Jaspreet Loyal, MD, MS, is a pediatric hospitalist who takes care of children admitted to the hospital, and says there is no greater reward than getting a high-five from a healthy child.
“We have kids who come in with an acute illness like an asthma flare-up or the flu, and we get to play a role in helping them get back to their normal selves. There’s nothing better than seeing a really sick kid leave the hospital happy and well,” Dr. Loyal says.
She is also medical director of Inpatient Pediatrics at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, overseeing various units, including the short-stay unit (for kids who are treated and discharged within a few days) and subspecialty units for cardiac and neurological issues.
“In the clinical setting, I am a hospitalist treating children, but with my role in hospital medical administration, I work to make sure our patients are moving through the hospital safely, that they aren’t waiting in the emergency room for long periods of time, and making sure that our quality of care is always at its best with evidence-based practices,” Dr. Loyal says.
Dr. Loyal’s research explores ways to improve communication between medical providers and families, particularly around areas in which there might be disagreements.
“It’s about vaccines or other conventional things that we would want parents to do and they may not agree. It’s really interesting to have these discussions with families,” Dr. Loyal says. “It’s important that we, as hospitalists, understand what a family is going through—their fears and worries—and work toward shared decision-making.”
Dr. Loyal is an associate professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine.
