Big drop in women taking up Super-specialties in Medicine

• AIG Hospitals holds a conclave to discuss and find solutions for more women doctors in Super-specialties like Gastroenterology, Interventional Cardiology, Thoracic Surgery –
• Chief Guest KTR said his mother wished him to become a doctor

IndiGlobal Bureau

AIG Hospitals organized a dedicated Women-in-Medicine Conclave to bring in more inclusivity in the healthcare industry.

Minister KT Rama Rao was the chief guest on the occasion and delivered the keynote address. In his speech, KTR emphasized the need to increase women doctors in India and encourage women medical professionals, to take up entrepreneurship. “Today, women in healthcare/life sciences are leading not only patient care but also research and development which resulted in such prompt medical innovations like Covid vaccines in which Hyderabad-based companies Bharat Biotech and Biological E took the lead, the said, KTR lauding Suchitra Ella and Mahima Datla respectively. KTR said his mother wanted him to study medicine as there was no one in his family in this profession.

Giving the context behind the initiative, Dr. D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman, AIG Hospitals said “Over the years, we have seen an increase in the number of women taking up medical practice but at the same time there continues to be a huge drop when it comes to higher specialties. The significant disparity in the number of women getting into Super-specialty needs to be addressed. The idea behind this initiative which is the first ever in India is to first celebrate the women who are contributing immensely towards the medical sector in general, and then discuss and find solutions on how we can increase their participation in Super-specialties like Gastroenterology, Interventional Cardiology, Thoracic Surgery, among others.”

More than 400 women medical professionals participated in this day-long conclave which had five sessions covering topics Leadership and Mentorship, Work-life Balance, Non-Orthodox Medical Specialties for Women, Social Entrepreneurship, and Diversity & Inclusion. Each session featured five women doctors and two male doctors sharing their perspectives. Eminent Doctors from the city including Dr. C Mallikarjun, Managing Director & Chief Consultant Urologist, Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology, Dr. Evita Fernandez, Managing Director, Fernandez Hospital, Dr. Gopi Chand Mannam, Chief Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon & MD, Star Hospitals, were part of the panel discussions.

The conclave concluded with a Fireside Chat featuring Santhi Kumari, IAS, Special Chief Secretary (Forest), Govt. of Telangana, Amala Akkineni, noted Actress and Social Entrepreneur, Shikha Goel, IPS, Director (Additional DG) Anti-Corruption Bureau, and Saina Nehwal, badminton superstar. These extraordinary women achievers from different spheres interacted with Dr. D Nageshwar Reddy and shared some key insights on what it takes for women to succeed and make a mark for herself in today’s context.