When you meet Dr Zainab Vora, her calm demeanour and composed approach to life instantly draw you in. But beneath this quiet exterior lies a story of grit, determination, and transformation.
Reflecting on her life, one guiding principle stands out — a piece of advice from her father that has shaped her entire outlook: "What defines your integrity is when failure and success both don’t change you as a person."
These words have carried her through the many challenges life has thrown her way, serving as a compass in moments of doubt and triumph alike.
Dr Zainab humbly admits that during the early years of her MBBS, she was an average student. But the final years of her medical education marked a remarkable shift.
“I started working on my faith in myself,” she says. She credits this period of introspection and hard work for her transformation from a student struggling to find her footing to someone ready to take on the world.
“I devoted all my efforts to my studies, but with that came a pressure to perform — especially when it came to the PG entrance exams,” she said.
Pressure can be a double-edged sword, and in Dr Zainab’s case, it weighed heavily. She scored an impressive Rank 98 in the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) November 2014 entrance exam but chose not to take the seat.
“I knew I could give a better exam,” she explains, showing the kind of conviction that has come to define her journey. “It wasn’t about the rank or the prestige — it was about pushing myself to my full potential,” she said.
Learning from her previous experience, Dr Zainab returned to the grind with renewed energy. Her perseverance paid off when she not only secured Rank 1 at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) but also achieved the same feat at AIIMS in May 2015.
This dual triumph was not just a testament to her academic excellence, but also to the strength of character that allowed her to bounce back from earlier setbacks.
Beyond her personal achievements, it’s clear that Dr Zainab’s true passion lies in teaching.
“The love and respect I’ve received from my students is something I’ll always be grateful for,” she says, her eyes lighting up as she speaks about the students whose lives she’s touched.
Dr Zainab believes that teaching is not just about imparting knowledge; it’s about building relationships. “I love interacting with students, finding their problem areas, and working with them to solve those problems,” she explains. She sees each student’s journey as an extension of her own, and this empathy fuels her commitment to their success.
Striking a strong rapport with her students is central to Dr Zainab’s approach. “I want them to feel heard and supported at every step,” she says, emphasising the importance of creating a nurturing environment.
In many ways, her philosophy is a reflection of the support she herself received — both from her family and from the mentors who helped shape her career.
In everything she does, Dr Zainab strives to remain true to herself and her responsibilities. She’s not one to rest on her laurels.
“I try to become a better version of myself every day,” she says, and you can tell that this commitment to self-improvement is not just a professional goal, but a personal mantra.
Dr Zainab Vora’s journey from average student to one of the top ranks in the country is an inspiring tale of perseverance, self-belief, and, above all, integrity. In a world that often focuses on success alone, her story is a reminder that it is our response to both success and failure that truly defines us.
(This article was curated by the content and digital team at Humans of Medicare: Aditi Gawit, Shreya Gade,Varuni Vats, & Siddhant Kashyap.)
