Extended Medical Listings

A WIDE SCOPE

Internal medicine offers Dr. Mustaqeem Qazi a diverse perspective of health and patient care



Dr. Mustaqeem Qazi has a passion for photography, watching romantic movies with his wife, and listening to soft rock and rhythm and blues. However, medicine ranks first among his interests, cultivated as he watched his eldest brother endure the rigors of medical school. After his brother became a physician, he encouraged and helped Qazi to follow in his footsteps. “He was my role model and my hero, and he put me through medical school,” Qazi says.



Qazi graduated from Dow Medical College in his hometown of Karachi, Pakistan, in 1991. He moved to New York for an internship and residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. In 1995, he arrived in the desert, working in a clinic prior to joining the staff of John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in June 1996. His other academic achievements include completing two high-level internal medical examinations administered by the Royal College of Physicians in London.



Qazi was drawn to the diversity inherent in internal medicine. “As an internist, you are well trained to take care of multisystem disease,” he says. As a primary care physician, he addresses a broad range of health issues and derives great satisfaction from spending time with his patients.



“I enjoy talking with my patients and their families. And when my patients get better and are happy with their outcome, I feel happy,” he says. “What drives me is my love for medicine and making a difference in my patients’ lives. If that keeps them healthy, then that is my reward.”



Qazi’s circle of care and compassion extend far beyond the boundaries of his practice to society at large. “There are still 50 million people who don’t have [health] insurance,” he says. “I see my patients who don’t have health insurance at discounted fees, and sometimes I don’t charge them any fees.”