Actions Can Speak What Thousand Words Cannot

Dr Anita Sharma Raina

MBBS; FRCGP; DFRSH; Diabetes (Dip); MSc (Edu)

It started with a small step in the summer of 2003 when I moved with my husband and our three young children to the UK from Istanbul after a career break of nearly 3.5 years. An invite to an enhanced NHS induction workshop as a motivational speaker to share my top ten tips of success as an International Medical Graduate (IMG) was not only a humbling moment but also allowed me to pause and reflect on the years gone by.

It has been a long & beautiful journey both professionally and personally for us as a family for each one of us got wings to fly and realise our dreams. Here is a snapshot of top ten tips to other IMG graduates from someone who graduated from Dr SNMC medical College in Jodhpur, India in 1992 and MBBS was the only professional degree I had when I came to the UK, which, had in fact become rusty.

What do I do?

Clinical

1. GP Partner Smallfield, Surrey
2. Senior Clinical Advisor for Covid-19 111
3. GPSI in Diabetes with insulin initiation
4. Minor surgeries and joint injections in Primary Care
5. Coils and Implants Fitter

Educational

1. Programme Director for CRESH GP Training Scheme (HEEKSS)
2. Family planning Trainer
3. Horley PCN Educator Lead
4. GP tutor for East Surrey CCG
5. Honorary Examiner at Brighton and King’s Medical School
6. Academic mentor & PGCERT Marker

Professional

1. i. Appraiser for NHSE
2. ii.CRESH Equality & Diversity Lead

Voluntary

1. Dementia Champion
2. Infant Feeding Champion
3. Community COVID Support worker

Top Tip 1# Life That Balances my Work

It is vital to find one’s motivation. My motivation was threefold: 

A passion to be a good doctor and I am still trying to be one. The second motivation were the two men in my life who believed in me when I did not, my father and my husband. The third motivation was to set an example of hard work for my children and keep us thriving together as a family.

Top Tip 2# Medicine is Universal

The experience of working in a busy Government hospital in Delhi taught me to work with limited resources, think on the feet and be flexible. Safdarjung Hospital never slept just like the NHS. The challenges the healthcare system faces are the same in every country. The solutions are thus the same too.

Top Tip 3 # A Career Break

Living the life of an expat in Istanbul showed me a glimpse of a different lifestyle, a new culture, and an opportunity to mingle with the international community. It taught me to keep my own culture alive whilst participating in celebrations of others. Those communication skills are the cornerstone of my work as a GP.

Top Tip 4 # The United Kingdom of Exams

Temptation leans on the door but opportunity knocks once. I have taken nearly 16 exams in this country, most of which, when the children were taking theirs. My revision strategy was opportunistic learning, e.g., getting through a few MCQ whilst waiting for a child to finish her dance class or sitting on the edges of a football field.

Top Tip 5 # My First School in UK

Beneath the language sits the culture. I learnt what do families really do in their homes, what they eat, how do they communicate and what means most to them. Apart from a strong mum network, the Primary school in Dorking was indeed my first school too.

Top tip 6 # The First steps

NHS was flooded with doctors at the time. It was a routine to submit 100 applications daily and expect not even to be shortlisted till a day when I got voluntary work experience in my local hospital. I was taught how to look up blood results on a computer which, incidentally, is not a complex task. On a ward round, when I had to do it independently, I failed. In just a few moments my self esteem & the confidence hit rock bottom till a helpful ward clerk told me that the computer was faulty. This taught me to ask for help. People are generally willing to help.

Top Tip 7 # Role models and learning opportunities

Role models are important but even more important is to choose the right people. A fruit laden tree will always bend, and such were the doctors I was fortunate enough to learn from. They aspired to perfection and encouraged me to do too.

It was thus an honour to be nominated by a role model to be the Fellow of Royal College.

Top Tip 8 # No shortcut to hard work

There are no shortcuts in life. Our home was akin to an educational institution where all of us were studying and working hard towards one exam or the other. My favourite companion was my little dog Snowy who would sit through the nights under my study table as I wrote my dissertation. 

Top Tip 9 # A lifelong learner

The fire of learning burns bright within me and I take out time to stoke the flames. There is always another thing to learn, a skill to master and a lifetime to share my learning. This is a land of opportunities. I am currently working towards an ILM Level 5 qualification as a coach.

Top Tip 10 # Well-Being

Nobody can pour from an empty cup, so one needs to find time to stop and pat oneself on the back. My eternal gratitude to the biggest healer of all who has always sent angels whenever my path to being a good doctor has been met with challenges.

I leave you with this poem which I dedicate to all the healthcare professionals and especially our new junior doctors who had a baptism of fire when the Pandemic started:

Today I woke up to see the dawn

Every trace of darkness had gone

The sky had a peaceful hue

Fresh and pure like the morning dew.

The pandemic has taught us a lesson

To treat, to care, in every fashion

The road is long with many a bend

Your resilience will see you to the end

These are footprints on the sands of time

Your role is nothing short of divine

Now is the time to rise & shine

To say each day: everything is just fine!

As you touch many a life

You heal those in pain or in strife

With the patients you share a bond so deep

Work as you do tirelessly from waking to sleep

It takes courage to answer a call

It takes courage to give your all

You tread on a noble path with grace

Every challenge you bravely face

Shivratri is here my friend

Warm wishes I want to send

Happiness and peace I wish you

Pure joy like the morning dew

Time with family I hope you spend

Soon you will be back, to heal and to mend

To a new start, to Navreh, a new year

To wipe away many a tear

“No candle loses its light while

lighting another candle. Never stop sharing, caring, and Helping others, smile because it makes our life more meaningful.”

——— Anita Raina