Dr Vandana Puri’s story begins in the small town of Pathankot, where not much was expected of her academically. Yet, even as a young girl, she harbored an inner drive to do something impactful.
"I always had this incessant desire to achieve something great," she recalls.
That ambition carried her far, securing a coveted MBBS seat at Christian Medical College (CMC) Coimbatore. Life seemed to be on a steady path until hardship struck during her medical school years. Her father was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy and lost his job, leaving her family in the throes of financial struggles.
It was during this challenging time that Dr Puri met Shakti, her soulmate.
"His constant support kept me going every day," she says with a quiet sense of gratitude. It was a difficult period, but it only fueled her determination to push forward and make a difference.
Like many of her peers in medical school, Dr Puri found pathology a difficult subject.
"Pathology was vexing for most of us," she admits. But what set her apart was her love for teaching. "I have always loved teaching," she says, her passion clear. Yet, it wasn’t until a life-changing patient encounter during her internship that she discovered her true calling in pathology.
A four-year-old boy arrived at the hospital with a seemingly minor complaint — bleeding from his gums. “It was a small issue,” she recalls, "but before sending him away, we did a routine blood test." The results were shocking: the boy had leukaemia. That moment helped crystallise her decision.
"I realised just how important pathology is in medicine," she reflects. It was the moment that steered her career toward becoming a pathologist.
Years later, Dr Puri found herself in a classroom at Lady Hardinge Medical College, giving her first lecture as a faculty member. What happened next was one of her proudest moments.
"The greatest compliment I’ve received was when, after my first lecture, I had full attendance the next morning at 7.50 for an 8.00 am class!" she shares with a smile. The love and respect her students have for her give her an immense sense of responsibility.
“It drives me to teach them to the maximum of my capabilities,” she adds.
Dr Puri considers one of her biggest achievements to be the recognition she has earned without being associated with any coaching institutes.
"Students find me, know me, and appreciate the work I do, which I once thought impossible," she says, clearly proud of the impact she has made on her own terms.
Another major milestone was the publication of her book, A Complete Review of Pathology, a long-held dream she recently made a reality. “It’s been a dream of mine to publish my own book, and I finally did it,” she beams.
But Dr Puri’s journey is far from over. "There’s still so much to do in life," she says. A travel enthusiast, she is already planning her next project — a travel channel.
"The best advice I can give to my juniors is to unapologetically be yourself," she says, offering words of wisdom that encapsulate her own life’s philosophy.
For Dr Vandana Puri, the path to success has been far from easy. Yet, through it all, her passion for teaching and her unwavering commitment to her field have led her to achieve great things, with even more yet to come.
(This article was curated by the content and digital team at Humans of Medicare: Aditi Gawit, Joanne Roshin, Rudrakshi Shetty, & Siddhant Kashyap)
