Parampreet Bakshi, MD
Parampreet Bakshi, MD
Associate Director of Ambulatory Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
Emerging as a Leader amid COVID-19
Dr. Parampreet Bakshi is a career member of the NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens medical team – from her residency after arriving from India in 2005 to her appointment as Associate Director of Ambulatory Care in February 2020. That was the month COVID-19 began its assault on New York, hitting no borough harder than Queens. Dr. Bakshi was in the thick of it, and she quickly emerged as a leader when leaders were needed most – nimbly deploying staff to help with express care of COVID patients while pivoting other staff to continue managing chronic disease patients via telemedicine for the first time.
Being promoted in that critical moment was a turning point for her. “It brought on a sense of responsibility and pride,” she said. “I was able to step up to the challenge and we were able to work as one team regardless of job roles.”
Dr. Bakshi grew up in India, where she received her medical education and early training. “From a very young age, I was deeply affected by the pain and suffering of people around me from poverty, illness and social isolation, often all combined,” she said. “I wanted to be able to help others in some way. What could be better than being able to comfort and help people heal during the gravest hours in their lives?”
Dr. Bakshi’s appointment to a leadership position followed years as a respected preceptor for medical students at Queens in her role as a faculty member of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She has recently also begun a new program of student rotations in adult primary care with the CUNY School of Medicine, whose mission aligns with that of NYC Health + Hospitals.
“Working in a public hospital system provides unique experiences and broadens our perspectives not only medically but socially and culturally,” Dr. Bakshi said. “In addition to taking care of one individual patient and providing personalized care, the policies and changes we make in our hospitals have a huge impact on a very diverse and underserved community as a whole.”