Nakul V. Karkare, MD
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Complete Orthopedics
New York Hip & Knee
Manhattan and Long Island, NY
How has the AAOS helped you throughout your career?
In an ongoing relentless effort to provide unparalleled orthopedic care and to improve on existing standards, research is an integral part of my career. I have a strong engineering background and I not only aim to take bench research to the bedside but I also take my clinical experience to the laboratory. AAOS research and networking resources have helped me enhance my research endeavors.
As an Associate Orthopedic Member, which AAOS resources do you use most and why?
Using the AAOS networking resources including the Career Center and Candidate database, I have been able to recruit excellent orthopaedic surgeons to our group.
What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?
My father, a practicing general and orthopaedic surgeon, told me many decades ago that attention to detail and thorough planning are the keys to dealing with any situations that may come up during a surgical procedure. He also taught me never to make compromises. To this day, I never compromise on equipment/surgical assistance etc. Everything I do has to be unwaveringly in the patient’s best interest. I remember a time when I signed the patient in the pre-operative holding area and when I went to the operative room, I was told that I will get one less assistant because of “staffing issues”. I cancelled the case. I told administration “One assistant less, means one complication more!”. As an independent surgeon, I have numerous choices including ability to cancel surgery if it's in the best interest of my patient. Recent changes in healthcare and the push to the employed model for physicians have allowed fewer and fewer surgeons to have the liberty to practice surgery the way they want to.
What’s your go-to productivity trick?
I harness cutting edge technologies for improving care of my patients and to run an efficient orthopaedic surgical practice so that my patients can “Experience the Exceptional”. I am involved with robotic process automation, application program interfaces, software integrations and many other groundbreaking technologies.
What’s one thing you’re currently trying to make a habit?
It is important for physicians to stay focused on patients while treating them. There are too many distractions. Nonstop emails, phone calls, social media- the list goes on. I use software to pause my email inbox when I am with my office with patients so I am not constantly checking emails. When I am in an exam room with a patient, I answer only emergency calls. I also have rules in my operating room, for example, company representatives are not allowed to use their phones in the operating room. Stay focused on the patient you are with and give your patient your undivided attention!
What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time?
My hobbies change with time. In mid-2022, I am very interested in application program interfaces, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, machine learning and robotic process automation.
Tell us fun facts about yourself that not many people know?
I am a third-generation surgeon. I scrubbed in with my father as a teenager. I have a Masters in Biomaterial Engineering and I am fellowship trained in four orthopaedic subspecialities.