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Was born in a rural part of India where most of my family members are farmers. Grew up with a sense of deep appreciation for Medicine. Multiple family members, especially my grandfather, encouraged me to become a medical doctor. What inspired me to become a physician was not the money or the prestige, but rather the desire to serve and a sense of humility. I vividly remember the day when I was selected for admission at Government Medical College, Amorists, which is considered one of the best medical schools in the state of Punjab, India. I was the first one in my family to have been chosen to come a doctor.
My interest in psychiatry grew, while I was in my medical school. One of my distant cousins who used to visit us was suffering from mental illness. I saw how miserable he was and witnessed firsthand the social stigma of mental illness in my country. While in my medical school, I was finally able to help him to get treatment. It was incredibly gratifying to see the transformation of a person impaired by his mental illness, who was now functional after receiving appropriate therapy. My care and compassion for the mentally ill had grown since.
In medical school, did rotations in general psychiatry clinics as well as specialist clinics including memory disorders, geriatrics and addiction medicine. While evaluating these patients, I got better understanding of concepts that had learned from books. In addition, understanding the combination of physical, mental and social problems was both satisfying and inspiring. All these experiences further strengthened my decision to enter the field of psychiatry. Interest into psychiatry expanded further, when got the opportunity to work at the Community Health Center in rural village.
Here counseled and managed patients with mild to moderate depression and substance abuse. I also organized camps in rural areas where I educated people about mental illnesses and about harms of drug-addiction. With the help of our staff and the heads of villages, we also organized sports events in villages to encourage athleticism and discourage drug use. Working at the Community Health Center made me become an efficient team member who made quick decisions even in stressful situations and communicated effectively. Before working here, worked at a charitable hospital under supervision of Dry. Ukrainian Sandhog (General Psychiatrist) in India.
While working, met an amazing woman, who would later marry. Since she was settled here in the United States, I eventually decided to follow her and pursue my career in the States. I took the ASSUME exams and started working under supervision of Dry. Manmade Sings (General Psychiatrist), at WI. I assisted Dry. Sings at his private practice, in interviewing of patients with psychiatric disorders. This past year, I started working at NYC. While working at the Alchemies Disease Center and at the Sleep & Memory Lab, NYC, I contributed to research projects on objective cognitive impairment and sleep study.
Here I have been assisting Dry. Barry Register in his evaluations of patients of geriatric psychiatry. I also participated in research seminars and presented cases on subjects from NINA- NIH. Also started observers with Dry. James Galvan in September 2014. While working with my supervising doctors in patient care, I obtained sound knowledge of psychiatry and psychopathology. It also gave me an insight into the healthcare system of US. After having spent a significant amount of time in the US healthcare system, both in patient care ND academics, I feel am ready for moving ahead with a residency in psychiatry.
Looking forward, I intend to help the undeserved through my practice and through my contributions to policy, research and education. Want to be at the forefront of my patient’s healthcare. I want to be that doctor that sits down and explains complex issues in detail. I believe my hard work, honesty and dedication to my work will be an asset to your residency program. I promise to bring to your program my strong work ethic, teamwork skills and commitment to providing the most effective and humane patient care.