Washington University School of Medicine Oral Histories
Kanwaljeet S. Anand Oral History
Interviewer
Bryan Sisk MD, MSCI
Files
Download Interview Transcript [PDF] (177 KB)
Summary
Kanwaljeet S. Anand was interviewed by Brian Sisk on August 7, 2019 for approximately 58 minutes for the Pediatric Palliative Care Oral History Project.
Scope and Content
Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand begins the interview by describing his journey into pediatric pain and symptom management through his work examining metabolic and hormonal stress responses of infants undergoing surgery. From this work, he retraced history to understand where the notion of ‘babies don’t feel pain’ came from, and then eventually studied more closely the pain responses of infants.
Dr. Anand describes how he was surprised to find that babies mounted three times the metabolic stress response to surgery as compared to adults, and how his pediatric pain research initially received a lukewarm response from his peers. However, that lukewarm response turned into a massive media scandal as news outlets sensationalized Dr. Anand’s work as ‘disgraceful doctors performing surgery on babies without anesthesia.’ Eventually this media frenzy ended with public apologies printed in the same newspapers.
Since that media incident early in his career, Dr. Anand describes his journey as being “doubly blessed” by immense support from many colleagues and peers as he doubled down into some field-defining research on pain in neonates and infants, as well as clinical work for underserved populations in the “Deep South” of the United States.
Dr. Anand concludes the interview by describing the Harmony Health Clinic which serves the uninsured populations of Central Arkansas, as one of his dreams realized. The next dream he hopes to achieve is to cultivate a greater understanding and reverence for the children that give medical professionals an opportunity to serve.
Biographical Information: Interviewee
Kanwaljeet S. Anand graduated from M.G.M. Medical College, Indore (India). As a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, he received the D.Phil. degree, followed by post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He has practiced as a Pediatrician for the past 38 years, taking care of critically ill, or injured and traumatized children, adolescents, and young adults.
As a medical scientist, his research was recognized with awards from the British Paediatric Association (1986), American Academy of Pediatrics (1992), International Association for Study of Pain (1994), American Pain Society (2000), Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health (2004). In 2009, he received the highest international honor in Pediatrics, awarded by the Swedish Academy of Medicine every 5 years, the Nils Rosén von Rosenstein Award. He was chosen to present the “In Praise of Medicine” Public Address at 100th Anniversary of Erasmus University Medical Center (2013), the Journées Nationales de Néonatologie Keynote Address at The Pasteur Institute (2015), received the Nightingale Excellence Award from Stanford Children’s Healthcare (2016), and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Örebro University in Sweden (2019).
His community service helped to launch the Harmony Health Clinic (providing free-of-cost medical and dental care since 2008), served victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and several other natural disasters. He received the Father Joseph Biltz Award (2007) from the National Conference for Community & Justice and the Dr. Martin Luther King “Salute to Greatness” Individual Award (2008) from the Governor of Arkansas.
He has authored more than 275 leading scientific articles, edited 9 books/journal issues, and published numerous other monographs, book chapters, and national guidelines. He is currently a Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Biographical Information: Interviewer
Bryan Sisk, MD, MSCI is an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and an Assistant Professor in General Medical Sciences as a member of the Bioethics Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed medical school at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He completed his clinical training at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.
Dr. Sisk was a clinical fellow in pediatric hematology and oncology when he initiated this Pediatric Palliative Care Oral History Project. As a trainee, Dr. Sisk had a strong interest in palliative care, the approach to the suffering of children, and the history of medicine. Prior to initiating this project, Dr. Sisk performed an in-depth review of the development of pediatric palliative care as a discipline and philosophy. This research culminated in a publication entitled, “Response to Suffering of the Seriously Ill Child: A History of Palliative Care for Children” in the journal Pediatrics. However, this historical review was limited to textbooks and publications. It lacked the personal experience of caring for these children and inspiring the development of a new clinical discipline. Inspired by David Clark’s oral history of the adult hospice movement, Dr. Sisk began to plan this pediatric oral history project.
Of note, this collection of oral histories is incomplete, and many important figures have not (yet) been interviewed. Dr. Sisk’s goal is to continue adding to this collection create a rich repository of personal insights and wisdom from leaders who changed the field of pediatrics.
Interview Date
2019-08-07
Collection Identifier
OH154-S01
Length
Approximately 58 minutes.
Restrictions
Users wishing to publish (in whole, or in part) content taken from the audio or transcript of this oral history interview must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Becker Archives. For detailed information regarding publication and use of this oral history, contact the Becker Archives (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).
Recommended Citation
Kanwaljeet S. Anand Oral History, OH154-S01, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Disclaimer
The Becker Archives provides access to this oral history interview as a record of the past. This interview reflects the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of the interview participants, which may reflect outdated, biased, and offensive views and opinions. The Becker Archives does not endorse the views expressed in this interview, which may contain materials offensive to some users.
Notes
Access to the audio recording for this oral history may be obtained via approval of the archivists at Becker Library. Contact the archives for more information (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).