Growing up, Asia Mubashir wanted to be an astronaut. However, she tended to get air sick, so it probably wasn’t the best career path. 

Become a world-traveling doctor? That she could do. 

Mubashir has spent years in the field as a rheumatologist, helping patients both inside and outside the United States with conditions like lupus, arthritis and osteoporosis. In North India — a region with 1.5 million people and just one rheumatologist — she opened a center dedicated to rheumatology.

Today, Mubashir lives in Auburn and is a new rheumatologist at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston and the medical director. 

She may not be leading humanity’s charge through space, but she’s making a difference on Earth.

Where did you grow up? I have had a very interesting childhood. I was exposed to different people and varied cultures at a very young age. I grew up in India, the Middle East, Canada and the United States. Having lived in different places, I can better understand where people from different backgrounds are coming from and this helps me to better understand and communicate with my patients. This was an invaluable experience. I truly cherish this aspect of my life.

Did you always want to be a doctor? No, I wanted to be an astronaut. However, my brother reminded me that I got air sick too often. Without investigating the matter further, I chose a different career path.

What got you interested in rheumatology? I decided to become a rheumatologist in the first year of my internal medicine residency. I had just completed a year in research in cardiology at Columbia University in New York. While I worked there, I realized that most interesting patients were the ones who had cardiac diseases due to underlying rheumatic illnesses such as lupus. I realized that the interesting patients for the other internal medicine sub-specialties were those with rheumatic diseases also. I was intrigued by a sub-specialty that did not have all the answers. The last decade has been revolutionary in terms of the advancements we have made in rheumatology. I was at the cusp of this change. We have many treatment options to choose from in order to make my patients feel better and function to the best of their ability. I especially enjoy taking care of patients with chronic disease, working with them and their families. I consider myself fortunate to bring these advances in therapy, diagnosis and prevention to my patients.

What brought you to Lewiston? Maine is a beautiful state with wonderful people, clean air, open spaces and a good education system. It’s ideal for raising my young kids (6 and 4 years old). Also, its proximity to Canada keeps me close to my family. My work at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center as the director and rheumatologist is very rewarding. We cater to a population where there is great need for our services. This gives me an opportunity to serve this community and make a difference. My patients are very warm and appreciative. What else can one ask for? I feel at home.

You went to medical school in the Dominican Republic, were an assistant professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C, and you worked in North India. What differences have you seen between the practice of medicine in those regions and the United States? I think if you had to compare the United States with a country like India, the thing that is most striking is the sheer volume of patients. India is a country of 1.3 billion people and only about 30 fully trained rheumatologists cater to this population. You can imagine, I had my work cut out for me. The other aspect is affordability. Most Indian patients pay out of pocket and the cost of a lot of the new medications is prohibitive. It’s really frustrating to be in that position because you know what will make your patient better and how she or he can improve her or his quality of life but you are unable to prescribe. In the United States, as well, health care costs are a concern and that is specifically the reason I chose to work for a unique institution such as St. Mary’s, where we try very hard to overcome these issues in the best possible way we can. Of course, in the United States, patient volumes are lower and there are more trained doctors, so you get to spend quality time with patients. Also, state-of-the-art medical care is available and insurance makes such care affordable.

Tell me about your Center for Arthritis & Rheumatism in North India: My husband’s work took us to Srinagar, a major North Indian city with a population of 1.5 million and only one rheumatologist. It was hugely under-served. There was also a lack of awareness of rheumatic diseases. I wanted to create awareness of these diseases and also cater to as many patients as I could without compromising quality of care. So, I went on TV and wrote in newspapers about rheumatic diseases and also held community camps. I brought advances in therapy, diagnosis and prevention to my patients. We built a basic electronic medical records system, which is very uncommon there, and developed a state-of-the-art facility.

Was it hard to leave the center after you started it? Yes, it was. But, I had to make that decision for my young family. I have not shut the center down, but have collaborated with a reputable hospital to operate a multi-specialty clinic there. This will help the broader patient community there. I am also exploring options to see how I may use technology (telemedicine) to help my patients remotely. It would be great to “check in” on my patients once or twice a month.

What’s the most challenging thing about being a rheumatologist? While rheumatology has made tremendous advancements over the last decade, many questions are still unanswered. Not knowing all the answers for a specialist is a very challenging thing. Sometimes rheumatic diseases take time to evolve. How do you tell your patient that you think they may have an autoimmune disease but you can’t be sure. Sometimes we even have to treat a patient without a particular diagnosis. You can imagine how difficult it is both for the treating physician and the patient.