Jan
Bakker is Professor of Medicine and Vice-chair of the Department of
Intensive Care Adults at Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. He is Visiting Professor at Columbia University - New York
Presbyterian, U.S. and a Visiting Professor at the University Hospital
Pontificia Católica de Chile. His research interests include blood
lactate, ethics and end-of-life care. His clinical specialties are
intensive care, haemodynamics, tissue perfusion, tissue oxygenation,
early goal-directed therapy, infection prevention and end-of-life care.
His management specialities are change management, costs and quality of
care. He is a Scientific Advisor for the International Symposium on
Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.
An interview with Prof. Bakker, ”The role of lactate”, featured in ICU Management Vol. 13(4).
1. What are your key areas of interest and research?
Tissue oxygenation and lactate levels, haemodynamic monitoring, ethics and end-of-life-care.
2. What are the major challenges in your field?
Translating evidence into clinical practice.
3. What is your top management tip?
Hire talented people (if possible people that have more skills/talent than yourself) and then get out of their way. Or, put another way: The next person you hire is even better than you already are.
4. What would you single out as a career highlight?
My fellowship at the Dept. of Intensive Care in the Erasmus Hospital in Brussels
5. If you had not chosen this career path you would have become a…?
Cardiac Surgeon
6. What are your personal interests outside of work?
Skiing, swimming, watching sports (soccer, tennis, Tour de France, ice hockey, American football), Movies, Theatre, Concerts, listening to music and news, reading.
7. Your favourite quote?
“Some men see things as they are and say:”Why?” I dream things that never were and say:”Why not?” (Edward Kennedy quoting his brother Robert Kennedy at Robert's funeral)