Rahul Rathod

One of my closest family members was born with complex congenital heart disease. She gets her cardiology care at Boston Children’s Hospital, so I have been there – not as a doctor, but as a family member watching her go through surgeries and procedures. I have seen the cardiology nurses and doctors from Boston Children’s help us when we needed it most. I understand the ups and downs that come with having a loved one go through these trials. I remember what it is like to be on the other side. I try to use those lessons to help make me a better doctor.

When I meet a family for the first time, be it in the fetal clinic with a new diagnosis, the outpatient clinic with a new concern, or over the phone as a consult for a second opinion, I think of it as the beginning of a long relationship. What I enjoy most about Pediatric Cardiology is the long term bonds I can build with patients and their families, measured not in months but in years. I am there every step of the way, in the best of times and the most difficult of times. I believe it is the strength of that relationship that helps me deliver better care.