Dr V grew up in England, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. She was schooled in all three countries. She pursued her MBBS and MD Pediatrics from JSS Medical College in Mysore, India. Being exposed to multiple cultures and languages has made her empathetic and sensitive to the practices and beliefs of people everywhere.
Her 19 years of practise at Sita Ranga Nursing Home Hospital in Mysore shaped her into the pediatrician she is today. She noticed the gaps in newborn care and set about establishing safe and protocol-based newborn care units in the Labour Room and the Operation Room. She introduced the system of color coding and labeling medical supply bins. She ensured that emergency drugs were available in all the rooms, including ICU, CCU, NICU, Labour Room, and Casualty Room. She also facilitated the effective and efficient management of all situations. These initiatives, along with proper education for the nursing staff, helped develop her NICU into one that could best deal with all newborn emergencies and overall care.
Seeing, firsthand, how painful childbirth is, she realized that a little comfort and care can make a huge difference in a mother's memory of bringing her baby into this world. She arranged state-of-the-art, adjustable beds that would offer adequate comfort for the mother. She and the other doctors eliminated the running wires of spotlights, which posed a hazard to everybody.
She spent time with mothers and primary caregivers, educating them about the need to simplify childcare. She promoted breastfeeding and informed working mothers of safe and healthy options. Being a primary healthcare provider who understands how economic lapses affect family dynamics, Dr V always keeps the patients’ constraints in mind while advising or teaching them.
After two decades of attending to newborn deliveries, neonatal care, and emergencies, Dr V realized the limitations of a busy OPD practice. She realized that it doesn’t allow the space and time to address issues that, though common, require in-depth examination and analysis. For example, cases relating to mental health and learning disabilities. Therefore, she gladly reformed her practice. Today, she is more involved in all aspects of care, thus ensuring that she is able to provide her complete attention and best guidance to all patients.
Dr V notices a lack of understanding and management of mental health issues in children and adolescents. Obesity, anxiety, attention deficit, and learning disabilities are issues that are on the rise but not adequately addressed in her city, Mysore. She wants to address these issues and help remove the stigma and shame that society has attached to them. She wants to provide more rounded, complete comprehensive child and adolescent health care because she believes that no two children are the same and every child is worth giving our absolute, undivided best to.
She educates herself through courses and CME offered by the American Pediatric Association and the Indian Pediatric Association. She does this so that she can better support her patients and families in the recognition and management of such issues that are not routinely addressed.
On the personal front, she enjoys maintaining a level of fitness through cycling, running, and weight training. Being a lover of the outdoors, she frequently goes for treks and hikes. She is also a proud mother to four dogs. She encourages parents to practice a healthy lifestyle and keep a work/home balance with personal time for themselves and quality time with each other.