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Atul Atmaram Gawande (born November 5, 1965) is an American surgeon, writer, and
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
researcher. He practices
general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
and endocrine surgery at
Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...
in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Surgery at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...
. In public health, he is executive director of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and chairman of Lifebox, a nonprofit that works on reducing deaths in surgery globally. On June 20, 2018, Gawande was named the CEO of healthcare venture Haven, owned by
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,
Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiu ...
, and
JP Morgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the w ...
and stepped down as CEO in May 2020, remaining as executive chairman while the organization sought a new CEO. He has written extensively on medicine and public health for ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' and ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', and is the author of the books '' Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science''; ''Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance''; ''
The Checklist Manifesto ''The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right '' is a 2009 non-fiction book by Atul Gawande. It was released on December 22, 2009, through Metropolitan Books and focuses on the use of checklist A checklist is a type of job aid used in rep ...
''; and '' Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End''. On November 9, 2020, he was named a member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board. On December 17, 2021, he was confirmed as the Assistant Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...
, and he was sworn in on January 4, 2022.


Early years and education

Gawande was born on November 5, 1965, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York, to Marathi
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n immigrants to the United States, both doctors. His family soon moved to
Athens, Ohio Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio Universi ...
, where he and his sister grew up, and he graduated from Athens High School in 1983. Gawande earned a bachelor's degree in biology and political science from
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
in 1987. As a
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
, he earned an M.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
in 1989. He graduated with a
Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...
from
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...
in 1995, and earned a
Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health or Master of Philosophy in Public Health (M.P.H.), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.), International Masters for Healt ...
from the
Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard- MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's firs ...
in 1999. He completed his general surgical residency training, again at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, at the
Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...
, in 2003.


Political advocacy

As an undergraduate, Gawande was a volunteer for
Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...
's campaign for the presidency of the United States. After graduating, he joined
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic ...
's 1988 presidential campaign. He worked as a health-care researcher for Representative
Jim Cooper James Hayes Shofner Cooper (born June 19, 1954) is an American lawyer, businessman, professor, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for (based in Nashville and containing parts of Davidson, Cheatham, and Dickson Counties) fro ...
( D- TN), who was author of a "managed competition" health care proposal for the Conservative Democratic Forum. Gawande entered medical school in 1990 – leaving after two years to become
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
's healthcare lieutenant during the 1992 campaign.


Public service

Gawande later became a senior advisor in the
Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
after Clinton's first inauguration. He directed one of the three committees of the Clinton administration's Task Force on National Health Care Reform, supervising 75 people and defined the benefits packages for Americans and subsidies and requirements for employers. But the effort was attacked in the press, and Gawande later described this time in his life as frustrating, saying that "what I'm good at is not the same as what people who are good at leading agencies or running for office are really good at." Gawande led the "Safe surgery saves lives checklist" initiative of the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
, which saw around 200 medical societies and health ministries collaborating to produce a checklist, which was published in 2008, to be used in
operating theater An operating theater (also known as an operating room (OR), operating suite, or operation suite) is a facility within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out in an aseptic environment. Historically, the term "operating theater" refe ...
s. ''
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles ...
'' welcomed the checklist as "a tangible instrument to promote safety", adding "But the checklist is not an end in itself. Its real value lies in encouraging communication among teams and stimulating further reform to bring a culture of safety to the very centre of patients' care."


Journalism

Soon after he began his
residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...
, his friend Jacob Weisberg, editor of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'', asked him to contribute to the online magazine. Several articles by Gawande were published in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', and he was made a staff writer for that publication in 1998. In January 1998, Gawande published an article in ''Slate'' "Partial truths in the partial-birth-abortion debate: Every abortion is gross, but the technique is not the issue" discussing how abortion policy should "hinge on the question of when the fetus first becomes a perceiving being" and "not on techniques at all or even on when the fetus can survive outside the womb". A June 2009 ''New Yorker'' essay by Gawande compared the health care of two towns in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
to show why health care was more expensive in one town compared to the other. Using the town of McAllen, Texas, as an example, it argued that a corporate, profit-maximizing culture (which can provide substantial amounts of unnecessary care) was an important factor in driving up costs, unlike a culture of low-cost high-quality care as provided by the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staf ...
and other efficient health systems. The article "made waves" by highlighting the issue, according to Bryant Furlow in ''
Lancet Oncology ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...
''. It was cited by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
during Obama's attempt to get health care reform legislation passed by the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
. According to Senator
Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States Hou ...
, the article "affected bama'sthinking dramatically", and was shown to a group of senators by Obama, who effectively said, "This is what we've got to fix." After reading the ''New Yorker'' article,
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
's long-time business partner
Charlie Munger Charles Thomas Munger (born January 1, 1924) is an American billionaire investor, businessman, and former real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett; Buffett has described Mung ...
mailed a check to Gawande in the amount of $20,000 as a thank-you to Dr. Gawande for providing something so socially useful. Gawande returned the check and was subsequently sent a new check for $40,000. Gawande donated the $40,000 to the Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Surgery and Public Health, where he had been a resident. In 2012, he gave the TED talk "How Do We Heal Medicine?" which has been viewed more than two million times.


Books

Gawande published his first book, '' Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science'', containing revised versions of 14 of his articles for ''Slate'' and ''The New Yorker'', in 2002. It was a
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
finalist. His second book, ''Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance'', was released in April 2007. It discusses three virtues that Gawande considers to be most important for success in medicine: diligence, doing right, and ingenuity. Gawande offers examples in the book of people who have embodied these virtues. The book strives to present multiple sides of contentious medical issues, such as malpractice law in the US, physicians' role in
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
, and treatment variation between hospitals. Gawande released his third book, '' The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right'', in 2009. It discusses the importance of organization and preplanning (such as thorough
checklist A checklist is a type of job aid used in repetitive tasks to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task. A basic example is the " to d ...
s) in both medicine and the larger world. ''
The Checklist Manifesto ''The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right '' is a 2009 non-fiction book by Atul Gawande. It was released on December 22, 2009, through Metropolitan Books and focuses on the use of checklist A checklist is a type of job aid used in rep ...
'' reached the ''New York Times'' hardcover nonfiction bestseller list in 2010. '' Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End'' was released in October 2014 and became a #1
New York Times bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
. It discusses end of life choices about
assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is si ...
and the effect of medical procedures on terminally ill people. The book was the basis of a documentary for the PBS television series "Frontline", which was first broadcast on February 10, 2015.


Later career

Gawande chairs Lifebox, a non-profit founded in 2011 which provides training and equipment for safer surgery. In June 2018, he was named the CEO for the new, Boston-based company, Haven Healthcare, formed by billionaire investor
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
, Amazon's
Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former presi ...
, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. He stepped down from the position in May 2020, remaining as executive chairman while the organization sought a new CEO. In January 2021, Haven announced that it was to cease operations. According to
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk s ...
, sources associated with the company claimed that "while the firm came up with ideas, each of the three founding companies executed their own projects separately with their own employees, obviating the need for the joint venture to begin with."


Biden administration

On November 9, 2020, he was named a member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board.


USAID nomination

On July 13, 2021, President Biden nominated Gawande for the post of Assistant Administrator of U.S. AID for the Bureau of Global Health. Hearings were held on Gawande's nomination in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 29, 2021. Florida Senator
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the ...
delayed Gawande's committee vote in October 2021, claiming, "Atul Gawande’s defense of infanticide is disqualifying... President Biden should withdraw Gawande's nomination and replace him with someone who is committed to upholding the agency's mission of saving lives." Senator Rubio's statement stems from a 1998 article Gawande wrote defending particular methods of late-term abortion and post-delivery
infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of resou ...
. On November 3, 2021, the committee favorably reported Gawande's nomination to the Senate floor. The entire Senate confirmed Gawande on December 17, 2021 by a vote of 48-31.


Awards and honors

In 2004, Gawande was selected as one of the "20 Most Influential South Asians" by ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''. In 2006, he was named a MacArthur Fellow for his work investigating and articulating modern surgical practices and
medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...
. In 2007, he became director of the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
's effort to reduce surgical deaths, and in 2009 he was elected a
Hastings Center The Hastings Center is an independent, nonpartisan bioethics research institute and think tank based in Garrison, New York. It was instrumental in establishing the field of bioethics and is among the most prestigious bioethics and health policy i ...
Fellow. In the 2010
Time 100 ''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, p ...
, he was included, in fifth place in the "Thinkers" category. The same year, he was he was included by ''
Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...
'' magazine on its list of top global thinkers. He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 2012. In 2014, he presented the BBC's annual radio
Reith Lectures The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic cont ...
, delivering a series of four talks titled ''The Future of Medicine''. These were delivered in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, London, Edinburgh and
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
.Dr Atul Gawande – 2014 Reith Lectures.
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
Also that year, he won the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science. In November 2016, he was one of three recipients of the
Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...
's Award in the Humanities for his contributions to improving civic life in Massachusetts. In May 2022 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Sciences by the University of Pennsylvania at their annual commencement ceremony.


Bibliography


Books

* ''Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science''. (Picador, 2002) * ''Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance''. (Picador, 2008) * ''The Checklist Manifesto''. (Metropolitan Books, 2009) * ''Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End''. (Metropolitan Books, 2014)


Essays and reporting

* * *


References


External links

Interviews and Talks *''
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co- ...
'' �
interviews 2007–2010
* ''
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'' �
guest on February 3, 2010Atul Gawande on Real Healthcare Reform and His New Book, ''The Checklist Manifesto''
– video report by ''
Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'' * * '
30 Minute interview on his book, Complications
With Hugh LaFollette, On "Ideas and Issues" WET-FM. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gawande, Atul 1965 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford American surgeons American male non-fiction writers American male writers of Indian descent American medical writers American people of Marathi descent American Rhodes Scholars Biden administration personnel Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard Medical School faculty Harvard School of Public Health alumni Harvard School of Public Health faculty Hastings Center Fellows Living people MacArthur Fellows New America (organization) People from Athens, Ohio People from Brooklyn People of the United States Agency for International Development Stanford University alumni The New Yorker people Writers from Boston 21st-century American physicians Members of the National Academy of Medicine Indian American American people of Indian descent Indian scholars