Motivated by Impact: A Discussion with Dr. Atul Gawande

Behind The Knife: The Surgery Podcast

In this episode, Dr. Atul Gawande joins Dr. Patrick Georgoff to share his experiences as a surgeon, writer, and global health leader. From his innovative work at Ariadne Labs and Lifebox to his current role as Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID, Dr. Gawande discusses the challenges and rewards of creating large-scale impact. He reflects on balancing creativity in writing with precision in surgery, lessons learned from managing teams, and the critical importance of strengthening global health systems. Enjoy!
Dr. Atul Gawande is the Assistant Administrator for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where he oversees a bureau that manages more than $4 billion with a footprint of more than 900 staff committed to advancing equitable delivery of public health approaches around the world. The Bureau for Global Health focuses on work that improves lives everywhere--from preventing child and maternal deaths to controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, combating infectious diseases, and preparing for future outbreaks.
Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, he was a practicing surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a professor at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is the founder and was the chair of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and of Lifebox, a nonprofit making surgery safer globally. From 2018-2020, he was also the CEO of Haven (an Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan Chase healthcare venture). In addition, Atul was a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker magazine and has written four New York Times best-selling books: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal.
Visit https://www.usaid.gov/organization/atul-gawande to learn more about our special guest. To learn more about the Global Health Bureau, please visit https://www.usaid.gov/global-health.
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