Dr Sameer Karnam completed his medical degree from The University of Adelaide and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2017. He completed advanced training in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine through 3 large metropolitan hospitals in Melbourne - the Alfred Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital and The Royal Melbourne Hospital. During this time, he was the trainee representative on the Victorian branch of the Thoracic Society of Australia & New Zealand (TSANZ).
Dr Karnam currently holds a specialist position at Alfred Hospital where he undertakes clinics in general respiratory, advanced lung disease/lung transplantation and sleep & ventilation whilst also managing inpatients. He is also skilled in procedures including bronchoscopy and EBUS-TBNA for diagnosis and staging of lung cancer.
Dr Karnam’s current clinical practice covers a wide range of disorders. He specialises in a number of respiratory and sleep conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, diagnosing lung cancer, obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy.
Between 2020 and 2022, Sameer assisted in the response to the coronavirus pandemic by helping on the frontline. Sameer was part of the COVID-19 rotation at the Alfred Hospital where he managed a team of doctors and nurses in caring for those unwell with COVID-19 on the dedicated COVID ward. During this difficult period, Sameer endured many challenges. These ranged from logistical issues within the hospital including how to clear patients who were either negative for COVID-19 or had recovered from the illness; remaining up to date with the constant evolving medical knowledge surrounding COVID-19, most of which was through the experience of other health professionals in other countries and trying to maintain a positive attitude with the hope that we would emerge out of this pandemic when there was significant uncertainty about what the future held.
In addition to his clinical work, Dr Karnam is actively involved in research. He is a regular participant in local, national and international conferences and workshops has has presented at both national and international conferences.
He is also involved in teaching and mentoring junior doctors, primarily through his role as a respiratory and sleep physician at the Alfred Hospital. This includes informal teaching during ward rounds, clinics and bronchoscopies, but also more structured, formal teaching for physician trainees embarking on their clinical examination for the FRACP via long and short case tutorials.
He is also heavily involved in educating local GPs by delivering presentations both at dinner meetings and also at GP practices. These presentations are delivered to highlight the importance of recognising and managing respiratory & sleep disorders in the community whilst also updating general practitioners on the latest and ground breaking studies that have recently come to light.
Away from work, Sameer enjoys spending time with his family. He likes to travel, enjoys reading novels and is an avid sports enthusiast where follows the cricket, AFL, NRL, NFL, NBA and Formula 1.
Sameer is dedicated in delivering patient centred care tailored to each individual patient. His goal is to assist patients in making the right choices for their medical condition whilst providing the highest quality, comprehensive and compassionate care.
