Suchita Sata, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Duke General Internal Medicine and a Hospitalist at Duke University Hospital. She joined Duke GIM faculty in 2015. Learn all about her in our interview below!
What brought you to Duke?
I did my residency in internal medicine at Penn, and my husband (Dr. Siddharth Sata), was finishing his residency in anesthesiology in NYC. He landed a fellowship in regional anesthesia here at Duke in 2015, and as it was quite possibly the best fellowship for that in the country, I told him I could find a hospitalist job anywhere in the country he wanted to go. I interviewed around the Triangle and loved the people at Duke. After his 1-year fellowship was over, I told him I loved my job and he should find one here too - so now's he's also on the Duke faculty, working with the Regional Anesthesia PLLC group. We both love working here at Duke and have settled into the area as now former-northeasterners.
Is there any research you are doing or plan on doing?
I teach and preach high value care. I'm interested in reducing waste particularly overutilization in the inpatient setting. I'm inspired by the national community of hospitalists who are doing this important quality improvement work. As physicians we always want to be doing the right thing for our patients and not causing any harm to them, including financial, and I'll be working to implement a method of sharing data about our own ordering practices with us so we can be empowered to make even better treatment decisions for our patients.
"I teach and preach high value care."
-Suchita Sata, MD
What are your hobbies or interests outside of work?
We go to a pub trivia competition every week with a great team of eclectic individuals, each with some connection to Duke, including nurses, physicians, front desk staff, etc. It's always a blast and full of laughs, even when we don't win. Since starting work at Duke I've also been inspired to take up running and have made great friends through this. I ran my first half-marathon with Laura Holland, NP, (now with Duke Raleigh Hospital Medicine), ran the Krispy Kreme challenge 5 mile race with Dr Lisa Pickett, and am training for my first full marathon this fall in Philadelphia, with some great training runs with Megan Hatfield, RN, from 4300. Our Hospital Medicine group has a lot of people who enjoy running and we try to run local races together - we are doing the Bull City Race Fest half next weekend!
Any trips you've taken recently that you would like to share?
Sid and I love to travel. My favorite part of my work schedule is that we have the ability to truly disconnect when we are not working clinically. We always have our next trip (or next two trips!) planned. Last fall we went to Namibia as part of a trip in southern Africa and climbed a massive sand dune and watched the sunrise.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
I don't really listen to current music but I'll always have a podcast on in the background. I have a long queue of over 500 downloaded episodes to work through as I'm always getting new recommendations from friends!
What is your favorite food?
CHEESE! I'm from Wisconsin so is that even a question?
What is your favorite restaurant?
We love all the restaurants in the Triangle and are always on the lookout for something new and delicious. If I had to pick one it would be Gocciolina - the menu changes constantly, the pasta is perfect, and the vibe is warm and welcoming.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I graduated high school in Wisconsin and went to University of Wisconsin-Madison for undergrad... so my basketball loyalties are with the Badgers.