By Dave DeFusco
By the time Ruby Pasupuleti began her clinical rotation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, she had already carried a private grief for years鈥攐ne that would shape her path in medicine and guide her every interaction with a patient. She was a teenager when her mother died of lung cancer, an unimaginable loss that left her with heartbreak but also a sense of purpose. The care her mother had received during that difficult time鈥攖he grace, the gentleness, the fierce dedication of her medical team鈥攑lanted a quiet seed in Pasupuleti. She would one day offer that same kind of compassionate care to others.
Now a 2024 graduate of the Katz School鈥檚 M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies, Pasupuleti is poised to begin her career as an Advanced Practice Associate in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital this May. It鈥檚 the culmination of years of study, personal growth and a calling rooted not only in science but in love and loss.
鈥淢y mom had no risk factors. She didn鈥檛 smoke, didn鈥檛 drink, and there was no family cancer history,鈥 said Pasupuleti. 鈥淪he grew up in India, so maybe there were environmental risk factors there鈥攚ho knows? But I remember how much she loved her doctors. They were so kind to her. And I thought, If I could give that to someone else, then I would be doing something to honor her memory.鈥
At Memorial Sloan Kettering, Pasupuleti completed a rotation in gynecologic oncology, where she witnessed both the technical complexity of cancer surgery and the deep emotional vulnerability of patients facing terrifying diagnoses. For the first two weeks, she scrubbed in with the surgical team on intricate, hours-long procedures鈥攐ften lasting as long as 10 hours鈥攚here every millimeter of cancerous tissue was examined and removed with painstaking precision.
鈥淭hey were doing primary debulking surgeries,鈥 said Pasupuleti. 鈥淥pening the abdomen, searching every cavity for tumors鈥攕ome visible, some hidden, some you could only feel. The surgeons were so detail-oriented, so determined to remove every last bit of cancer. Even when they were clearly exhausted, they never cut corners. They kept going because they knew it would give the patient a better chance.鈥
Pasupuleti assisted with suctioning, retracting tissue to improve visibility and occasionally suturing skin under a surgeon鈥檚 guidance. More than anything, she observed鈥攁bsorbing the focus, the grit and the human tenderness of the providers she worked with. But it was the outpatient side that touched her most deeply. There, Pasupuleti found her natural rhythm: one-on-one with patients, talking through their treatments, holding their hands, offering comfort during the hardest conversations of their lives.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I felt I could be most present for them,鈥 she said. 鈥淢any of these patients cried when I saw them. I鈥檇 just sit with them, give them a tissue and be a shoulder to lean on. That was something I never forgot from my own experience鈥攈ow much those small gestures meant.鈥
As a student PA, Pasupuleti took patient histories, assessed symptoms like neuropathy or nausea from chemotherapy, and monitored the emotional well-being of her patients, as well as her patients鈥 loved ones. Her mother鈥檚 memory was always with her, not as a burden but as a guiding light.
鈥淚 treated my patients like they were my mom,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the kind of provider I want to be.鈥
Pasupuleti credits the Katz School鈥檚 PA program for preparing her to be more than just technically proficient. Her instructors, themselves experienced PAs, emphasized not only the academic rigor of medicine but the emotional intelligence it demands.
鈥淭hey taught us to not only to know the facts, but to really see the patient鈥攖o talk to them, understand their experience and explain what they鈥檙e going through in a way that makes them feel less alone,鈥 said Pasupuleti.
She learned how to educate patients, not just treat them鈥攈elping them understand the side effects of medications, the lifestyle changes that might help them regain their health and how to navigate a sometimes intimidating healthcare system. That education is now a pillar of her philosophy.
鈥淚 believe we have to treat the whole patient, not just the disease,鈥 said Pasupuleti. 鈥淭hat includes their emotional well-being, their cultural background, their financial situation, even the distance they have to travel for care. Whatever the barrier is, I want to help them overcome it.鈥
