25
Feb
2019

Written by Judith Buckland, MBA, RDCS, FASE

Educator Spotlight: Dr. Alexander Nossikoff

This week we posted part 2, of a two part blog series on Echo Bubble Studies. These articles were written by our guest writers, Dr. Ali and Dr. Alexander Nossikoff. If you haven’t read the articles, be sure to check them out!

Part 1: 7 Indications for an Echo Bubble Study

Part 2: 9 Steps to Perform an Echo Bubble Study

We feel it is important for our readers to feel connected to our writers and understand their high level of expertise and experience. Last week we interviewed Dr. Ali and this week we will share our interview with Dr. Nossikoff.

Tell us a little about your background and training

I am a general cardiologist with additional CCU and ICU background. I graduated 16 years ago and have been through a lot of internal and general medicine training on top of the cardiovascular medicine. Apart from the usual general cardiology background, I have been trained in echocardiography, vascular ultrasound, lung ultrasound, contrast echocardiography and point-of-care ultrasound. I work in a University Hospital Lozenets in Sofia, Bulgaria, which is a tertiary cardiovascular center with CICU, CCU, cath lab and cardiac surgery on-site.

How did you end up in cardiology?

I decided to become a medical doctor because I like to work with people. I was very strong in physics, chemistry and biology in school, but I never imagined myself working in a lab. So medicine was the only way for me to combine my love of science with my need to communicate with people. Cardiology is very logical, everything is based on physics (hemodynamics is actually fluid dynamics) and trials. On the other hand it is very dynamic specialty, especially if you are involved in emergency and intensive care.

What is your primary focus in cardiology?

My primary focus is on clinical implementation and clinical utility of ultrasound in cardiovascular patients. I perform and interpret most types of cardiovascular ultrasound myself, but I consider them as extension of my clinical skills and try to implement them only in the right clinical context.

Do you have the opportunity to teach or mentor?

I am involved in teaching internal medicine and cardiology to medical students and cardiologists in training on daily basis. I find that teaching and mentoring keeps your brain sharp as you are always asked multiple questions and really enjoy it. I have either organized or participated in multiple workshops, lectures, sessions and teaching courses on point-of-care ultrasound, lung ultrasound general echocardiography, contrast echocardiography, use of ultrasound in emergency or critical care setting.

Summary

Thank you Dr. Nossikoff. It was great to learn how you developed your love for cardiology. This field is a truly a perfect fit for your personality, interests and skill. Thank you for guest writing on the two part series on Echo Bubble studies.