Piyumika deSilva

Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Dr. De Silva's journey in medicine began in Colombo, where she completed her pre-medical education. Her academic excellence earned her a scholarship to St. George's University in Grenada, where she graduated magna cum laude. She then completed her residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), receiving the award for Best Teaching Resident along the way. Following residency, Dr. De Silva took on the role of Chief Medical Resident of Ambulatory Care. During this time, she faced the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic head-on. She designed and implemented an academic telehealth model that ensured continuous care for underserved patients and preserved ambulatory training for our residents. In 2020, Dr. De Silva joined the NJMS faculty as Assistant Professor of Medicine at University Hospital. Hitting the ground running, she spearheaded multiple initiatives in her focus areas of healthcare operations leadership, population health, and medical education. One of her standout projects, the Multidisciplinary Hypertension Management Protocol, made significant strides in achieving blood pressure control in our patient population. With an eye always on enhancing the resident experience, Dr. De Silva also introduced the innovative Ambulatory POD System, which not only increased resident-patient continuity of care but also improved collaboration and coordination within the healthcare team. Her commitment to the residents shone through as she earned the Best Teaching Attending award at University Hospital for two consecutive years. Her contributions led to her appointment as Associate Program Director for Ambulatory Care in 2022 and Director of Ambulatory Care for General Internal Medicine in 2023. In these roles, Dr. De Silva continues to drive initiatives promoting wellness and collaboration, enhancing the ambulatory care experience for patients, providers, and staff alike. Her passion lies in fostering a healthier population through strategic health system management. She strives to inspire residents to become champions of high-quality, value-based, patient-centered care, believing that well-trained physicians are key to transforming healthcare delivery. Through her innovative approach, Dr. De Silva is working to shape the future of healthcare, one improvement at a time.