Better Health For All

Theeba Krishnamoorthy qualified as a doctor from the University of Cambridge and subsequently completed her NHS Foundation Medical Training in Portsmouth. Following this, she worked in Myanmar as an Improving Global Health NHS Fellow which ignited her passion for public health. She has since put a pause on medical training to do her PhD at the University of East London to truly explore her research interests in sexual and reproductive health education, use of innovation in health education and public health before she applies for further training. This is the first in a series of blogs by Theeba to document her public health journey and celebrate her achievements along the way.

Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar

My time in Myanmar has finally brought me to this moment. In my traditional forest green Myanmar dress I stood on stage, under the banner titled ‘3rd Annual Myanmar Nephro-Urology Society Conference’. I put down my laptop to rest on the podium and looked ahead to face the row of leading nephrologists and urologists in South East Asia and Australia. The introvert in me wanted to freeze in fear, but a lot has happened this year. A lot has been learned and a lot has changed.

Inhale. And begin….

At the start of my 2nd foundation year, I found myself amongst other trainees deliberating about what step to take next. Though my foundation training has given me confidence and good exposure to various specialties, it sadly offered me minimal first hand experience in public health – the subject I loved most in medical school. At this point my path divided into two:

1. continue further training in a specialty of my choice that I have had exposure in, or
2. take time out and truly explore public health before applying for further training. It was a big decision as I have never taken a break from my education or training so it was a scary thought. Someone said fear brings opportunity so I decided to hop off the hamster wheel of medical training and take a pause. It was a risk for sure as I was afraid, but I had the courage to turn that anxiety into power and leapt at the opportunity to start on a journey of self-discovery and self-growth.

There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to travel to the east to work. The timing could not have been better, because I soon received a call inviting me to attend an interview for the ‘Improving Global Health through Leadership Development’ programme. Fast forward a month, I received the good news and it wasn’t too long before May came round and I jetted off to Myanmar, in time to enjoy the last few days of Asian summer. I was placed to work at New Yangon General Hospital (NYGH) in Yangon as an Improving Global Health NHS Fellow, exploring methods to improve the quality of care of acute kidney injury, which is an increasing international health concern. By working with their medical team at NYGH, we launched the quality improvement project, ‘Beware AKI’. (To find out more about ‘Beware AKI’ click here.)

This was my first experience leading on a big project and I had no idea what to expect. The canvas was blank. And for the first time since my art GCSE, I had permission to think innovatively, creatively and experiment with ideas to solve problems. And intermittently enjoyed the process of sitting back, reflecting and developing my leadership techniques with the aid of the NHS Healthcare Leadership Model. One of the skills I developed during my time in Myanmar was my public speaking. Through frequent presentations, some good, some not so good, I mastered what worked well for me and how to connect with the audience to share my vision for the project. I enjoyed putting these newly developed skills to the test at my final presentation at the “3rd Annual Myanmar Nephro-Uro Society Conference”, ending my fellowship on a great personal and professional win. The journey does not end there for my public speaking. Since my return to the UK I have continued to invest in this skill and seize every opportunity to speak in public, as I feel it is important for a career in public health.

Written by Dr Theeba Krishnamoorthy.