From Resident to Full-Time Hospitalist: Dr. Timur Otajonov Reflects on Finding Community in Cooperstown

Bassett Healthcare Network is proud to have recently welcomed four internal medicine residents as full-time physicians after they completed job training in their specialty in Cooperstown.

One of those practitioners is Dr. Timur Otajonov, who works as a hospitalist, providing care to admitted inpatients at each of the network’s five hospitals: Bassett Medical Center, A.O. Fox Hospital, Little Falls Hospital, Cobleskill Regional Hospital, and O’Connor Hospital.

“I come from Uzbekistan, a country in Central Asia, south of Russia. My father is a surgeon and was a role model for me,” said Dr. Otajonov. “I applied to multiple hospitals across the United States for my residency and one of those was Bassett Medical Center. During my interview, I was intrigued by the program. Even through the computer screen, I could feel the connection between the residents and the hospital. I felt a warm sense of community.”

During Dr. Otajonov’s residency, his family embraced that sense of community more than they could have imagined after suffering an unimaginable and tragic loss.

“My four-month-old son Arslan unexpectedly passed away,” he said. “That was the worst day of my life when my wife and I brought him to the emergency department. All of my attending physicians, all of the faculty, my program director, and all of my friends were there standing with me and helping. At that time, I really felt like, yeah, I’m in the right place and I’m going to stay here,” shared Dr. Otajonov.

In the weeks that followed, Dr. Otajonov’s Internal Medicine colleagues organized a fundraising campaign to support him and his family as they grieved and planted a memorial tree on campus in Arslan’s memory.

Dr. Otajonov’s wife, who is also a doctor, is now completing her residency in the same Internal Medicine residency program he was in. Their daughter is enrolled in school and is doing well.

“I would strongly recommend Bassett to doctors and medical school graduates. Leaders are accessible and helpful, ready to answer questions and talk through any issues. There’s a great balance between instruction and autonomy,” said Dr. Otajonov, “At the end of the day, when you hear your patients are grateful, it makes the long hours worked during residency worth it.”

Dr. Otajonov is photographed with his family and colleagues at the memorial tree planted for his four-month-old son Arslan in July 2025.