Many women in India are pursuing and cultivating successful careers in the healthcare sector. They are doing their duties shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. They are delivering gentle yet effective patient care. Women doctors in India have redefined the healthcare sector with their hard work, dedication, as well as their hard-earned skillsets.
Being a leader is not a simple task. With leadership comes a surplus of responsibilities, which require to be fulfilled every day, every hour with the utmost focus on the small and big aspects of daily functions. Leadership requires the capability to deal with day-to-day challenges with a calm mind and, at the same time, a can-do attitude. Women have made their presence felt in professional leadership in nearly every sector in India.
Dr. Snehika Kothari, a Dental Surgeon at Kaveri Dental Excellence Centre, Yavatmal, is one of those female healthcare leaders who have made their career purpose to educate people about their oral and dental health.
We interviewed Dr. Snehika to get an insightful understanding of her career as a dental surgeon, and her goals in the dental care industry.
Below is an excerpt from the interview:
Kindly tell our readers about yourself and your professional journey so far. What was your inspiration to step into the dental/healthcare sector?
I, Dr. Snehika Kothari, am a Bachelor of Dental Surgeon from Bhilai. Initially, I practised at the Datta Meghe Institute of Dental Science in Sawangi, and then, eight years ago, I entered into clinical practice at the Kaveri Dental Excellence Centre located in Yavatmal.
Since childhood, I was always attracted to the medical profession and my biggest inspiration for what I am today is my father. Without his support, I guess this journey would not be this easy so far.
Tell us about Kaveri Dental Excellence Centre, its mission, and its vision. What role did
you play in furthering its development and outreach?
Eight years ago, when Kaveri Dental Excellence Centre was all set to open its biggest mission was to ensure the oral and dental state of every individual reaches its healthiest condition creating a community of beautiful smiles.
Our vision is to provide our patients with a dental experience that will promote a lifelong relationship built on trust, quality of work, and exceptional patient care.
I, along with my husband Dr. Harshit Kothari, have worked together through conducting camps to outreach the population who are not much aware of oral hygiene, educating them and helping through their oral health issues and will continue to do so in the coming years
COVID-19 proved to be the biggest disruptor since the Dot-com bubble. How has the pandemic affected the operations and growth of your institution?
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted how dental care can be safely delivered in the short term. It has likely stimulated permanent changes in how dental care is provided. Things like extended PPE are warranted for the treatment, limiting the number of patients in the waiting room at the same time implementing a pre-appointment screening process.
Extensive preparation strategies for the office and working stations to prepare the environment for safely delivering treatment to patients without the risk of infection transmission, staff protection strategies are must now.
Also change in treatment patterns like identifying aerosol-generating procedures and managing them, limiting the use of ultrasonics, use of specially designed hygiene and disinfecting procedures, use of high-speed suctions, etc., have taken place in practice.
What is your opinion on the necessity for hospitals and healthcare providers to align their offerings with newer technological developments, especially when it comes to catering to the ever-evolving healthcare needs?
With the ever-changing scenario and advanced technology, it is of utmost necessity to keep updating your knowledge and evolve with newer technology to provide the best treatment facility with ease, comfort, and better outcome.
What are the biggest challenges that you have faced and the most important lessons that you learned in your vocation so far? What are the types of challenges that you still face to this day?
Being a mother of twin babies, the biggest challenge I faced was basically to maintain a work-life balance and to fulfil self-expectation. And the most important lesson I have learned over a period of practice is you have to have trust in yourself and keep going.
In your opinion, what could be the future of healthcare and dental education post the pandemic? And how are you strategizing your care centre’s operations for that future?
COVID-19 has changed the scenario that was there three years ago. Every day media is talking about new variants, their consequences, one of which was Mucormycosis which has affected oral health post-COVID infection.
Accordingly, the future of the healthcare and dental care sectors post-pandemic lies in updating themselves with the advanced technologies that are growing each day. Additionally, I am strategizing to continue to carry protocol of sterilization and disinfection procedures in my practice at the utmost level.
What advice would you like to give to aspiring doctors who wish to venture into the
dental care space?
My only advice to them will be to overcome the fear and stop comparing your practice to the colleagues around you.
Where do you see yourself in the future? Also, how do you envision scaling Kaveri Dental
Excellence Centre in the coming years?
In the coming days, I just want to get better in my field and keep enjoying the journey. I envision K-DEC to be the epitome of dental care standards and providing the best care to the population around.
