Get to Know Me
Dr. Aaron C. Chidekel is division chief of pulmonology, co-medical director of the sleep program and director of the hospital's cystic fibrosis program. He's an associate professor of pediatrics at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, author of medical journal articles and books, invited lecturer and active researcher.
Why I Treat Children
How can you not love kids and want to do all you can to help them? After all, they are our future. If you can positively impact the life of a child, you also impact a little bit of our future. I became a doctor because I wanted to help people. One of my mentors in medical school was an early pioneer in the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF), and I picked up on his passion for helping those with the disease. Since his early work to today, kids with CF are living longer and better. That's very exciting and led to my wanting to help kids with CF, too — as well as those with asthma and other pulmonary conditions.
What I'm Passionate About
I'm passionate about working with the whole family. It's the best way for each child to have the best possible outcome, and helps the whole family feel ownership of and contribution to the child's health. I like to help the kids and their families deal with the challenges they are facing. This can be challenging for me as well, but it's ultimately very rewarding when I can make a positive difference for a child and family.I'm also passionate about teaching kids and their families about asthma, CF and other conditions and how they can take care of themselves and live as healthy a life as possible.Learning is very important to my own practice as a doctor as well. I find it crucial to stay up to date on the very latest regarding conditions and treatments.
How I Try to Make A Difference
I believe that caring and contributing my skills as a physician can help make a difference for a child and family. Also, a positive attitude can help people get through tough challenges and sometimes serious health concerns. I believe my patients pick up on this and gain confidence from it — although they're often incredibly positive already, no matter what life has thrown at them.
