Sanjay Ponkshe, MD, is a practicing, board-certified, general internal medicine doctor and an assistant professor of medicine with Emory University School of Medicine and Morehouse School of Medicine. He has 25 years of clinical, administrative, and teaching experience. His administrative experience includes various leadership positions with the VA at the local, regional, and national levels.
He completed medical school and residency in ear, nose, and throat surgery in India, where he obtained his MB, BS, and Master of Surgery (MS) degrees. After getting married and immigrating to the U.S., he completed a residency in internal medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. He obtained an MBA degree from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University as well.
After completing his residency in internal medicine, Ponkshe joined the Atlanta VA Health Care System in 1998, and he’s been a practicing doctor in outpatient and inpatient settings there since. He now provides care to hospitalized patients in conjunction with residents and students from Emory and Morehouse schools of medicine. He enjoys teaching the art and science of medicine to trainees from these medical schools. Also, he started a Transitions of Care program, where he provides post-hospital discharge care to patients who have the highest risk of recurrent emergency room visits or rehospitalizations.
Ponkshe, who is a member of American Medical Association, has been married for 29 years, and his wife is also a practicing internal medicine doctor. They have two wonderful children – their daughter is completing a residency in psychiatry, and their son is a rising junior in college, aspiring to become a doctor as well.
Ponkshe enjoys playing table tennis competitively and also loves reading fiction, hiking, and playing chess. He focuses on daily exercise and healthy eating to optimize his own health so that he can then work on optimizing the health of others.