Rana Lee Adawi Awdish MD

Rana Awdish, MD, FCCP is the author of In Shock, a critically acclaimed, bestselling memoir based on her own critical illness, released in over 60 countries and translated into ten languages. A critical care physician and faculty member of Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, she completed her medical degree at Wayne State in 2002 where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society, her residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York, and her fellowship training at Henry Ford Hospital where she serves as the current Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program. She also serves as Medical Director of Care Experience for the entire Health System. Dr. Awdish’s mandate is to improve the patient experience across the system and speak on patient advocacy at health care venues nationally. ​

After suffering a sudden critical illness herself, she has devoted her career to improving empathy through connection and communication. She lectures to physicians, health care leaders and medical schools across the country and internationally. She was awarded the Speak-Up Hero award in 2014 for her work establishing a workshop based program called CLEAR (Connect, Listen, Emphasize, Align, Respect), which trains faculty and trainees in relationship-based communication skills utilizing improvisational actors.