Dimitris Giannaris
Dimitris Giannaris, MD
Chief of Anesthesiology
NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
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What A Blessing to Be a Doctor
Dr. Dimitris Giannaris has collected a long list of accomplishments and honors since joining the anesthesiology department of NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in 2009 but he’s not one for patting himself on the back. What makes him happiest, he says, is training the next generation of physicians. “I was a product of training within the health system, and my proudest moment came in congratulating the first graduating class of anesthesia residents from the New York Medical College-Metropolitan training program. The promise of leaving our profession better and brighter is one of the hallmarks of dedication.”
A lifelong New Yorker, Dr. Giannaris has had a bond with the city’s public hospital system since he was a child. He drew inspiration from his father, an orthopedist at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan who would operate without charge if a patient couldn’t pay. “The pride and dignity he had in helping others walk again was infectious at home,” Dr. Giannaris says. “I have tried to follow in the same footsteps. In that famous medical school application question, “Why do you want to be a doctor?” my answer was and always will be because I want to help people. What a blessing that there exists a career where taking care of people is the central tenet. It was the only job for me.”
After four years as an attending at Lincoln, Dr. Giannaris served a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and was awarded Physician of the Year for his time in cardiothoracic ICU. He returned to Lincoln, eventually became chair of the anesthesia department and also joined Weill Cornell as an assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology.
To Dr. Giannaris, one of the overlooked keys to being an excellent doctor is humility. “It’s the realization that I will one day be the patient in someone else’s hands, so we must work together to keep on improving.”