Doreen Addrizzo Harris, MD

City of Women Denizen: Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, MD

Bona Fides:  Professor of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine; member of the faculty since 1996. Associate Division Director for Education and Faculty Affairs, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and the Program Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship. Overseer of more than 80 faculty and 25 fellows. 

City of Women Induction: Dr. Addrizzo Harris has been working non-stop since the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City. Her dedication to her patients has required her to quarantine from her family as the lives of medical and healthcare professionals have become completely disrupted. During our interview, she never expressed concern for her own safety; her focus was on her patients and colleagues. Dr. Addrizzo Harris is, to me, proof that medical professionals are some of the most compassionate and selfless among us. 

RPO: What has been the most difficult part of your work during the COVID-19 pandemic?

DAH:  There have been many difficult parts of COVID-19. First, there’s the uncertainty of medicine. We are used to having evidence-based answers to help our patients and right now, we’re learning as we go.  We’re not sure of what medical treatments and management will work. We don’t have answers for our patients or their families. It has also been difficult during this time because patients are not allowed to be with their families; they are very alone during this difficult time. 

Second, the long hours and disruption of our normal routines means many of our faculty and fellows haven’t been with their families for weeks. Some are living separately in nearby hotels. Usual face to face gatherings at our clinical conferences have ended and now we only see or hear each other on web-ex calls. Personally, I have found that not seeing my patients in person is very hard; talking with them over video isn’t the same. You cannot console a patient with a hug or pat on the back if you have to give them bad news…the doctor-patient relationship is in new territory during this time. I have also had to quarantine myself from my husband and my family and this is very hard when you come from a big Italian family.  

RPO: Is there a story you can share from the last several weeks that demonstrates humanity at its best?

DAH: There have been many. The most amazing thing is how many frontline workers, including my faculty and fellows, have been working non-stop from the beginning of this. People have given up vacations and taken extra shifts. It’s not only the physicians but the dedication of the nurses and respiratory therapists, the housekeepers and the security guards. Everyone is in it for everyone else. We have had numerous volunteers from all over the country come to work with us to help us through this time. People are so unselfish. It is quite unbelievable how wonderful humanity is.

RPO:  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “80% of healthcare workers are women, yet they hold fewer than 20% of key leadership roles” (2019). And the Harvard Business Review wrote “women make up 34% of total physicians in the U.S., and gender parity is still not reflected in medical leadership.” (2018). Your career in medicine has been very successful as a physician, educator and leader. Have you ever encountered barriers or challenges because you are a woman? 

DAH: I would have to say no. My father, who was my first mentor and also a doctor, always taught me that I could achieve anything by putting in hard work and being true to myself. That has worked out for me. I was very lucky to train at NYU/Bellevue where half my class was made up of women back in the 1980’s. I’ve spent my whole career at NYU/Bellevue and I think in many ways, being a woman has helped me get where I am today but I owe much of that to mentors, many of whom were women.

What’s most important is to work on a team where everyone is a valued member. I have been very lucky to be part of a department and division where we have many women faculty in leadership positions. I have mentored more than 100 young women and men physicians myself over the years and my motto for each of them is the same: “Be true to yourself and work hard for your patients.” People will recognize you when you have compassion and dedication for your patients and others. 

RPO: What advice do you have for young women who hope to become doctors and go on to hold leadership positions? 

DAH: It’s important to find an environment where there’s a history of allowing those with talent, regardless of gender, to achieve success and leadership positions at every level. It’s important for young doctors to find a mentor--a teacher, a dean, a physician leader, or colleague --who can help them reflect on their life and the steps along their career path. Constant reflection is important because it’s not just the destination that matters, but it’s the journey along the way that we need to focus on.

RPO: I can’t resist wrapping up with a question about handwriting. Why can’t people ever read what their doctors write on prescriptions?

DAH: If the doctor went to Catholic school like I did, their patients can read everything! I have handwriting classes to thank for that!