Asama Khan: From Cooking Under Pressure to Surgeon-in-Training
They say to be an effective surgeon one must be good under pressure. Asama Khan, a member of this year’s class of 2018, seems well-suited to his chosen discipline. (He’ll be heading to SUNY Upstate, in Syracuse, to begin his training.)
Asama Khan, M.D., newly minted doctor
The oldest child of an immigrant family, the 27-year-old takes life in stride and doesn’t let pressure get to him. “Everybody takes pressure differently,” he said. “I’m not someone who takes on too much stress. The way I see it, if things get rough, they get rough, and you deal with it.”
That’s not to say there weren’t pressures weighing on him as he made his way to Einstein. Growing up, there was the expectation that he would make his father’s decision to leave Pakistan for the United States worthwhile by pursuing a profession like medicine.
“When I was in high school and college, my parents would say, ‘If you don’t do something with your life, then what was the point of all this?’”
He added, “If I went into construction like my dad — and nothing against construction, it’s put food on my table — my parents wouldn’t have been too happy with that. I understand where they were coming from. It certainly wasn’t negative pressure.”
And then there was the stress of medical school. While he acknowledges spending countless hours studying, he noted, “Compared to my undergrad job as a short-order cook at a late-night diner, cramming for exams was a welcome pastime.”
A New Life and a Learning Curve
While he prefers his mother’s cooking to his own, Asama’s time as a short-order cook will serve him well in Syracuse.Asama was born in rural Pakistan and his parents moved to East Elmhurst, in Queens, when he was 4 years old. His father immigrated to New York City ahead of the rest of his family to further his own education. “That didn’t pan out, so he found work as a contractor working construction around the city,” explained Asama.
As the oldest of three, it would seem that Asama would have had the most pressure to succeed, but that wasn’t the case. “Being in a new country worked to my advantage because there was a cloud of mystery surrounding the American education system when I started school,” he said.
“I was the first in my family to go to high school in America and then the first to go to college. My parents didn’t realize all the ins and outs, like State Regents and SATs.” While this allowed Asama to float under his parents’ radar, he still had to make sure he figured everything out and did well on his own, which was a different kind of pressure altogether.
Eventually his parents caught on, though, leading to greater expectations for his younger brother and sister. “Now, they tell my siblings, ‘Your brother didn’t get a high enough SAT to get into Harvard. You better get a better SAT score,’” he said laughing.
Knowing Thyself
Part of Asama’s ability to take life in stride is that he’s a pragmatic thinker. He has always arrived at the big decisions in his life methodically.
After graduating from Manhattan’s Stuyvesant High School, Asama attended Case Western University, in Cleveland, thanks to a generous financial aid package. He recalled, “I thought about becoming a lawyer or working on Wall Street, but landed on science and medicine because I realized, with medicine I could be helping people and families in their most vulnerable moments, and could not find that satisfaction in anything else. Plus, medicine combines things I'm good at—science and being a people person.”
He added, “People often say ‘Do what you love.’ In my mind, though, you should do what you are good at. I recently picked up golf and go to the course every time I get a chance, but I’m not going to make the PGA tour no matter how much I love it. But my abilities to connect with people and make sense of the science could allow me to be a capable, compassionate doctor.”
His pragmatism also led to his choice for a part-time job during college. He explained, “A week before freshman orientation I had oral surgery that required my mouth to be wired shut for two-and-a-half months. Although I eventually learned to speak through my teeth, when it came to choosing a work-study job, my choices were limited.”
He chose being a short-order cook at the Silver Spartan Diner, the one late-night food joint on campus. He recalled, “I worked weekends, 10 a.m. to closing, which was around 4 or 5 in the morning. Half the students would come to the diner after partying all night, drunk and waiting in a long line for food. I would have to cook all that food yet could not eat anything myself. That was rough!”
The experience even provided Asama with helpful perspective during long days on the wards or in the library throughout his four years. “That job was the kind of thing you have to do once in your life,” he said. “It can’t be worse than that.”
An Introduction to Healthcare
It was another job that gave Asama his first experience with healthcare and contributed to his decision to pursue a medical career. “During junior year, I worked in a syringe exchange van that also did HIV testing on the streets of Cleveland,” he said. “It was interesting to see this different side of medicine, and it helped me to realize that I had the ability and desire to care for underserved people.”
Asama decided to attend Einstein “because it felt like home.” It also was close to home, in East Elmhurst, just fifteen minutes from campus and where a plate of his mom’s cooking was always waiting.
“I’m happy I came to Einstein,” he said. “We were provided a good balance of learning, service, and research, and the faculty is very supportive. Plus, you’re in the Bronx, so you see a bit of everything, from a diverse group of patients to a broad range of health issues being addressed.”
Heading to Residency
While Syracuse will be too far to make a quick trip for some of mama’s cooking, Asama is excited about the opportunities that await him in residency. He knew during his surgical rotation—just the second of his clerkship experiences—that surgery was the field of his dreams.
“It’s visual, there’s a tactile element where you work with your hands, and the operating room is exciting,” he said. “You also must react and perform in a proscribed time frame, and what you accomplish is easily seen.”
He added, “I realize there’s a long, steep road ahead of me, but I can’t wait to start learning.”
Posted on: Wednesday, May 30, 2018