Welcome to another section of DocScopy, let us walk through the life and professional journey of Dr. Parvani Laad. MedBound Times was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to have a candid conversation with a Public Health Officer who travels all around the world working on an International Cruise.
The conversation between Dr. Amey Patil from MedBound Times and Dr. Parvani Laad gives us an insight into various aspects of Dr. Laad's life. We dive deep into her professional journey, her journey from working in a village to an international cruise, the experiences and challenges she faces while working in various sectors, her passion for public health, and much more!
Dr. Amey: Ma'am, Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Dr. Laad: Okay, it's been a while since I'm being interviewed (laughs). So basically, I am from this small place called Chachora. It's a small village of like 800 people in the Yavatmal district. And my dad, like the basic and overall income is from farming, so he's a farmer. We kept on moving for studies because, in the rural areas, we don't get good studies, and that was the only wish of my parents to just educate their kids. I have a younger brother. Both of us first lived in Yavatmal for two years, and then I guess for 10-12 years in Hinganghat. Then I shifted to Nagpur for my BAMS for five-and-half years and then to TISS Mumbai for two years.
Dr. Amey: That's quite a rollercoaster. Can you tell us a bit about your professional journey?
Dr. Laad: Okay, that's how it is. And basically after BAMS, I decided that I want to, I mean that is great practicing and stuff, but then if you can look at a bigger chunk of people, why not that? And I don't find myself doing the 9-5 to whatever the fixed shift and all. So I thought, OK, PUBLIC HEALTH.
That suits me how the person, the personality I have is like I feel that was the good option. After TISS, there was the pandemic, so I was from the batch which was hit by the pandemic. I was in my urban internship. The internship was at YMCA Mumbai. Then I came back to Yavatmal. I started practicing here because I had a lot of time and I was at home and that was not the sole reason. The area I live does not have any medical centers like the PHCs are very far. And there are only two to three autos in my village and in other villages too. The people had to pay 500 just for autos because it was COVID time and stuff.
After BAMS, I decided that I want to, I mean that is great practicing and stuff, but then if you can look at a bigger chunk of people, so why not that? And I don't find myself doing the 9-5 to whatever the fixed shift and all. So I thought, OK, PUBLIC HEALTH.
Dr. Parvani Laad, BAMS, MPH
So my parents were like one fine day, we were just joking, okay, let's start clinic under the tree and stuff. And we just thought, okay, fine, whatever, let's start. We just bought medicines, whatever is needed because people can't travel, we don't have Medical Center. I mean there are dispensaries here, only pharmacies. So I practiced for I guess 8 to 9 months.
Like we provided, I was working here because that was also a cut-off link because I jumped from BAMS directly to TISS. I never practiced so but that was fine, because my friends were there who were practicing, so they helped a bit wherever needed. It was nice. We used to have patients all the in the morning. I used to do some patients, then the lectures, and then in the evening, there were patients again. I don't say that that comes under my professional journey. But now I'm looking at a bigger picture, the bigger picture that gave me a perspective. I never mentioned it on my CV, but I guess I should. (laughs)
We just bought medicines, whatever is needed because people can't travel, we don't have Medical Center. I mean there are dispensaries here, only pharmacies.
Dr. Parvani Laad, BAMS, MPH
It was like I used to give medicines and only charge for medicines. That was very well appreciated in this area. People used to be fond of me because, in my entire area, there was no female doctor on this site. Even during my BAMS internship, I took my internship in Yavatmal because we have the option of shifting our internship. So it was nearby my village. We have a Primary healthcare center (PHC) here.
It was just for three months. But I realized that we don't have female doctors on this side because max to max you will have nurses, you'll have nurses who will just settle down here, but no doctors. So even though I was working in PHC, I saw a good surge of people in that PHC.
Just realizing how just being a different gender can also impact because people feel really free to talk to you, and they share their complaints, basically, the gynecological complaints that they had. So that was one. After this, I was waiting for National Health Systems Resource Center (NHSRC) and stuff.
Because NHSRC was one of my goals, and then when the interviewer came, I mean they had this pre-round before. At that point in time, I thought no this is not for me. I mean that was so monotonous I felt.
But I blindly had that goal because of the people, because I guess we always have some people who we appreciate, like the people they are, and the personality they have. I have one such person who kind of impacted my way of thinking. Eventually, I thought no, this is not for me. There were no good placements basically for my entire batch. and everybody was really struggling.
Just realizing how just being a different gender can also impact because people feel really free to talk to you, and they share their complaints, basically, the gynecological complaints that they had.
Dr. Parvani Laad, BAMS, MPH
It was in the middle of COVID, and everybody was laying off people. So let alone they will take people, right? But thankfully I applied randomly on my own. I never used placement the TISS placement. I applied on my own for this UNICEF. It was a combination of UNICEF and Red Ad India. Rare India is a humanitarian organization.
I worked there for a while, and one day, I randomly got the opportunity of working on a cruise while surfing on LinkedIn. I applied and the rest is history!
Well the story isn't over for us yet. Stay tuned to MedBound Times for Part-2 of this interview series.
