Nisha Manek, MD

Dr. Manek has had the good fortune to train in excellent institutions both in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States. She enjoys practicing medicine in one of the best medical institutions in the country if not the world. As she sees patients in her Rheumatology clinic, she notes that it is gratifying to see bench science coming to bedside practice with an enormous positive impact on the outcomes of chronic inflammatory diseases. Dr. Manek also firmly believes in the integrative medicine approach. Her strong scientific bent coupled with an Eastern up-bringing has made her appreciate that a holistic approach to medicine is rewarding, both for the practicing clinician as well as the patient, and to establish strong evidence based practice for these popular modalities. One of the ways she envisions using her training in integrative medicine is to develop a multidisciplinary program in Rheumatology to expand the medical management of osteoarthritis beyond the anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen. Osteoarthritis is a critical public health issue, and exploring conventional and complementary approaches for maximizing patient outcomes is urgently needed. Other Rheumatic diseases will also benefit from an integrative approach. Developments are in the pipeline for traditional remedies such as Turmeric that offer promise in clinical application in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Dr. Manek’s training, both in the UK and the United States, gives her a unique look at the advantages and the disadvantages of the health care in these countries. In the UK, certain integrative systems are part and parcel of medical care such as homeopathy, and in the USA, one can buy virtually anything from the health food store. Dr. Manek teaches the specialist fellows in the Rheumatology training program at Mayo clinic, as well as senior medical residents from Mayo Medical School in all aspects of general Rheumatology and has now brought in a core curriculum that covers integrative medicine as it pertains to autoimmune conditions. Dr. Manek salutes her patients for their daily courage and is grateful that medicine in the 21^st century is slowly going back to what is most rewarding: the patient physician interaction and relationship.