Hi there, I’m Rishi

I’m a Harvard-trained cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and cardiovascular intensive care physician working in academic medicine in the Texas Medical Center – the world’s largest medical complex.

I divide my time between the operating room and cardiovascular ICU, caring for critically ill patients while teaching residents and fellows. I’m passionate about education, lifelong learning, technology, investing, and creating free, open-access medical education (FOAMed) to enhance patient safety and promote team-based, patient-centered care. I also conceptualized and programmed a suite of free, iOS/iPadOS medical reference apps at RKRef.app.

RK.MD is where I share my reflections on medicine, education, technology, and life. Thanks for stopping by!

Rishi Kumar, MD, FACC, CMQ

Adult Cardiac Anesthesiologist &
Cardiovascular Intensive Care Physician

Board Certifications:

  • Anesthesiology (American Board of Anesthesiology)
  • Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology (American Board of Anesthesiology)
  • Critical Care Medicine (American Board of Anesthesiology)
  • Diplomate, Advanced Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography (National Board of Echocardiography)
  • Diplomate, Critical Care Echocardiography (National Board of Echocardiography)

Designations:

  • Fellow, American College of Cardiology (FACC)
  • Certified in Medical Quality (CMQ), American Board of Medical Quality

Interests:

  • Cardiovascular intensive care
  • Cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiology
  • Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS)
  • 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)
  • Mechanical circulatory support
  • Organ donor specialty care
  • Application of artificial intelligence to medical education and diagnostics
  • ICU and perioperative pharmacology
  • Advanced monitors
  • Free, open-access medical education (#FOAMed) over social media
  • Web development, PC gaming, hardware assembly, and basically all things tech!

Purpose

The word “doctor” comes from docere — Latin for “to teach.”

I have always loved teaching. Something about the process of learning complex topics, distilling them down to the basics, and being able to educate others is a source of joy in my life.

I learn things to teach my patients, trainees, and colleagues. Whether that’s distributing notes, instilling procedural skills, drawing diagrams, or just providing advice about things that worked for me and mistakes I’ve made, academic medicine has been my refuge.

This passion for educating others fuels my study habits, appreciation for other disciplines in healthcare, and overall improvement as a physician every day. Social media outlets like this blog allow me to use technology to spread my love of free, open-access medical education (FOAMed).

As a physician, I aim to offer guidance and reassurance to those on similar journeys, while also curating and creating informative content for the general public and healthcare trainees.