Blog

Blog#1:

Circumstances in life lead to a destination that you never expect

-My journey from medical school through being a public health researcher- 

 My professional journey started with an inclination toward health after having seen twin babies preserved in a jar at my father's departmental museum. I decided to become a doctor to treat patients. Soon, I aimed to pursue a degree in medicine. I got the license to practice medicine after 6 years spent in medical school forgetting all my hobbies and leaving behind the family relations and the society. After graduating, I was proud to be a part of the healthcare professionals. I started my medical profession armed with a medical degree.  I got deeply involved in patient care, diagnosis, and treatment and earned years of practical experience. This phase was intellectually stimulating and emotionally rewarding. I felt even more proud of being above to treat patients and bring happiness to their lives.

                         After years of practice, I realized that I needed to upgrade my skills to intubate and save lives (while working in the ER). I joined medical school again to earn my postgraduate degree in ENT (Otorhinolaryngology). It was as a surgical resident, that I realized it is not only the disease or the pathology within the body that could lead to various diseases or cancers. I researched on salivary gland tumors. I notice there are broader systemic and global health issues within healthcare (I am talking about -smoking, tobacco, access to healthy food and healthcare services, cultural perceptions, etc). The realization that preventive care, health education, and public health initiatives (especially for the low-educated and remote population) play an important role in increasing healthcare services fascinated me. From there, I was longing for a role, a platform to help people and improve overall well-being. 

                     When destiny lets you move to the USA (an unknown country) and you have your family support -- I would say, it was a great opportunity for me to transition to public health. I decided not to continue with the one-on-one  medical practice (what I have been doing until now). I enrolled in a Master's degree in Public Health (MPH) program from a university in the USA.  Apart from the pride of earning a degree from a  country that leads the world, I was happy to learn the concepts of public health and that too from a country that is much more advanced in implementing public health policies (compared to other countries). Soon I was equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to identify and address the root causes of health disparities and promote health on a larger scale.

                       In the field of public health, my first role was as an intern (fortunate enough to get a chance to work with the Department of Health  Escambia County, FL). My first public health project was on access to fresh fruits and vegetables. This transition was driven by my desire to have a more substantial and lasting impact on the health of communities and populations. I was happy that now I was able to understand the population data collection, and management. I was able to figure out population characteristics. Now I was looking at a broader aspect of treating (population as a whole). I found myself associated with public health professionals, the ones who work on projects aimed at disease prevention, health promotion, and improving healthcare services on a global scale. Slowly, as I started getting the feel of a public health professional, I got deeply involved in public health projects. With a fascination for biostatistics, I became increasingly aware of the power of data. I found working with data as a tool that has the power to assist in making evidence-based decisions at the population level.

                     Today, in the era of computers, both the public health and the medical field rely heavily on data analysis. They are now able to track disease outbreaks, disease treatment, and prognosis, and can make predictions and assess the effectiveness of interventions. This realization led me to explore the field of data science, where I could harness the potential of data to drive informed strategies and policies.

                   My enthusiasm continued to grow. My willingness to learn more in the field become stronger.  I decided to further my data science skills. I then realized that this field requires new skills and needed regular upgrading of skills to be able to manipulate the BIG-DATA using newer tools that understand the language of data. I started diving into subjects like statistical analysis, machine learning, and data visualization. My skill development started from a strong foundation in basic statistics, and then to biostatistics, which was instrumental in interpreting health-related data. These skill sets helped me in my community-based research project. The data-driven results helped me explore the community to make any decision at a community level. I  further gained a basic knowledge of calculus, SQL, and database systems. 

I am now equipped with some knowledge to work on tools that could help me to handle and analyze large datasets efficiently. Though my volunteering at a clinic and a hospital helped me to handle the real data set, but to understand more nuances of the data manipulation, I  experimented, (Thanks to the fake and open datasets). I used the fake dataset for my projects to work on my own. This data set simulates the electronic health records (real-life data). I now started getting well-versed with the database systems in healthcare. Knowing how healthcare work and process, it was not an issue for me to interpret and analyze the data, and build a project. I am now slowly getting involved in developing some research questions based on the results and trends that I observed from data manipulation. 

My proficiency in using tools like SPSS, ArcGIS, and 3D Excel, expands my horizon to analyze and present the data results. I found that to communicate results to various audiences, my knowledge in visualization needs to be updated to be effective in making people understand and see the results. I keep exploring more tools (Power BI, ML, etc) to have a broader view and understanding of this field.

I found that transitioning from a field with 20 years of experience to a newer field with no work experience was not easy. Getting a job was not easy. A lot of time and effort is required to be successful in your goal.

                    Today, I find myself at the intersection of data science, healthcare, and public health. My journey has come to a point where I apply my medical knowledge and data science skills to interpret health-related data and develop predictive models and that too at a population level. I wish to join projects that leverage data to improve healthcare outcomes, assess the impact of public health interventions, and enhance the quality of healthcare delivery.

                     I have work experience from two countries, and education in three fields, but I wish to continue in the field of data science with data-driven insights to inform public health policies and medical practices. I'm driven by the belief that data science can lead to more efficient, equitable, and effective healthcare systems. My work contributes to the prevention of diseases, the promotion of well-being, and the improvement of healthcare accessibility.

Looking forward, I am excited about the evolving landscape of healthcare and data science. I hope the combination of these fields will open up new opportunities for innovation and impact. I am committed to staying at the forefront of this dynamic intersection, using data science as a powerful tool to make a positive impact on healthcare and public health.