. All right, Shirisha, where do you want to go? What number? Yeah, oh.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Can I just pick any number I want?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Any number, yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

All right. Let's pick nine, I like the number nine.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, actually, sorry, after 11.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

After 11.

Japhet De Oliveira:

[inaudible 00:09:16] 10, I did the first 10.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I do know how to do math. Okay, so-

Japhet De Oliveira:

My bad.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I do know arithmetic.

Japhet De Oliveira:

[inaudible 00:09:22], but yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go with 19.

Japhet De Oliveira:

19, all right. What's your exercise routine?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Oh, that's a good question. So as I mentioned, I just had a baby. So my exercise routine now is, I go to the gym every day and I have a trainer who is a professional boxer, she is a professional fighter. She teaches me how to box, and we do that three times a week.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, that's great, that's great. So, you're a boxer, great. All right, number 19, then where next, up or down?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go up.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, where do you want to go?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

To 25.

Japhet De Oliveira:

25, all right. Oh, share the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Oh, I was visiting, I think it was, if I'm not mistaken, I think it was St. Lucia. I was visiting St. Lucia, I was on holiday there with a few friends. And in the middle of the ocean, I saw a rain cloud. It was just a cloud, so many miles from where we were and it was just raining in that one little spot and I think it was unanimously the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, that can be magical. That can be magical.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

It was, it was.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's great. All right, that was 25. Where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 33.

Japhet De Oliveira:

33. Oh, tell us about the best gift you've ever given someone else.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Nobody's ever asked me that before. I would say the best gift I have ever given my family is my children. I think that is probably the best gift I have ever given them. I never thought in my life I would experience the joy that my parents feel holding their grandchildren.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, hey, that's beautiful. That's really nice, I like that, brilliant. All right, where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

30... What did we do, 39?

Japhet De Oliveira:

33.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

33. Let's do 39.

Japhet De Oliveira:

39, all right. If you didn't need to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? You're like, I actually want to sleep.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Well, I do. I do love to sleep, but now that I don't sleep anymore, I actually exercise more and I meal prep more. So, I think probably if I was to go back to sleeping, which I will I think one day, I probably will continue, I'll probably continue with meal prepping. I think it's really changed my life.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Do you do it for the whole week in one go?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I do it for the whole week, I do it for both my husband and I. I joke with my residents because I think I personally keep DoorDash in business. I used to order DoorDash I think at least three times a day and really just falling out of that pattern has changed me significantly. Nothing against DoorDash, don't come after me, please. But I will say that meal prepping has been much healthier for us and much more favorable for my bank account, I must say.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's great. Good, good. All right, where next now?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Now let's go to 41.

Japhet De Oliveira:

41. What are you excited about in life right now?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I am very excited about my family. I just had my second son and I was a little older getting pregnant and just the fact that my children are healthy, touchwood and that I had a healthy pregnancy, I am just so incredibly grateful. Every day when I come home, the thing that I am most excited about in my day is seeing both of my kids home with my husband, my 2-year-old just chaotically running around, my newborn, just crying his eyes out. And that chaos is so loud, but it's one of the happiest, it's the happiest part of my day.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

It's what I look forward to most, that chaos is what I look forward to most.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, and the calmness afterwards. But I hear you.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Yes, if we're lucky, if we're lucky.

Japhet De Oliveira:

If we're lucky, if we're lucky. All right, good. All right, where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 47.

Japhet De Oliveira:

47, all right. You just met someone. What do you want them to know about you and why?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

If somebody meets me, I want them to know about me that I know how to box so they shouldn't mess with me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, I gathered that earlier when you said you [inaudible 00:13:43] well okay, yeah, they should know that. Great, all right. Would you box them to show that you know that or you just tell them?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

No, I would just tell them.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You just tell them.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I'm not very good, so I think just telling them is plenty.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I knocked them out by accident. All right, great. All right, where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 49.

Japhet De Oliveira:

49, all right. What are you currently learning about and why?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So I think as physicians we're always learning and I really live my life on the philosophy that one should constantly be educating themselves about something. Right now, in medicine, I'm learning more about menopause, about menopausal treatments, and about what women go through and what options they have. The field of menopause is really evolving, it's changing. So, I would say I'm keeping my knowledge up to date on that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great, that's great. Yeah, you guys are constantly reading journals. Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. Hey, that's fantastic. All right, so where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 51.

Japhet De Oliveira:

51, all right. Tell us about something you know do differently than most people.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I think one of the things in my leadership role that I've noticed that I've done that I haven't really seen done much, let me say that, I like to leverage the unique talents of people around me. So if I have a need, instead of fitting a square peg into a round hole, if you will-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... I like to leverage what talents people currently have and really utilize them to the best, for the best of our patients and for the best of our program. So, I think that's something that I probably do differently than other people, than other leaders really that I've seen. And we've really found, I'm proud to say, that we've really found tremendous success in doing that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great. I mean, to be valued is good. To see value in others is fantastic. Yeah, I love it. Good, all right. Where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

57.

Japhet De Oliveira:

57. Okay, if you had to endorse a brand, what would it be and why?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Okay, it's not DoorDash.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, wow, they served you well.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

They did, they did. They served me well. If I were to endorse a brand, I think I would endorse Ms. Rachel, the YouTuber.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ms. Rachel?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Do you know Ms. Rachel?

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, I don't.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Ms. Rachel is the YouTuber that children watch and she does educational videos, and her content is very good. And the reason I would endorse her is not only because my son is obsessed with her and he likes watching Ms. Rachel, but the compassion that she has behind the brand is truly phenomenal and really something that I look up to and is very inspirational. Her mission is very inspirational.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's really good. I will look it up myself. That's great, thank you. Okay, where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 63.

Japhet De Oliveira:

63, all right. Oh, tell us about a time when you felt lost, yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I think to my most recent memory, I think the time where I felt most lost was probably after the birth of my first son. I was on maternity leave and not working, and my parents who came to help with the baby had just left. And I was alone with a baby and my husband was going to work, and for the first time I was at home. And I know that this should have been, I really don't like it when people say should have been, should have been, but I hear this.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

It really should have been a time that was very special and that was supposed to be reserved for bonding. But I truly felt lost in a space where I almost felt like I had no identity. I wasn't working for the first time in my entire life, I wasn't earning anything for the first time in my entire life, and I really had to accept and figure out who I was as a mother and a doctor. We often compartmentalize people. We say that, "She's a mom," or "She's a teacher," or, "She's a doctor," and we compartmentalize people. But I really learnt then, we have to get used to saying, "I am this and I am this, and I am good at it."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, it's true.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So, I think when I realized that I certainly felt less lost. And when I accepted my new identity and when I really realized I can grow into this role and I can grow into who I am, is when I came out of it. But I do remember to my recent memory, being a first time mom is certainly hard enough, but I think it's especially hard for people who have worked all their lives and then suddenly are at home, it's certainly an adjustment. But ultimately, it was a learning process and I'm grateful to have gone through it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So, how did you come to that epiphany? Did somebody help you through that? Did you work it out yourself? Yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I did, people did help me. I'm so proud to say I have a band of very strong Indian women that support me. I always say, who I am was built on the shoulders of very strong Indian women, my grandmothers, my mom. And I am very lucky to have my mom, my sister-in-law, my best friends that really supported me through that process and talked me through it because they had gone through it before me. And I realized also the importance of just voicing those feelings instead of just keeping to yourself and not telling anybody, because I think the more you talk to people, the more you'll realize you're really not alone, because a lot of people go through it as well.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Exactly.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So I think just voicing those feelings was also a learning experience for me, because it's not something that I'm really used to. I'm typically a pretty private person, but I think even just voicing those things out loud was therapeutic, was helpful. And hearing what they had to say, those more experienced, wonderful, beautiful women in my life had to say, it just helped me so much.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great, that's great. Lovely, thank you for sharing that because I think it's encouraging to others as well, who are going through a very similar-

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I hope so.

Japhet De Oliveira:

... phase in their life and trying to work it out, how to be both because it is and. Yeah, it's great, I like that. Good, all right. Where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 81.

Japhet De Oliveira:

81.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Oh, I know you said we're getting more personal.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, it's so good. What is something you've given your absolute best effort towards, and why was it important?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I think there's quite a few things. I like to say that whatever it is that I do, I try my best to put 100% of myself into it, because I don't like to make commitments that I know I cannot fulfill. And so, I really try sincerely to put my best effort into it. Even just, really recent example, just taking this job as the Program Director, I would say it's such an interesting way that this kind of came about. I was having a conversation with one of the leaders with Adventist and I was having a conversation about something completely different and I voiced my interest in teaching residents and then we got to talking and he mentioned, "Oh, well, we're looking for a program director and we're really looking for somebody to operationalize and build this program. Is this something you'd be interested in?" And I said, "Well, not only something I would be interested in, my specialty is building programs in rural areas." So certainly, and that was really just a fortuitous moment for me-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... because I didn't expect it, and I didn't expect to be offered a program director job, and so I put every effort even before I walked in the door. We have a handbook, it's called the ACGME Handbook, that's kind of like, it's like our bible, that's what we go by. I took the time to read every single word in that handbook. I talked to everybody, every program director I knew across the country-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, okay.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... even before I stepped foot into that job, to really educate myself into being the best person that I could be for these residents, because we're training future doctors. This is a privilege, this is a very important thing. We are training people who are going to go out into the world and treat our kids, treat our parents, treat us, and that is a tremendous responsibility. So, I think that was probably the most recent time that I remember really just putting in all of the effort forth. And I would say so far, so good. I can't say, nothing is perfect, but I would say things are moving along very positively.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic, love that. All right, we are doing really well. Where next?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Where did we leave off at? Was it 80?

Japhet De Oliveira:

81.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

81, okay. Let's go to 83.

Japhet De Oliveira:

83, all right. Think about your favorite, this is going to be great for you, your favorite childhood memory. What was it?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So I have a favorite childhood memory, but I'll tell you about my most vivid childhood memory.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, in a Canadian accent. No, no, it's okay.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I'm surprised you haven't heard it-

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, no.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... break through yet. So, I would say one of my most vivid memories that truly changed me and part of it shaped me. I was in a singing competition, I think I was five, I was five or six. And I still remember I sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and I came in second place. And I was with my family and my oldest brother, I have two older brothers, my oldest brother said to me, "Why are you happy? You got second place." And I said, "Yeah, I got second place. I got a medal." And he said, "Second place is the first loser." And that, I'll tell you, that stuck with me-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, ouch, yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

... for the rest of my life because I think it gave me almost like a competitive edge, and it really provided me with the discipline that I needed to not only pursue my training in music because it really is, it's a training. Music is an education, it's an art, it's a training. It gave me the discipline to truly pursue it, but it also gave me the discipline to study medicine. So I still, to this day, I tell my brother that I credit my brother for giving me those motivational words.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, okay. That would've been an interesting TikTok video.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

So maybe my most vivid memory, I'll say.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, all right. All right, where next now?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 85.

Japhet De Oliveira:

85, all right. Describe a role model you aspire to be like.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Oh, that's a good question. I have a lot of really wonderful role models in my life. I would say I have a wonderful role model in my mom. My mom made the decision to stay at home and take care of us. My mom studied medicine and she was one of the only women at that time in that part of India that studied medicine and completed her degree. And just the amount of patience and compassion and strength that my mom shows every day, and the amount of grace that she shows every day, that is truly something that I aspire to be. I mean, if I had half the amount of grace that my mom has, I would consider myself a successful person.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, does she know this?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I think so. I mean, I tell her, I think so. I tell her every now and then.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, all right. [inaudible 00:26:17].

Shirisha Avadhanula:

But if not, ill center this.

Japhet De Oliveira:

[inaudible 00:26:19] but yeah. Hey, that's great. Look, amazingly we only have time for two more, so, where would you like to go the last two numbers? Yeah.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Let's go to 90.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, 90 it is. Tell us about how you overcame an seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

In my life I've been very fortunate, touch wood, with health. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness when I was about 19, I was 19 or 20 years old. And this illness required me to take medicines that really changed the way that I looked. It changed my appearance. And ultimately it worked and things are okay now, but I would say keeping a positive attitude and keeping positive people around me during that time really helped.

But I think what helped me overcome it the most was my faith. Just turning to God in those times for me was so powerful. And turning to prayer was so powerful for me at that time to help me overcome it. To know that there is a bigger purpose than myself. To know that there is some reason for all of this was very powerful for me to understand. And to this day, I still find comfort in prayer, but I make a point not just to go to God in times of sadness, but also in times of gratitude. So, I think that probably is the most vivid thing that happened in my life that I overcame and I overcame it really with the power of the love that was around me, but also the power of prayer.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's a really beautiful, beautiful, and brilliant way to end this particular conversation. Yeah, thank you for sharing that. That's really good. I love that, I love that.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I have just one more number from you.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

99.

Japhet De Oliveira:

99, all right. All right. What's the most difficult truth you've ever told?

Shirisha Avadhanula:

I think as physicians we often tell difficult truths.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

We tell difficult truths every day. That's unfortunately one of the most challenging parts of being a physician is having to deliver those messages.

And I can tell you, even just yesterday in my clinic, I remember I saw a patient and she was recently diagnosed with diabetes and she needed to lose weight. And she had all of these other ailments surrounding her metabolic syndrome and she asked me, "Am I really sick?" And the truth of it was, yes, she is very sick. And she was already upset, she was already in tears, and her daughter was there and she was also quite shaken by everything that we were talking about. But I think of course the challenge in delivering truths is that it's difficult for the patient to hear, it's difficult to deliver these kinds of things to patients, but ultimately, we are there to support and we are there for them to lean on us.

So, after our conversation and after we explained to her that, "Yes, this is ultimately, unfortunately where you will go if you are not treated, but we have a treatment plan for you and we have something for you. We will take care of you." I think that is what gave her courage. I think it's what gave her a tremendous amount of confidence to really be able to walk out of that office after hearing that difficult truth to say, "I can pick up the pieces and I can be okay because I know I have a care team at Adventist Health that will take care of me."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Now, that is fitting, that is fitting. Hey, that was fantastic. Doctor, brilliant, thank you for sharing so much. Thank you for your honesty. I want to encourage people to do the same thing. Sit down with a friend, ask them good questions, and we learn and we are transformed by each other. It's just great. And I think, I mean, boy, there's so much that you shared that's actually just good for people, but thank you in particular for training a next generation of doctors that will take care of us. That's really good. That's really, and making them excellent, making them excellent. So that's great. Thank you. God bless.

Shirisha Avadhanula:

Thank you so much for having me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, we'll connect again soon.

Narrator:

Thank you for joining us for the Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at Adventisthealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health for the Office of Culture.