Meet the provider: Deepti Zutshi, M.D.

Deepti Zutshi, M.D., Department of Neurology, joined Wayne Health in August 2013. Her special interests in neurology include epilepsy, electroencephalography in critical care, women with epilepsy and pregnancy, and quality improvement in neurology.

Dr. Zutshi went to the six-year accelerated BS/MD program at the University of Miami and Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Fl. Coming into medical school slightly younger than her colleagues, she had a more focused aspect to what she wanted to accomplish and making the most out of her experiences. Dr. Zutshi completed residency at Emory University and a Clinical Neurophysiology fellowship at Emory University. Dr. Zutshi chose neurology as she believes it to be the best kept secret in medicine. There are so many different subspecialties that one can specialize in, sometimes it can be overwhelming and intimidating. However, the diagnostic process is very rewarding, with a high focus on patient history and physical examination often making the diagnosis. Furthermore, neurology is no longer a field of diagnosing only. In the last decade, the therapeutic options that are available to neurologists has increased significantly and previously “untreatable” diseases are now treatable and the best is yet to come.

The reason Dr. Zutshi picked Wayne Health were the people. Her colleagues and Chairs have been very supportive people in her goals and progression through academia with their advice. She finds the working environment in her division is fantastic and very tight-knit. She considers them to be family, not just work colleagues, and their support and ideas make the whole team better.

Dr. Zutshi believes in a teamwork approach to medicine for many of her patients. She takes a head-on, honest approach, explaining steps and making sure to clearly communicate to help alleviate her any of her patients’ fears. She makes sure to discuss future steps to help patients feel a sense of security; having a plan of action in case results are not ideal. No matter the treatment, Dr. Zutshi always makes sure her patients know they are cared about and she will do everything in her power to get the patients’ ideal results. Dr. Zutshi’s patients have taught her how to be patient. For her, this means to keep working within what they are willing to do and to make sure to keep communicating and educating about various options. Eventually, they will get to the best treatment strategies and options together and that is what creates a successful patient-physician partnership.

Dr. Zutshi’s most impactful experience with a patient so far was with her father-in-law, except she was on the other side of the bed as a family member. The experience of taking care of him and working with, and sometimes against, his healthcare team really taught her the importance of thinking how both the patient and their family feels, and how communication is key for both parties.

Dr. Zutshi won the Kimford J. Meador Research in Women with Epilepsy Award for her research in this population group. Dr. Zutshi was also featured in Lancet Neurology’s Lifeline Spotlight article in July 2020 for a grant related to the quality improvement in epilepsy.

In addition to her clinical and research duties, Dr. Zutshi is very interested in medical education. She is the faculty advisor for the Student Interest Group in Neurology. She works specifically with Wayne medical students to host several sessions throughout the year on topics to interest students in neurology, and also as a way to encourage neurology residents to interact with students as teachers. She also helps coordinate the fourth-year neurology rotation schedules. A large part of what she does as Associate Program Director for the neurology residency at WSU/DMC is as Director of Admissions where she organizes the recruitment of residents. These duties make her career enjoyable due to the variety of different events and people she meets.

In her free time, Dr. Zutshi enjoys art and painting as well as learning the piano. These are two hobbies she picked up during the pandemic.

To request an appointment with Dr. Zutshi, visit our appointments page.