Palwasha Daftani, MD

"Dr. Palwasha Daftani always had a love for art as a child, and imagined herself going into fashion design. She declined a spot at a prestigious fashion design high school in the city to attend high school in Queens. That pivotal move put her on a much different trajectory, one that included a medical education program in her senior year of high school. It was there that she discovered her talent for math and science, and her excitement about a career in medicine. She views medicine as a scientific study and its practice as a form of art.

“We got to explore different health professions, and we took trips to local colleges and once to a research lab,” she said. “They taught us scientific techniques and offered fun opportunities to explore and learn about health care careers and how to prepare an educational path to pursue them.I hadn’t had any female role models growing up who were physicians and so I never thought about it. But once I learned more, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I could already imagine myself doing it.”

She got a jump on college classes during her senior year of high school, and went on to earn her biology degree, a medical degree, and a master’s degree in health services administration. She chose family medicine as her specialty because of its comprehensive focus and opportunity for continuity of care.

“In family medicine, we take on a role not just of examining the disease of a patient, but we also explore his or her social and emotional factors,” she said. “It’s a biopsychosocial approach to medicine, and it’s very important in treating patients as a whole.” Dr. Daftani prides herself on being a good listener. “I let my patients talk,” she said. “It’s very rewarding. It also helps to make a better diagnosis when you listen to the full details of their stories.”

The whole-patient focus was one of the aspects that attracted Dr. Daftani to Vanguard Medical Group. “Everyone here works as an advocate for the patient,” she said. “There is also an emphasis on preventive care, which is so important in overall health.”"

"Your Primary Care Team at Vanguard can treat most health problems. For those occasions when you need a specialist, we use our inside knowledge of the health care system to direct you the right specialty care.

At Vanguard we provide comprehensive advanced primary care. This includes not only preventive care such as physicals, Women’s Health and Gyn exams, contraception management, immunizations, and cancer and other recommended screenings. We can also evaluate and treat common problems such as infections, rashes, sprains, strains, aches and pains. We are skilled in the treatment of chronic conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis, depression and anxiety. And if you need stitches, a skin lesion biopsy, treatment of warts or other minor surgical procedures Vanguard should be your first stop."