Kanchan Banerjee talks to a new president of AAPI, Dr Sunita Kanamury, whose key goal is to involve maximum number of 2nd generation physicians.
Dr. Kanumury hails from Rourkela, Orissa and came to the US with a fellowship at the RWJMS School in New Jersey. She joined AAPI in the year 1994. Motto of joining the organization was to meet people, network and be part of a very important organization by the Indian-American community.
What difference do you see in AAPI today compared to the time when you joined?
In those days most of the members were from India. Now the involvement of younger generation physicians is making a huge difference. Unlike some other ethnic group, the 2nd and 3rd generation is fully involved with AAPI. We are more involved with legislators to address our concerns. We also address many issues affecting the Indian-American community at large.What are the key contributions of AAPI?
We know that 25% of International Medical Graduates are of Indian origin, highest among the ethnic groups. As US citizens we contribute to the healthcare of the country significantly. We have great doctors uniquely distributed in urban as well as suburbs. Indian-Americans are doing extremely well in academia. We have become a premiere umbrella organization to education, research and allow networking. We are also involved in various mentorship programs.
What are your goals and plans for next one year as the President of AAPI?
All past presidents of AAPI have done great job. They are true leaders who contributed significantly to grow this. I want to carry on all the initiates AAPI has taken and working hard to take this to the next level. One of my key goal is to involve maximum number of 2nd generation physicians. We need them as the main ethnic organization carrying the torch. We will work hard to promote the theme of preventative health care & healthy life-style. Budget cut has a major impact in the healthcare sector. We will raise our voice and do necessary lobbying to get our points across. We also would like to work more closely with many other ethnic organizations.
What are the issues that all Indian Americans in the field of medicine need to be aware of now days?
There are many policy matters which affect our profession directly or indirectly. We need to be aware of those. We need to build good relationship with the legislators who are the policy makers, so that our concerns are taken care. Among the law makers, majority is from the field of law and only handful is from medicine. Therefore our representation in policy-making tasks must increase significantly. We need to work on the health care bill so that we can provide quality care to our clients. We are facing a huge challenge of deficit of doctors and nurses. Medical professional, especially the doctors are overloaded at work. But in order to avoid compromising quality, we must lobby our cause to educate the policy makers about our issues.
What is your message for the new generation of Indian-American doctors?
Be more involved. Make sure your voice is heard so that the health-care profession gives more according to the need of the society. Beware, that if you don’t raise your voice and get involved-your practice is going to be affected. Also, request every doctor of Indian origin to join AAPI so that AAPI can continue in the path of its noble mission. The young generation must take more responsibility – they are the future of the organization.
