Venkat Iyer, MD

Venkat Iyer, MD is a nephrologist at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, MN.

What is your practice philosophy? Provide the highest quality of care by building trusting relationships with patients empowered to make confident decisions about their healthcare. Patients are provided clear explanations and engaged throughout their healthcare experience.

Hometown: Mumbai, India 

What are you passionate about? And why? Unparalleled patient experience and putting needs of the patients first. Why? Patients come to us when they are most vulnerable and they deserve to be treated as we would treat our family members.     

If I wasn’t a provider, I would be a: Data Analyst; I like to analyze data and convert it into information so that we can take appropriate action.

Why did you become a provider? When did you know this was the career for you? Growing up in a developing country, I experienced inefficiencies in healthcare delivery. A desire to improve efficiency in healthcare coupled with my inner calling to heal, and a desire to form trusting relationships with patients, drew me to be a clinician. My passion for healthcare was sparked after high school, when I experienced a personal loss related to healthcare inefficiency.
 

Something I have learned from my patients is: Effectively listening to your patient's story is the best "investigation" that physicians can do.

One of the challenges of this career that I enjoy is: Medicine is constantly evolving, so it is essential for physicians to continually learn, keep up-to-date with information and then to translate this knowledge into easily understandable language for our patients so that they can make better choices.