'I arrived from India with MD Psychiatry and a baby in my arms'

This blog post by Dr Sanjukta Das is part of the Thrive in Psychiatry campaign.

My story in this part of the world begins 20 years ago. I arrived in the UK from India with MD Psychiatry and a baby in my arms.

I knew that the competition was going to be tough - moving to a new system as a new mother with no family or friends.

I consider the rekindling of my career after a six-year career break as a significant evolution.

This time saw me pass the PLAB and a clinical attachment parallel to my motherhood.

Even after I had an MRCPsych equivalency, the mindset that “I am not at par” with the MRCPsych candidates remained.

Today, the system, some incredible people and my perseverance have amalgamated into my Consultant Liaison Psychiatry position.

How did I get here?

The path to be where I am now, contains many stories; including learning to drive in the UK, developing on the basics my father taught me, and my husband’s prompting to familiarise myself with the NHS system.

Combined, these allowed me to start as a rotating SHO with fixed six-month contracts, refreshing my psychiatry training with Adult In-Patient, Adult Community, Learning Disability, Forensic and CAMHS, before receiving a LAT post, with my parents' support in initial years after career-break.

Following this, I applied for speciality training. The first time around, my confidence and presentation of my qualifications and experience needed development. The second time, I sailed through, being offered successful ST posts from both the London and Eastern Deanery.

I was thrilled - I remember celebrating in a superstore with a cold coffee!

With my ongoing parental commitments, I pursued less than full time training - this was tricky as patient journey continuity was important for me - so I worked all five days with shorter hours.

This setup retained my presence with my children alongside exact pro rata annual leave days with lesser hours.

Difficult trainers, inspiring mentors

In my training period, on one hand I experienced some difficult trainers, on the other, I thrived with some amazing mentors and system opportunities.

I strived to embrace all that was offered by exploring leadership, mentorship, quality improvement, and upskilling in psychology-psychotherapy.

Driven by an attitude of challenging myself and prioritising my commitments, I became the Eastern Deanery’s Chair of Registrars. This led to networking with some stalwarts of Psychiatry, drawing a new horizon… Liaison Psychiatry.

What started as a special interest, led to Liaison Accreditation under the guidance of my mentors.

Due to another great RCPsych scheme, I was able to connect with a new part of my practice. In this case I was able to resuscitate my dreams of MD Psychiatry, inspired by my time in India spent on my research project combining endocrinology with psychiatry.

I never looked back after being credentialed in liaison psychiatry. To this day, I continue to give back to RCPsych, for example, joining the Liaison Faculty Executive committee representing the Choose Psychiatry Committee, PEEB and organising successful conferences.

'Improving liaison services is a persistent goal'

For me, improving liaison services is a persistent goal, so I joined the PLAN Accreditation Committee, and I contribute as Advisory Group Deputy Chair, CQC Specialist Advisor and am on the MEE Panel.

Throughout my whole journey, when one option did not work, I found another through lateral routes to push my boundaries and scope. As my children progressed towards independence, I joined the British Indian Psychiatric Association - a platform which allows me to connect with my roots.

In my own trust, I hold the role of Associate Medical Director.

I started as a PLAN Peer Reviewer to reach the PLAN Advisory Group Deputy Chair, and I organised many conferences consequently becoming a member of the International Congress Advisory Group. I mention these to illustrate how alive my passion is for this field of work from a local to international level.

From a trainee to trainer myself, I now guide trainees as they move up in their career, which I enjoy doing for so many reasons, bolstered by my promise to be a more supportive trainer than ones I experienced.

Stepping in and out of others' diverse shoes to make a difference

Years of fulfilling my duty of care has taught me how to step in and out of others' diverse shoes to make a difference, to continue to be inspired to bounce back as mental health is a critical driving factor of thriving beyond surviving irrespective of physical circumstances.

Being a psychiatrist I also strongly believed in trying to create a strong home environment for my family as each member goes through their life. In tandem with the branch of medicine that I do, I aim to have a holistic approach not only in my professional life, but towards maintaining harmony in my life-work balance.

What next?

Looking ahead, now that my children are more grown-up, my interests and skillset are more managerial; towards expanding preventative psychiatry, across the globe, by giving back to the communities that taught me so much. My love for psychiatry and the systems in place that lifted me to this position are consolidated primarily by the people I meet, and the moments that we build from there.

Thriving to me, is defined beyond traditional metrics of success in the workplace.

My vision and experience reach beyond that. I can humbly say that I am proud I chose psychiatry and cherished nurturing two beautiful children who are now incredible adults.

Dr Sanjukta Das, Consultant in Liaison Psychiatry.