For twelve years now, I've been working as a urologist and thereby involved with genitourinary cancers, fertility care, and male sexual dysfunction. In 2010, my entry into the field medical practice prompted me to focus on evidence-based methodology and gave me first hints about the power of quantitative research in countering cognitive biases. Qualitative research, without my awareness, quickly followed as my practice continued: despite my expectations of a highly prestigious academic clinic, affiliated with the same university I graduated from in Russia, the reality of my job turned out to be mired in metastatic corruption, institutionalized medical malpractice, and normalized abuses of power — all on top of the disregard for critical thinking and evidence-based science. Two years later, a short trip to a medical conference and a medical workshop in Spain revealed to me an abysmal cultural gap between Europe and Russia, not only in general, but in the makeup of healthcare systems in particular. Culture is how we do things at work. That gap translated into a radically different standard of medical care for patients, as well as radically different opportunity and dignity for the most of medical workers.

Studying and exposing that difference informed a big part of the work on my book, which portrayed corruption within a bigger picture of existential landscape in Russia. After five years of working in conditions of semi-slavery, I left the academic clinic in 2015, only to face the reality that those cultural problems affected not just my particular institution but the entire industry in my country. Due to political and macroeconomic circumstances, there were no better alternatives on the horizon.

I didn't quit medical work, though. My evidence-based approach, critical thinking, and high standard of professional ethics allowed me to continue working part-time in a private setting. I continued to expand my knowledge, particularly around genital surgery and fertility care, and manage complex, enigmatic clinical cases that other doctors gave up on. I continued making a difference in the medical field, just as my leadership and cognitive psychology research allowed me to make it in the field of mental health and corporate culture.

These days, despite my limited time availability, I continue working with English, Spanish, and Russian-speaking patients, particularly those I attended in the previous years. My consultations are available remotely from anywhere in the world, and my surgical practice is implemented through a network of partner clinics and fellow medical professionals in Europe. Feel free to contact me if you need medical help around erectile dysfunction, kidney and bladder problems, genital aesthetic surgery, and fertility issues.