Hi Palash, I am pleased and surprised at the same time to find a doctor on IIM Ranchi campus as a student. I am sure that you have already been asked several times about what made you choose an MBA after MBBS. However, many of the readers of InsideIIM would like to know more about your journey. So, let's begin our informal and candid interview.
Q. What inspired you to choose a career in MBA after MBBS?
I have always been fascinated by the way the healthcare industry operates. However, I certainly don't want to limit myself just as a healthcare provider. Rather I would love to venture into the different dynamics of it.
Post management I would like to work in the healthcare industry and preferably in healthcare consultancy firms. While adding value to the system with my combined knowledge of medicine and management, I would gather up the right understanding of different aspects of it, and I also aspire to build a healthcare setup of my own down the line.
I see digital healthcare, preventive health science, and medical tourism as the future ahead, which will bring not only qualitative and cost-effective healthcare but also new employment sources to our countrymen, which is why I choose MBA after MBBS.
Q. How did you prepare for your CAT and GDPI process? Can you shed some light on your GDPI experience?
I used to prepare while working in Apollo hospitals, Bhubaneswar. I had joined TIME institute for classroom coaching. But I gave mock tests both in TIME and Career Launcher. I had kept the strategy simple. I used to solve all the questions discussed in class, give mock tests on weekends, and get my doubts cleared.
My Personal Interview revolved mostly around my work experience, and why I chose MBA over MD or MS. I was also asked about the basics of quantitative analysis, and about my extracurricular activities, long term aspirations, etc. Regular newspaper column reading really helped me during the Written Ability Test (WAT).
Q. What value do you think you can bring to IIM Ranchi culture through your diversity?
I have been trained to communicate with a range of people across different socio-economic status and culture. I understand how empathy can bring massive positive change in an organizational structure. I know the joy of saving someone from a near-death situation, and I even know the grief of losing someone after making all attempts to save him.
I believe that contributing and sharing the lessons learned from all these experiences is the best I can do to the IIM Ranchi cultural and diversity.
Q. Can you talk about some of your activities/achievements and how have they impacted you?
I would like to mention three of the activities I have had done at IIM Ranchi. Initially when I was totally baffled about the way the MBA-structure operates and when inferiority complex was kind of taking me over, the 'Management Challenge' 1 happened. It allowed me to understand the group dynamics better, and winning this challenge was a major boost to my overall self-confidence.
Secondly, during the selection process of 'Academic Committee' and 'Samarpan,' I was made to push my limits beyond my comfort zone. I could better realize my self-worth and getting into the 'Academic Committee' as a junior executive is the best that has happened to me in IIM Ranchi. Last but not the least, following my passion for dancing by performing for 'Froggy Feet' selection and finally getting into it has majorly impacted my positivity."
Q. Have you been able to help your peers through your domain knowledge personally or professionally? Can you illustrate with an example?
Of course, yes. With the changing climate and stress piling on, I was privileged to help people out here to recover from illness. I was also fortunate to attend and advise some seriously sick students that include few seniors too. I have been loved as the "Doctor" of my batch, and I take pride in it.