Samrat Bhat, MD, MPH

Practice philosophy: Treat your patient the way you would want to be treated yourself

What are you passionate about and why? Early diagnosis of kidney conditions and delaying progression, empowering patients, and quality of life in patients with kidney conditions

If you weren't a health care provider, what would you be? Cannot imagine being anything else. Maybe engineer since I love fixing things

Why did you become a provider? When did you know this was the career for you? My mom was struggling with diabetes and developed kidney disease. This led me to pursue medicine as a career and then further become a nephrologist. 

What is something you have learned from your patients? Patients have taught me patience, interaction, and how to convey the message in simple words. Medicine is a journey for me where we walk side by side with the patients. Prior to joining Allina Health, I previously worked at the Mayo Clinic Health System. 

What is one of the challenges of this career you enjoy? And why? There are times when findings from medical research/literature does not exactly translate into clinical practice. I enjoy thinking out of the box when this happens

What is your personal health goal? To exercise daily. I want to learn the art of meditation

What is the best thing you've done for your health or the best health advice you've received? No matter how busy you are, make sure you are able to spend some time regularly for your own health.

What are you most proud of? Learning from my adversities. Learning from my mom's illness to become a physician is what I am most proud of.

What are a few of your personal achievements? I earned a master's degree in public health to understand how research helps improve clinical practice, how new medications are introduced and how evidence-based medicine helps improve patient care.