Rachel Beekman, MD, is a neurologist who specializes in taking care of patients in the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Yale New Haven Hospital and says the relationships she forms with patients’ families is the best part of her job.
“In medical school, I thought I wanted to do outpatient work because I love the idea of continuity of care, but I kept getting drawn to the ICU. “In the ICU, I am able to build meaningful relationships with patients and their families and provide support during one of the most challenging times in their lives,” she says. “Guiding family members to understand the road ahead and provide them with the tools to make the best decision for their loved one is so rewarding.”
Dr. Beekman says she takes cues from family members when it comes to figuring out what kind of support and information they need when a loved one is in the NICU. “Some people need an approach where you guide them along the way; others want an opportunity to talk about their loved one,” she says. “I always welcome that, especially because it gives me insight into the patient and what’s important them.”
Dr. Beekman treats a variety of neurological cases including ischemic stroke with brain swelling, hemorrhagic stroke, brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, and epilepsy.
“Not all academic medical centers have a neuroscience ICU, but we have a large group with 10 dedicated neurointensivists. Having the expertise of neurointensivist is important because our monitoring capabilities continue to improve and we have better ways to identify and prevent secondary brain injury,” she says.
Her research interests include cardiac arrest and developing precision medicine tools to personalize the care of brain injured patients.
