Is MBBS/MD the only way to be a part of the healthcare industry? The short answer is, of course, no. But what is it like to be a non medico healthcare professional?
Doctor Upasana Arora is the director of Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad. She has done her PhD in the field of science. She has received many awards like the Uttar Pradesh Ratan Award in 2017, the ASSOCHAM Award for Business Woman of the Year in 2018, the FICCI Award for the outstanding Woman in Healthcare in 2022.
Dr. Upasana Arora has also received the Fellowship of ISQua becoming the 1st Indian to be awarded with it.
She is the Chairperson of SEPC Healthcare Sector as well.
In this freewheeling chat, we chart her life’s journey, starting with a tough childhood, peppered with her many accomplishments.
Please tell me about your journey as a child.
My life has not been a bed of roses. I have seen lots of ups and downs. I lost my father when I was only 10. He had been bedridden for the last 5 years. Most of the money went in his treatment and we faced lots of financial challenges.
My mother and my grandmother took care of my sister and me.
There was no happiness at all. Everybody was tense all the time. we couldn’t even celebrate occasions like Diwali or birthdays as we weren’t supposed to make the least bit of noise.
After my father passed away, the difficulties increased.
Our only source of income was a property let out to tenants. The tenants tried all means possible to grab that property from us. But my mother was very brave. She withstood all the difficulties and fears refusing to let go of that place. According to her, it was the only thing that she could give to her daughters.
Please tell me something about your academic life?
Since we didn’t have enough money I could not get a good schooling. I wanted to go to a good convent or public school, but it was not possible, because of the financial crunch. Besides, there was no one to guide my mother.
She admitted me to a Hindi medium school, where all my schooling was done. But I was a very active student, always taking part in my class activities and dramas. I recited the school prayer every morning in the assembly, from nursery to class 12. I was the monitor of my class and captain of my school.
What did you want to become when you grew up?
When I was young, my dream was to become an IAS officer. We had faced so many difficulties and I thought that after becoming an IAS officer I would look after my mother and give her all the comforts she had been deprived of. I would have power in my hands. Unfortunately, I lost my mother while in college. There was no one to look after me. My sister was married too. I was all alone. My maternal uncle took me with him and got me married.
What challenges have you faced in your journey as a director of Yashoda Hospitals?
In the beginning, my journey as an administrator in a hospital was not easy.
I did not have a medical background. There were lots of challenges as everyone wasn’t welcoming. Many people questioned my ability. Being a female also hurts many egos. I felt this was a time when I needed to believe in myself and I was determined to prove myself. I started by learning about healthcare. I went to Harvard Medical School, Indian Institute of Management, and did many courses in hospital management.
I knew that I was not going to treat a patient. I would be providing support service. Support service includes things like how a drug reaches a patient safely, how to provide oxygen to patients, hassle-free, how a patient can get a clean linen, who is listening to patients, etc. I was basically looking after the quality of service of a hospital and patient safety.
What, according to you, are the most important things parents and children can do to become happy as individuals?
As a young child, your parents must be asking you to study hard.
When my son was young, I wanted to make him the best, all the time teaching him something or the other, wanting him to be the best.
But at this point in my life, I realise that it is more important to become a happy individual.
It is most important that our relationship with our children has to be really good and happy. We should understand their problems and choices. For this, parents need to listen to their child and understand what he/she wants.
If they are not happy or are not ready for something, don’t force them .Just let it be. They can do it after some time.
There should be transparency in the relationship between a parent and children and everything else will follow from that.
What are the social causes you believe in?
I believe that God has given me enough.
My journey started from the small city of Kanpur. I have gone through so many problems in life that I know how people suffer. Their smallest of needs and desires cannot be fulfilled due to lack of resources. While studying, I wanted to learn computers, but my mother couldn’t afford it.
I believe we should give back to society when we have enough. The unprivileged children in society, especially the girls, need help and I take up their cause and help them in many ways.
To fulfil this purpose I have adopted a school where hundred girls are studying. I go there and meet them, find out their requirements and provide them with whatever they need .I also teach a lot of the children of my employees. They cannot afford to go to good schools, so I pay their fees and make sure they get a good education in a good school.
Can you tell me something more about the school that you have adopted?
I have adopted a government-run school called ‘Kasturba’. Government schools do not provide enough facilities. So I fill the gap by providing healthcare facilities and preventive health check-ups, infrastructural facilities like computers and whatever else they need. At the beginning of the school session I go and meet the girls and provide them with new books, stationery, chocolates, and chips.
As a director of Yashoda Hospitals, what do you look back upon and feel proud of?
I am proud of my hospital. I feel that as a healthcare professional and a healthcare provider, we should be genuine and ethical in our dealings with people as we are responsible for human lives. People come to us with pain and we’re supposed to help them recover, not give them more problems. So I try to provide services to my patients with ethical practices and at affordable prices.
I also try to provide my patients with a personal touch so that those who come to my hospital do not get lost in a big crowd. Our team approaches them and listens patiently to their problems. As a result, my hospital is always full. My patients are my brand ambassadors. We don’t do any advertising. We just treat our patients as best as we can and that patient sends more patients.
What if some patients are unable to pay as there are many people in India who cannot afford proper medical treatment? What do you think can be done to overcome this?
I would like to appreciate our government because it has taken a very big and good step by starting the Ayushmaan Bharat Scheme. This scheme provides healthcare facilities to the underprivileged and they can get free treatment uptil an amount of five lakh rupees. Many underprivileged people are not even aware about their right to be treated under this scheme. So I think awareness is very important and this scheme has to be there in every hospital.
If somebody is really in need we dont turn them away. We do due diligence to find out if the patient is really needy and help them out by providing concessional treatment or even free treatment.
During tough times, what keeps you moving?
I am a big believer in God. I believe that there is a God who is listening to us and who is looking out for us. I am a real example of this. Because if God were not there, I would not be sitting here in front of you, having achieved so much.
So whenever things are hard just remember “this too shall pass” and good times will come. If good times don’t last forever then neither will hard times. Just believe in God and keep working to make a better life for yourself and those around you.
Would you like to give a message to our readers?
Yes, I really wish to give this message to all those children who are going to read this chat that always believe in yourself.
First, you have to believe in yourself, then others will believe in you.
There is no shortcut to success. You have to work hard, so believe in yourself, work hard, and always think positive. When you start thinking positively, everything will happen positively.
If you follow these 3 mantras then everything will be yours. Every dream you have will come true.
