Building Community with Rusly Harsono, MD
By Madison Brown
Stanford pediatric critical care physician, Rusly Harsono, MD, is an active member of the Social Engagement pillar of Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. To put his value of social connection into action, Dr. Harsono organizes six community events annually as a volunteer, bringing the community together to share research-backed information on lifestyle medicine to promote health, happiness, and longevity.
Dr. Harsono first started volunteering while in medical school and has continued ever since because of the way it made him feel. “There are many benefits I get from volunteering. For example, when I’m sharing new research in lifestyle medicine, I learn about the topic even more,” says Dr. Harsono. “But the nicest thing about volunteering is meeting different people and making so many new connections, which makes me feel complete.”
Hard Working Physician
When he’s not volunteering at health events, he works as a pediatric intensivist at the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Stanford Children’s Health Hospital. He works 12-hour shifts at the minimum, sometimes 24, but he says that his work never feels dragging or exhausting.
“I can’t wait to go to work,” says Dr. Harsono. “In the PICU, I get to serve a different family every day and I make it a priority to connect with the whole family, and not just the child.”
Dr. Harsono started volunteering at Stanford soon after he began working there in 2015. He did a lot of events related to the pediatric population and served as a resource for teenagers thinking about going into the medical field. Three years ago, he joined the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine team and his outreach expanded even further since sharing about lifestyle medicine is appropriate for people of all ages
Today, even though he is a busy physician, Dr. Harsono still makes it a priority to volunteer and make connections with the people around him.
“I love to find the time and just go to these events. People ask me, ‘Is there a monetary reward?’ And in reality, there is not, but that isn’t why I’m there,” says Dr. Harsono. “There’s a different reward; I’m building up my happiness portfolio.”
International Service
Dr. Harsono grew up in Indonesia and Singapore. Each year he takes a trip back and every trip he makes it a point to volunteer and make new connections while traveling. He loves dispersing the knowledge of lifestyle medicine to different parts of the world.
“I don’t want to be the only person that has this information about lifestyle medicine. I want everybody around the world to live well, so that we can all be healthier and happier together,” says Dr. Harsono.
“A vision of a healthier world is what is most meaningful for me. That’s what I get excited about. And that’s what keeps me going as a volunteer, both locally and globally.”
Dr. Harsono encourages people to make social connections, even if they aren’t available to volunteer in an official way that can be demanding or time-consuming. “Just being friendly with the person that makes your coffee, or holding the door open for someone, or waving ‘hello’ to your neighbors—-these positive gestures all ‘count’ as volunteering, or being of service in making someone else’ s day a little brighter,” says Dr. Harsono.
