Dr Neha inspires young womens to achieve their dreams
FOR many years, the field of medical sciences had been a male dominated career path but over the years women have broken barriers to pursue their dream and Dr Neha Raj was no different.
Dr Raj, 25, is the first in her family to become a doctor, a feat she achieved after becoming a recipient of the Government-funded National Toppers Scheme.
She graduated with her MBBS degree and deans honours last year in December from the Fiji National University.
Dr Raj said that chasing her dream of becoming a doctor was not easy but her parents’ support made it all possible.
“I had indeed always dreamt of becoming a doctor since I was a little girl. When I was in primary school, I had then made up my mind that I wanted that tag of being called a doctor. My parents have always been supportive of my dreams and academic goals, for which I am forever thankful to them,” she said.
“I have seen my parents do everything from scratch, through a lot of hard work and dedication. They have taught me to chase my dreams no matter how difficult life gets and whether people are there to support you or not. They always tell me that any dedicated child can become what they aspire to be.”
Challenges come along with daily experiences and one of the major hurdles that Dr Raj faced was when her dad suffered a kidney failure just a week before her second year final examinations.
She said that watching her father go through a medical dilemma further inspired her to strive for excellence as a doctor.
“I had to juggle between looking after my father and revising for my finals but I am so grateful that he was there for me for my graduation quite healthy post kidney transplant. It was quite a difficult period for me and my family for two years while he was on dialysis. He was admitted at the hospital frequently and that would bring the whole house upside down as we are a nuclear family,” Dr Raj added. “One important quality that doctors should possess is empathy. We, as doctors want to treat our patients the same way we want our parents to be treated. It is very important to understand the emotions and challenges patients face.” Dr Raj said that there should be no gender disparity in becoming a doctor or choosing the medical field as a career path. She advised all aspiring doctors to follow their dreams. “I would advise the young generation to work hard and strive for your dreams. Becoming a doctor is a mammoth task; the long hours of studying, clinical rotations, late hours of work take a lot of dedication and patience. However, the appreciation patients express upon being seen makes it all worth it.” When quizzed about her daily affirmation, Dr Raj said: “Each morning I wake up, I tell myself that I am enough, I can, I must and I will, and today, I finally have the ‘Dr’ tag.”