Bedside and Beyond: A Doctor’s Story of Change
I was born in the land of snow-capped peaks and glassy lakes — Kashmir — where I spent 17 years of my life surrounded by mountains and the comfort of familiarity. I grew up in Srinagar- where the rhythm of life flowed with the seasons. Our home stood in a close-knit neighbourhood of Habba Kadal, where friendships were natural and boundaries felt like gentle suggestions rather than dividing lines. As a child, I had never truly understood what it meant to be “other.”
Until the day I did.
It wasn’t a stranger who shattered the illusion, but a neighbour. Someone who had once shared tea and stories with us. “Leave, convert, or die,” they said — not in a distant news report, but directly to us. That moment cleaved my life in two: before and after. We left behind the mountains and memory-laden lanes for the impersonal hum of concrete cities and unfamiliar roads. And in that abrupt displacement, the first seeds of resilience were planted.
In a world that had suddenly become unrecognisable, I clung to the values of my KP community and the dream that my parents had. Their strength — silent, enduring, and determined — lit the way forward. And I became a doctor.
Clinical life brought with it a strange sense of peace. The white coat, the rounds, the surgical routines — these were the rhythms I had been trained in, and they gave me a sense of certainty that I’d once lost. There was even a new dream forming — a state of the art- critical care unit of my own, where I could combine empathy with expertise, compassion with care.
And then, change knocked again.
An opportunity presented itself: an MBA in Hospital Administration in the United States. At first, I resisted. After all, wasn’t I already where I was supposed to be? But something stirred — maybe it was ambition, maybe curiosity, maybe just the old habit of adapting when life shifted suddenly. I said yes to a couple of important things at that time- to my husband and to a new degree.
What I didn’t know was that I was not just saying yes to a degree. I was saying yes to transformation.
In the US, I became a student again — older than most of my classmates, carrying not just textbooks but the weight of a loan, a newly married life, then a new baby, and the unfamiliarity of life in a foreign land with no family nearby. Every choice came with a cost. The nights were long, the doubts constant, and the money tight. I felt that I needed to do something pronto— not just to stay afloat, but to give myself and my family a stable today and not just work for a promised tomorrow.
That’s when I stumbled upon something unexpected: pharmacovigilance.
At the time, doctors in my circle barely considered the pharmaceutical industry a career path. The general perception was that the only “doctor jobs” in pharma involved promoting products — not exactly the dream. But I learned that drug safety, the science of monitoring and protecting patients from adverse effects of medications, needed people like me. I took up an entry level job in a pharmaceutical company as a Drug safety associate, thinking it was just a temporary fix, a bridge until I finished my MBA and opened my own critical care unit.
But bridges sometimes lead to entirely new landscapes.
I pursued an additional course in pharmaceutical medicine in US. My medical background came alive in this new context — guiding decisions in clinical trials, influencing safety protocols, and shaping how drugs are used responsibly in the real world. And as time passed, I found something that surprised me: joy of patient safety.
There, in the quiet work of reviewing patient data, assessing safety signals, writing medical reports, negotiating with global health authorities and helping ensure that no patient is harmed, I had found a purpose that aligned with my values. My career, my knowledge, and my life as a wife and a parent found a rare balance. I had not abandoned my calling; I had expanded it.
Today, I’m a Safety Physician — a doctor still, but one whose impact ripples behind the scenes, protecting lives at scale. In my current role I have exposure to cutting edge therapies that my clinical contemporaries would have 5 to 8 years down the road, giving me a pride platform where they reach out to stay abreast for new treatment modalities. This career path has given me wings, an ability to move across continents, assimilating cultures and experiences, including this recent move to UK as my new home. It’s been twenty years now as a Safety physician and I have never thought of going back to clinical practice. Being a believer that I am, I no longer see that as a loss but an evolution, a divine intervention and a path that was destined to be.
Change has always arrived uninvited in my life — sometimes like a storm, sometimes like a whisper. But each time, I’ve learned this: Change is not something to be feared. It is the doorway through which purpose often enters, quietly and unexpectedly.
To my fellow physicians — and to anyone afraid to pivot — I offer this: you are not abandoning your dreams when you change; you are honouring them in a different form. The skill, the empathy, the discipline that shaped you in one role can bloom in another.
The mountains of my childhood are far behind me, but their quiet strength remains in me. And from that foundation, I’ve built a new kind of medicine — one that lives beyond the bedside, but never beyond the heart.
Manika Kaul
Dr. Manika Kaul is a Sr. Director, (Global Patient safety Lead (Oncology) for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. She is a safety physician with over two decades of experience in the field of Pharmacovigilance where she passionately works to protect patients from adverse effects of medications on a global scale. Born in Srinagar, and now based in the UK with her husband and son, Dr.Kaul has lived across the US and abroad for most of her life but her love for Kashmiri ‘Khaana’ and ‘Gaana’ keeps her rooted. An avid believer in the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism she practices yoga and meditation regularly, blending science and spirituality in both work and life.
14 Comments
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Manika Kaul
Thank you Dr. Sundeep Ji. I appreciate the feedback.
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Manika Kaul
Thank you Minesh Ji. I am in Windsor, Berkshire.
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Manisha Misri
That’s beautifully written Manika ! You do such an important job, plus sing beautifully and also seen your writing talent now !
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Manika Kaul
Thank you Manisha!!
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Nidhi bhargava
Beautifully written, Manika. Your words are so heartfelt and real!
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Manika Kaul
Thank you Nidhi!!
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Jitendra Kumar Jain
Dear maneka, read your story and was travelling with you as it was moving ahead; great writeup and love to agree with your thoughts
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Manika Kaul
Thank you Dr. Jiten. I am glad you found in engaging!!
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Meenakshi Dhar
Beautifully written! Your story is a beautiful reminder of resilience and purpose. So proud of all you’ve achieved.
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Manika Kaul
Thank you Meenu. You also have a story that is worth sharing and something to be proud of.
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Dr Shalini Jain
I had goosebumps reading it… hats off to your grit and resilience .
Take a bow.-
Manika Kaul
Thank you Dr. Shalini. I’m humbled.
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Comments are closed.
Dr Sundeep Kaul
What a deeply moving and inspiring story, Dr. Kaul!
Your journey beautifully shows how resilience and purpose can redefine a career.
Thank you for reminding us that change can honour our dreams in new, unexpected ways.