July 10, 2025
Fatima Sheikh, MD, MPH, AGSF, CMD, one of the new directors at large on the PALTmed board, looks forward to contributing to the organization’s mission while instilling her love and passion for post-acute and long-term care in the membership and everyone else who’s interested, including medical students, internal medicine and family medicine residents, geriatric fellows, and nurse practitioner students.
Her decision to run for the board was influenced by her involvement with a variety of PALTmed committees. As she explains, “PALTmed has been a vital part of my career in post-acute and long-term care (PALTC). As a member of PALTmed, I got an opportunity to work on different committees. My work on these different committees and as chair of the Education Committee inspired me to contribute and further give back to the organization.”
One of the ways Dr. Sheikh wants to give back is by empowering members to be part of the change the board hopes to achieve for PALTC—regardless of how big or small it is. As she explains, “The positive impact of our members’ meaningful work improving quality of care and clinical excellence goes a long way. With PALTmed’s educational resources, we can further empower them to elevate their medical teams' clinical expertise and facilities to provide high-quality care to clinically complex residents.”
Over the years, Dr. Sheikh has seen many benefits from her PALTmed membership, including the support she’s received from her peers and the Clinical Practice Guidelines on heart failure, diabetes, falls, and osteoporosis—among other topics—that have been instrumental to her clinical practice.
In addition, she says that the annual conferences “provide a terrific opportunity to attend state-of-the-art educational sessions. I always find the annual conferences rejuvenating and invigorating. They provide an excellent opportunity for networking and meeting colleagues and friends.”
Another PALTmed educational opportunity that Dr. Sheikh has taken advantage of is the Core Curriculum, which she says, “offers practical tools to design, implement, and evaluate QAPI projects to promote quality of care for the residents.” She adds, “The medical director certification equips a clinician with resources to lead the facility, and it carves out the road for them for clinical excellence and expertise in PALTC.”
Another thing Dr. Sheikh wants to share with her fellow PALTmed members—whether in person at a conference or virtually—is the necessity of making time for self-care. She explains, “We often forget to take care of ourselves when working long hours as clinicians, and this can lead to burnout. It is crucial to take a pause and show compassion to oneself. The practices of gratitude, kindness, and self-forgiveness are essential in mental and physical well-being.”
As part of this effort, she plans to strengthen PALTmed’s resources and tools to alleviate burnout and bring back the joy of practicing medicine in PALTC.
Among Dr. Sheikh’s favorite ways of avoiding burnout are spending time with her family, taking walks with friends, and enjoying nature while hiking or running. In addition, she enjoys listening to the stories of her residents, which makes her feel more grounded.
