Item-Writer Spotlight: Navin Rajagopalan, MD
ABIM is proud to spotlight members of the Item-Writing Task Forces, which are responsible for writing all of the content for assessments in each discipline of internal medicine. Learn more about the Item-Writing Task Forces and how ABIM creates assessment questions here. If you are interested in applying to serve as an Item-Writer, click here to view current openings.
Navin Rajagopalan, MD | Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Item-Writing Task Force
Dr. Rajagopalan received his medical degree from Ohio State University. He completed his internal medicine residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, before pursuing a cardiovascular fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. He then completed an additional year of training at the University of Pittsburgh in advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation. Dr. Rajagopalan is currently the Director of the Gill Heart and Vascular Affiliate Network at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include peripartum cardiomyopathy and donor selection for cardiac transplantation. Dr. Rajagopalan recently participated in writing a review article on left ventricular assist device therapy in individuals who are currently incarcerated. You can view this recent publication here.
Dr. Rajagopalan has been on the Item-Writing Task Force for one year. When asked what his favorite part of being on the Task Force is, Dr. Rajagopalan said, “I enjoy the challenge of developing clinically focused items that are real-world dilemmas encountered by heart failure specialists. I try to make sure the items are relevant to clinical practice today and reflect the current guidelines. I look forward to the discussions with other Item-Writers where we critique each other’s work and collaborate to improve the items we have developed. Seeing what other people have developed has been a rewarding experience.”
Dr. Rajagopalan noted that he tries to come up with clinical situations that he has experienced in his practice. Something that has helped Dr. Rajagopalan develop the questions associated with his clinical scenarios is “reviewing the current guidelines to determine the key points which can be incorporated into vignettes.” He indicated another strategy that he has found useful is reading recent articles on the subject.
In his free time, Dr. Rajagopalan enjoys reading nonfiction with a focus on American history. He enjoys playing tennis, hiking and travelling. He especially likes traveling to our nation’s national parks.
