Hanan Atia (Class of 2005)
is the Associate Medical Director of Emergency Medicine at a Level I trauma and comprehensive stroke center in Florida. In his free time, he pursues underwater photography and volunteers with several ocean conservation organizations.
Q: How did you wind up in medicine?
Hanan Atia: My passion for science, coupled with my social nature, drove me to pursue medicine. After becoming a biologist, I realized I was not cut out to work in a laboratory and needed more human interaction. In retrospect, marine biology would have been a fantastic alternate career for me. Luckily, emergency medicine entails shift work and I can arrange blocks of free time to pursue other interests and hobbies.
Q: What is your day-to-day like at work?
HA: Clinical shifts at the hospital are rewarding, yet immensely challenging and cognitively burdensome. I serve as the associate medical director of emergency medicine at a busy Level I trauma and comprehensive stroke center in Florida. We deal with high acuity patients in a sick urban population with a good amount of blunt and penetrating trauma. My day entails constant high stakes problem-solving and subsequent decision-making in a noisy and often malodorous environment. During nonclinical days, I focus on medical education. I am an assistant clinical professor at three local universities and serve as the emergency medicine student clerkship director in my hospital system. This summer, we are starting an emergency medicine residency program and I am excited to be part of the core clinical faculty. I chair the cardiac resuscitation committee and serve as the emergency department representative for the system-wide multidisciplinary peer review committee.
Q: How did Covid impact your job?
HA: [The year] 2020 brought challenges of a new viral illness that proved enigmatic both clinically and epidemiologically. Mostly, Covid threw a wrench in the already strained physical workflow and triage process. A novel disease with such an array of symptomatology made it difficult to see 300 patients while keeping staff and other patients safe. Treatment options took awhile to narrow down so I often felt helpless with sicker patients. Luckily, the incredible leadership team of the hospital network ensured we had plenty of protective equipment and resources to get through the peaks of viral prevalence in Florida. Now, we are lucky to see the incredible effects of active immunity achieved by robust vaccination programs.
Q: How did you become interested in underwater photography?
Q: What is your day-to-day like at work?
HA: Clinical shifts at the hospital are rewarding, yet immensely challenging and cognitively burdensome. I serve as the associate medical director of emergency medicine at a busy Level I trauma and comprehensive stroke center in Florida. We deal with high acuity patients in a sick urban population with a good amount of blunt and penetrating trauma. My day entails constant high stakes problem-solving and subsequent decision-making in a noisy and often malodorous environment. During nonclinical days, I focus on medical education. I am an assistant clinical professor at three local universities and serve as the emergency medicine student clerkship director in my hospital system. This summer, we are starting an emergency medicine residency program and I am excited to be part of the core clinical faculty. I chair the cardiac resuscitation committee and serve as the emergency department representative for the system-wide multidisciplinary peer review committee.
Q: How did Covid impact your job?
HA: [The year] 2020 brought challenges of a new viral illness that proved enigmatic both clinically and epidemiologically. Mostly, Covid threw a wrench in the already strained physical workflow and triage process. A novel disease with such an array of symptomatology made it difficult to see 300 patients while keeping staff and other patients safe. Treatment options took awhile to narrow down so I often felt helpless with sicker patients. Luckily, the incredible leadership team of the hospital network ensured we had plenty of protective equipment and resources to get through the peaks of viral prevalence in Florida. Now, we are lucky to see the incredible effects of active immunity achieved by robust vaccination programs.
Q: How did you become interested in underwater photography?
HA: My father was a dive instructor [who explored] the Red Sea and taught me about the ocean beginning at a very young age. I fell in love with the ocean as a toddler and got SCUBA certified when I was 12. I find the underwater world mesmerizing and relaxing and I want to capture that allure for others to enjoy. More than anything, I find taking underwater photos immensely therapeutic (see photos to the right)—a unique chance to settle the turbulence of life. Over the past few years, I have been photographing and volunteering my time with several ocean conservation organizations, trying to shed light on the fragility of our oceanic ecosystems. I have focused on shark photography because of the wrongful demonization and subsequent unspeakable and inhumane treatment of these animals.
Q: What about it keeps you coming back despite the risks?
HA: The most dangerous activity I do every day is drive my car to and from work. SCUBA diving itself has intrinsic risk that is mostly driven by human error. I do not believe sharks add any significant risk to SCUBA divers. Statistically, sharks kill five to 10 people worldwide, per year. As an ER doctor I am more afraid of humans biting me (>40,000/year in the US) than sharks biting me (~30/year in the US).
Q: What about it keeps you coming back despite the risks?
HA: The most dangerous activity I do every day is drive my car to and from work. SCUBA diving itself has intrinsic risk that is mostly driven by human error. I do not believe sharks add any significant risk to SCUBA divers. Statistically, sharks kill five to 10 people worldwide, per year. As an ER doctor I am more afraid of humans biting me (>40,000/year in the US) than sharks biting me (~30/year in the US).
In my mind, this unarguably insignificant risk is worth capturing images of these creatures. To the immense misfortune of sharks, humans kill 100 to 150 million sharks every year. Sharks are globally threatened; 90 percent are already gone. Aside from habitat destruction and modification loss, commercial longline fishing and other unsustainable fishing operations kill massive numbers of sharks as unwanted by-catch. On the same note, millions of sharks are purposefully caught, de-finned, and thrown back alive into the ocean to suffocate. Personally, I believe no animal deserves to suffer such a death. Sharks are already at increased risk for extinction due to their slow growth and late sexual maturity. Aside from being wasteful and inhumane, the consumption of shark fins is likely carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and may have concerning developmental manifestations for humans.
Q: How did being a student at Schechter Westchester prepare you for where you are now?
HA: I would say that Schechter prepared me for lifelong learning and multitasking in both my professional and personal life. A full student course load in addition to Judaic studies, sports, and extracurricular activities prepared me mentally for college, medical school, and residency. More than anything, Schechter gave me a group of lifelong friends that are like the brothers I never had.
Q: What advice would you offer an alum hoping to pursue either your professional or extracurricular passion?
HA: When I was young, my dad told me “the busier you are, the more you can accomplish.” Though seemingly nonsensical, this statement proved true for me. I find that multitasking and efficiency are a learned skill for those who stay busy and say yes when opportunities present themselves. I try to live by that mantra (although sometimes with little sleep!)
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