Dr Priya Bhave’s life has been shaped by courage, determination, and the strength of a single mother. When she was just nine years old, her father left the family after a failed business. At the time, her mother was not working, but she stepped up with immense resilience. She pursued a degree and worked hard to support both herself and her daughter.
All of her efforts were focused on one goal — to ensure that Priya succeeded and lived a better life.
Watching her mother struggle and sacrifice deeply impacted Priya. From a young age, she realised how important children are to a person’s life, how much meaning and happiness they can bring. These early experiences inspired her to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN), dedicating her life to helping others create families of their own.
After completing her undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Bhopal, Dr Priya began working as a lecturer at a government medical college. It was during this time that a short trip to CMC Vellore for an emergency obstetric course opened her eyes to new possibilities in reproductive medicine — IVF, laparoscopy, and even robotic surgeries.
That experience was so powerful that she decided she had to study further at CMC.
Several months later, she took a 36-hour train journey to Vellore to write a fellowship entrance exam. What made this even more challenging was that she had to rush back the very same day to be with her one-year-old son.
The very next day, she received a life-changing call from CMC — she had been selected!
Throughout her medical career, one moment stood out as especially meaningful. About five years ago, Dr Priya met a young woman who had undergone two failed IVF cycles. The woman was devastated.
Dr Priya gently encouraged her to try again, telling her she needed to find the strength and stamina to go on. But the woman, with tears in her eyes, said something that changed Dr Priya forever: “It is easy for you to say I need endurance; you’re not the one failing IVF.”
That powerful statement made Dr Priya reflect deeply. She realised she constantly asked her patients to be strong, but was she holding herself to the same standard? That moment sparked a new goal — to train for the Ironman Triathlon, one of the most challenging endurance events in the world.
For the next five years, she trained with dedication, facing and overcoming her deepest fears. One of her biggest fears was water. Having always stayed close to the edge of swimming pools, she was terrified of deep water. But the Ironman required her to swim in open water. Learning to swim, conquering her fear, and completing the swim leg of the Kazakhstan Ironman on time became one of her proudest achievements.
Dr Priya Bhave's journey is a beautiful reminder of inner strength, resilience, and the power of believing in oneself — both as a doctor and as a human being.
(This article was curated by the content and digital team at Humans of Medicare: Siddhant Kashyap, Joanne Roshin, Oshi Sharma and Shreya.)
