“Nothing is impossible with hard work, dedication and commitment”. But very few individuals continue to work hard without giving up. Dr Parul Vadgama is one of them. Her journey to become president in IMA is very inspiring. She has a keen interest in management, communication, relationship building and networking. Her message to people is to relentlessly work and prove yourself to others as it takes a lot of sacrifice to achieve something. .
Early years and Education
Dr.Parul was born on 17th July 1980. Her father, Kishorkant Vadgama, was in the Air force and her mother, Pushpa Vadgama, is also a well-educated woman. Dr.Parul was a bright and vocal student from the beginning and used to do poetry and participate in debate competitions.
She was very curious about the medical field from childhood and her parents wanted both of their daughters to go into the medical field. When she grew up, her second choice was MBA. However, she had a good score and got admission in BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad in 1997. She graduated with distinction and chose TB and Chest branch for Post-graduation. She had to conflict with her family with her choice as this branch was not familiar then. Furthermore, she took admission for post-graduation in 2003 and finished with a gold medal in 2006.
She considers MP C R Patil sir as a role model in leadership. She is impressed by Padmashri Kanubhai tailor, who is the founder of “Disabled Welfare Trust of India”. Likewise, she is very impressed by the leadership of National IMA leader Anil Nayak and has learned the art of communication from him.
She has a very supportive husband and family. Dr. Mehul Bhavsar, her husband has never restricted her to work for the society, or for the college. Her daughter was very young when she joined IMA. So, those years were very crucial and her family’s sacrifice has made it possible for her to achieve this.
The beginning of her journey
After marriage, she shifted to Surat and joined Smimer Hospital & Medical College. There she served as a teacher for 9 years and then was promoted to associate professor. At a very young age they gave her responsibility to be a Warden of a college, and after that they gave her appointment for literary committee chairman in the senior college. After 9 years she applied for the government medical college and was promoted as an associate professor and at the same time she entered into IMA as an executive board member.
Moving on the Journey
She completed 8 years in IMA and last year she was president in IMA. She became chairman, co-chairman and organizing secretaries of various medical conferences. Furthermore, she is active in public awareness, social talks and TV talks. At present, she is in-charge of the wellness center at Vanita Vishram School. Since the last four years she has been an active member of the Chamber of Commerce. This gave her an opportunity to become the chairman of the public health committee this year. So, with the help of her medical knowledge and support of other doctors she is doing welfare activities at different places like Vanita Vishram School, Chamber of Commerce and is associated with public awareness programs, public health camps and private health camps in private hospitals. She has collaborated in IMA with the Police department, Chamber of Commerce and many other NGOs.
She is associate professor as well as head of Dept. of Chest medicine. Her duties are to look after the patients, Covid-19 OPDs and teach 3 post graduate students per year. They are also arranging academic activities for students.
At this point she is comfortable as she has acceptance and people have taken her as a good leader. Apart from attending OPDs and other routine work, she works 12 hours for Covid-19 patients. Her commitment towards her job is visible to all.
Struggles and hindrances
At first people welcomed her into IMA, but once they saw her talent and popularity, they started resisting. She was the elected president of IMA Surat after 50 years, so she was the second female president of Surat city. When she gradually became famous in the field, senior people in the medical field were jealous as she was growing too fast. They felt she should not do certain things, but she was determined, and she believes hard work always pays off. When she joined IMA she used to attend meetings late at night and even today continues this. Election in IMA was quite challenging, and though she was younger than other senior members she got elected. She thinks that if you can reach common people’s needs and their issues and reciprocate them on time then you can have acceptance from the members.
What’s in the future?
She wants to do good work in social work, health and education fields and contribute in these fields in the future.
