Dr Pradeepa Gajendran , MBBS , Pg Dip in Elderly medicine, MCGP Has Won Women Leadership Award In Healthcare

Dr Pradeepa Gajendran , MBBS , Pg Dip in Elderly medicine, MCGP Has Won Women Leadership Award In Healthcare

• November 01, 2023

DR PRADEEPA GAJENDRAN BIOGRAPHY FOR
<< WOMEN LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR HEALTH CARE >> IN WOMEN ICON INTERNATIONAL AWARD POWERED BY TIMES WOMEN AND WORLD WOMEN COUNCIL

I am Dr. Pradeepa Gajendran from Sri Lanka. I am a family physician running my own private clinic, named LIFE LINE MEDICAL CLINIC at Orrs’Hill Trincomalee - after duty hours General Practitioner, and also working as Additional Medical Officer of Health (AMOH) at MOH Trincomalee attached to State Ministry of Health Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a lower middle-income country with a high human development index. 

A little bit about me* I was born and raised up in Trincomalee, a beautiful coastal town with lovely sea beaches in the Eastern part of Sri Lanka. We are a small family consist of my mother and father and two brothers and I am the middle one. My father is a retired Bank of Ceylon manager and my mother is a house wife. Also, I must mention one special person of my life who supported my medical career throughout my journey. He is my husband Gajendran, works as a civil engineer at Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC and I was engaged to him during my university period as a final year medical student. I have two kids, 15yrs old son and a little daughter of 3yrs old.

I did my primary and secondary education at St Mary’s college, A National School in Trincomalee Town and it’s a 159 yrs. ancient school. I completed my higher studies as MBBS doctor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna. Soon after I finished my undergraduate degree, I started my career as an intern medical officer at General Hospital Trincomalee in 2006. The same year and same month, I got married and started my life journey and medical carrier journey.

After my internship training, I was appointed as Residential house officer, under the supervision of Dr. S Jeyakumar VOG- Sri Lanka in Gynecology and obstetrics ward, General Hospital Trincomalee and then practiced as post internship Senior Medical officer of medicine under Dr. B Ganaikabahu  visiting physician of General medical ward, GH Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.

I was eager to do post-graduate in medicine, so I planned and completed my post-graduate Diploma in Elderly medicine at the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) University of Colombo in the years 2013 to 2014.

Elderly medicine and elderly care were a new field in Sri Lanka at that time. I was in the first batch of those who obtained a post-graduate diploma in Geriatric medicine and I was appointed as medical officer in charge of elderly clinic. On my initiative and with the help of Director Dr. Pragash Rajendiran, a new separate clinic for Elders and geriatric services was opened at the General Hospital Trincomalee and functioned from 2014 to 2018. During the same period, I acted as Deputy Director for administration and planning work for the cardiology unit, Dialysis unit and orthopedic unit of General Hospital Trincomalee, and I was in charge of the inauguration ceremony of the accident and emergency unit. I pioneered the Senior citizen award Programme. It was celebrated at the remarkable day International Elders day on October first.  I selected and honored a few senior citizens who have excelled in their respective fields and presented them with awards during the celebration of International Elders day on October first. Some of the invitees gave motivational speeches to the society and the elderly community.

I have been a life member of SLAGM since 2014, and I was also a council member from 2016 to 2019. We organized Regional Geriatric medicine Health awareness meetings in Trincomalee districts and collaboration with the Sri Lanka Association of Geriatric Medicine (SLAGM).

I was involved with family medicine for 13 years for the community since 2011 as     a General Practitioner, and total 17 years of health service since 2006.I have also worked as a locum doctor at Asiri surgical hospital in Colombo in the oncology ward, during weekends whenever shifts were available in the Oncology ward from 2013 to 2019.

My dedication to excellence in medical health carrier service as Family Physician has been recognized and celebrated with this prestigious heritage of ASIA AWARD in 2023.This award not only honors me and my health service in primary care in community health, and commitment to preserving global health acknowledges my ability.

As a Family physician, I have upgraded my degree to a Post Graduate Diploma in General Practice in 2017 and became a member of the college of General Practitioner Sri Lanka Medical Association. I have recently completed my MRCGP South Asia International part 1 on May 2023.

I got my Membership of the World stroke organization and had Geriatric training at New Royal Adelaide Hospital oversea fellow observership in the Geriatric medicine department, Adelaide South Australia, in 2016. I was also nominated by state to do Accident & Emergency training at TANG TONG SANG hospital (TTSH) Singapore in 2016.

I have been working as additional Medical Officer of Health for Trincomalee Town since 2019 October, during covid 19 period, we worked tirelessly to vaccinate, give notification of diseases, maintain case statistics and death reports, health education, hand hygiene and caring for children and pregnant mothers, nutritional awareness for school health and age appropriate immunizations with limited resources during country’s lock down period. We passed the critical period of lock down with our limited resources in diagnosing-kits and investigations sources.

Every dedicated woman is a winner with or without an award, but of course, if you are privileged enough, then go for it and have it to your hand. I am actually honored to get this award.

Furthermore,I’m extraordinary happy and grateful to receive this prestigious award under the category of Women Leadership in Health care. I am expressing my heart-felt gratitude to the team of women icon powered by TIMES WOMEN and World Women International Council to honor me.

I always remember my hardship carrier during my undergraduate studies in the university. My studies started during dark phase of Sri Lanka during the war in 1999. In that period, no transport to home and travelled by cargo ships, sleepless nights without proper facilities and power cuts for two years, no lights at nights to study, no proper food, bombing sounds threatening to lives. But whatever the hard times of my life after receiving this award it’s heals our pain with pleasure and is the proud moment of my life.

I’m truly blessed to receive this beautiful award and crown. It's God’s graceful gift to me. It’s truly a motivation for me and it will be a milestone to upgrade my profession and future plans. I hope to continue doing my best in the future and getting more involvement in strengthening the primary care and preventive health developments as a family physician.

In this special moment I want to thank my mentors & teachers in Family Medicine & Geriatric Medicine, Dr. Preethi Wijegoonewardene (Former president of College of general practitioners) and Prof. Dr. Antoinette Perera (Former President of College of general practitioners),Dr.Raja Salgado-(Former Geriatric Consultant  of Department of Geriatric medicine Royal Adelaide Hospital Australia) & Visiting lecturer in geriatric medicine PGIM, Dr.Robert Prowse (Consultant Geriatrician & Former Director of Department of Geriatric Medicine Royal Adelaide hospital Australia), SLAGM President , Former President and Council members.

“Don’t give Up fight it out till the end, Work for it”

Many Thanks.