From Immigrant to Pediatrician, Dr. Angela Ibragimov Sets Kids and Parents Up for Success
From the time she was a third-year medical student doing rounds at Valleywise Health, Dr. Angela Ibragimov, pediatric hospitalist and medical director of the newborn nursery, felt a deep connection to the organization’s mission.
As an immigrant herself, Dr. Ibragimov understands the challenges many Valleywise Health patients face when dealing with a medical crisis in a foreign land. When she was a toddler, she and her family immigrated from Uzbekistan to escape religious persecution. Her parents were driven to provide fair opportunities for their children and future generations of their family.
“Immigration is one of the most stressful things a family can go through,” said Dr. Ibragimov. “I think my parents did a phenomenal job of weathering the ups and downs of leaving our homeland and building a good life for us in the U.S.”
As an immigrant herself, Dr. Ibragimov understands the challenges many Valleywise Health patients face when dealing with a medical crisis in a foreign land. When she was a toddler, she and her family immigrated from Uzbekistan to escape religious persecution. Her parents were driven to provide fair opportunities for their children and future generations of their family.
“Immigration is one of the most stressful things a family can go through,” said Dr. Ibragimov. “I think my parents did a phenomenal job of weathering the ups and downs of leaving our homeland and building a good life for us in the U.S.”
“I became fascinated with how physicians knew how to take care of my family members, how they knew what was wrong, and how to treat it,” she said. “I was mesmerized by the entire process of getting sick and also what it took to heal. It was then I knew my future would be in healthcare.”
Dr. Ibragimov works closely with children and families in her current role at Valleywise Health. She diagnoses patients, creates treatment plans, orders tests, collaborates with other clinicians and communicates with parents to educate them about their child’s condition and treatment options.
“There are so many things about Valleywise that drew me in initially, including and most specifically the patient population,” Dr. Ibragimov said. “I think in some ways, I saw a part of myself and my family members in the patients I was treating.”
For Dr. Ibragimov, understanding that parents and physicians have a mutual goal to take care of the child as best as possible is essential. In order to do that successfully, she believes it’s best to have a partnership based on mutual trust from the onset.
“Our patients don’t deserve any less care or treatment just because of their circumstances, backgrounds or financial situations,” she said. “Children are at the mercy of their circumstances and my job is to help them heal. Taking care of one family at a time has a ripple effect to strengthen our entire community and it starts with me and the Valleywise Health team.”
