Welcome to another session of DocScopy where we'll take a look at the life and professional journey of Dr. Suresh Shenvi, brought to you by MedBound Times, a health journalism platform by MedBound. Dr. Anjali Singh from MedBound Times was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to have a candid conversation with Dr. Suresh Shenvi, a renowned Endodontist & Restorative Dentist, currently practicing in Belgaum, Karnataka, India. In this interview, Dr. Shenvi delves into what prompted him to choose a career in dentistry and how the several challenges and hurdles that life threw his way made him compassionate to the struggle of others and led him to contribute back to the community in his very own way.

Dr. Anjali Singh: Welcome to this DocScopy session, Dr. Shenvi. Sir, could you please give a brief introduction of yourself to our readers?

Dr. Suresh Shenvi: I am Dr. Suresh Shenvi, and I am an endodontist and a restorative dentist by profession. I have been a faculty member at KLE University, Faculty of Dental Sciences, in Belgaum, Karnataka, India, for the last 12 years. I have been an active member of various forums, I provide career guidance and counseling to students; and I run my YouTube channel, which aims to help my students navigate their career path. It has been a fun ride, with some accomplishments in tow as well.

Dr. Anjali Singh: You have co-authored some dental textbooks as well, which is a great achievement in itself.

Dr. Anjali Singh: You enjoy juggling multiple endeavors at once, so in addition to being a full-time faculty member, managing your clinic, and co-authoring some profitable dental books, you also host a career guidance counseling podcast channel on YouTube. Wow, sir, that's a lot and so amazing!

Dr. Suresh Shenvi: Whenever blessed with an opportunity, I grabbed it and went after it with full vigor and thus everything has worked out on its own from thereafter.

Dr. Anjali Singh: Sir, could you please tell us something about your life and your professional journey so far?

Dr. Suresh Shenvi: That's a pretty interesting story because I was very poor at studies but after a major setback, my life took a turn and from thereon, I started putting in a lot of effort because I realized that education can change your life. I hail from a humble middle-class background, and we all came up and through due to education, opportunities that came our way and the blessings of our parents and well-wishers. It was actually by luck that I entered the field of dentistry because I was poor in my studies, be it math or any other subject and I felt like this was the branch that would be most suitable for me. My brother was strict when it came to studies; he encouraged me to study well and from thereon, I kept putting my best foot forward and focused on doing my best, which led me to graduate with merit in my undergraduate and post graduate courses.

I was always keen on helping people any way I could, and it was during my internship period that I actively started helping people with their study-related queries and social media played a great role in this, which ultimately landed me the opportunity to the edit the book DenTest & Clinical Sciences by Dr. S. Gowri Shankar. After this, I went to the USA and when I came back, I felt that I should share the information that I gathered there, which could benefit a lot of people.

So essentially, it began with sharing knowledge about endodontics because I was good at it and currently, I am mainly focused on three categories that include providing career guidance and counseling to people, running my YouTube podcast channel Aspire 32, which helps budding healthcare professionals navigate their path and career ahead and I am a resource person for endodontic courses. It has been a path full of struggles and disappointments, but in the end, it has been worth it. You could say it has been a wonderful journey so far.

Dr. Anjali Singh: Sir, you have reached a point in your life where people admire you and your work. You have been inspiring a lot of people through your YouTube channel by providing career guidance and counseling, so you could say all the struggle was worth it.

Dr. Suresh Shenvi: Definitely! And I think the ultimate aim of any human being should be to try to contribute something back to the society and that is what I am working towards; it's my ultimate goal. If we can be helpful to people by sharing our own experiences, then their journey becomes a lot easier and that is the path that I have chosen. I believe it is something that everyone can do because everyone has their fair share of experiences and struggles.

Dr. Anjali Singh: Everyone has some potential to give back to the society on their own accord and you have really put it very well across. It's a great perspective that we should try to give back to the society in whatever capacity we can.

Dr. Anjali Singh: So, sir, what is the most challenging situation you have faced in your life or line of work so far?

Dr. Suresh Shenvi: The most challenging situation was the turning point in my life when I realized that I did not have the money to pay for the dentistry seat that I had bagged back in the day. Though the amount was very minimal if we looked at it now, it was just 29,000 rupees, but at the time it felt like a large sum of money. I was a Kannada medium student and I had always struggled with English. When I opened the book, I realized that the English language was really out of my league, especially when it came to anatomy, where we had to memorize all the muscles and nerves. That was a really scary situation for me overall, but I overcame my fear and ended up scoring the highest marks in anatomy. I have been in difficult situations at multiple stages in my life and I believe everybody goes through challenges at some stage in their lives, a stage where we are scared and apprehensive but eventually learn to overcome the hurdle. And it is a never-ending cycle because life is going to keep throwing challenges our way. The only thing we can do is learn to muster up the courage to keep going even in the face of adversity, keep on sailing through the challenges and obstacles life throws at us.

Dr. Anjali Singh: So very truly said, sir. Everyone who has reached a certain stage of success in their life has a backstory of struggle and obstacles that they have overcome to reach that point their life because nothing comes easy.

Dr. Anjali Singh: Struggle is the ultimate key to success.

Dr. Suresh Shenvi: Exactly! Everyone has a story to tell! I am sure you also have some stories about the struggles that you have been through.

Dr. Anjali Singh: Haha! Yes, sir, I do have, and I am actually currently going through it right now.

Dr. Suresh Shenvi: I believe everybody should experience some struggle in the early days of their lives because if you wait to struggle in the later days of your life, it only keeps getting more difficult with time. I strongly believe that there has to be some amount of stress as a motivator when it comes to studies- not excessive amounts of stress, but good amount of stress.

Dr. Anjali Singh: The good amount of stress that motivates one to take action; the proper amount of stress can work as a motivator when the need arises. Indeed, well said, sir.

Stay tuned for part two of this insightful conversation.