One major hurdle out of the way, yet I still had to get an actual license to practice! For this, I wrote directly to the Ministry of Health and asked for clarification on the issue of whether I needed to appear for any qualifying exams or could I apply for a license. The response to this came in the form of a personal email, directly from the Director of Medical Affairs, Dr. Reena Nayyar, stating that I could approach any State with my degree certificates, licenses, and registrations and they should be able to allow me to practice!
On our next visit to India we happen to be in Goa and met Ajoy’s awesome cousin, Sahana. Now Sahana is the kind of person that has more friends than anyone I know. I don’t just mean acquaintances. I mean real, true friends that would do anything for her, because she’d do the same for them. 🙂
Now Goa is a small state known for tourism, but it also one of the most progressive states in India with it’s poverty rates lower than most states and literacy at it’s highest. However, Goa being small, still does things the old fashioned way, meet people in-person, sign on old-style registers. But don’t let that fool you, all the data from these paper registers is also digitized and available online. Back to my license, let’s just say, a few phone calls and two meetings later, within 2 days, I was in the office of the Registrar of Physicians in Goa, signing my name on my brand-shiny-new license to practice in Goa (and by reciprocity, any other Indian state)!
Beautifully written