“Knowledge is never wasted”, says Dr. Anchita Pandoh who went on to pursue a career in Indian Civil Services after becoming a doctor and was recently in the news for successfully managing a mid-air emergency. After graduating from Government Medical College, Jammu in 2012, she cleared the Civil Services Exam, 2012 and joined the Indian Revenue Services (GST & Customs) and is currently posted in New Delhi as Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Exports, New Delhi.
We spoke to Dr. Anchita about the emergency she handled, her career in Civil Services and the dilemmas she faced as a student before charting the road less travelled. Here’s what she had to say –
Let’s begin with the incident that got you got applauded for in 2017 - the in-flight emergency. What happened?
I went on a holiday to New Zealand with my husband in Feb – March 2017. While travelling back, we took a 12-hour flight from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur. We were about an hour into the flight and suddenly we saw the cabin crew rushing to the front side of the aircraft. We were seated at the back and were having our meal. But looking at the panic, my husband and I both knew something was certainly wrong. We knew it was a medical emergency when we saw a few air hostesses carrying the oxygen cylinder. Initially, we thought the cabin crew was managing it but within a few minutes there was an announcement made by the captain of the flight stating that there was a medical emergency and if there was a doctor on the flight, they should come forward to help.
So, I went forward to see what was wrong. I saw that a Malaysian air hostess had collapsed, and was lying unconscious. Some passengers had vacated their seats and made her to lie down there. I immediately checked her pulse and found that it was extremely feeble. Since the patient was not responding, I checked with the crew if we could make an emergency landing to provide her the care she needed. But, they told me that there was no land beneath to make an emergency landing and going back to New Zealand or landing in Australia would take significant time. I understood and requested the crew to give me an emergency kit so that I could check her vitals. They refused. “We need to see a medical ID proof before we issue you the kit”, they said. I was out of luck here as I was travelling minimal and carried only my passport which, unfortunately, does not have titles. Basically, I had no proof that I was a qualified doctor. I felt so helpless, however, other passengers requested the crew to turn a blind eye for once and provide me the basics as a person’s life was at stake.
Dr. Anchita Pandoh during mid-air emergency
The crew finally agreed but on one condition, “You cannot touch the medicines”. I agreed and picked up a stethoscope and a BP monitor from the kit. Her blood pressure was very low, and pulse still feeble. One of her colleagues even told me that she had not eaten anything since morning. I continued massaging her palms and lifted her legs a couple of times so as to improve her blood circulation. Eventually it worked and she opened her eyes. I called for some milk and a few other things so that we could feed her. Once she was feeling better, we asked her to lie down and rest. I monitored her for about 6 hours and kept checking her blood pressure along with other vitals at regular intervals throughout the flight. By this time, she was feeling much better. Later, the captain too came personally to thank us.
Once we landed in Kuala Lumpur, my husband shared the incident on Facebook. I asked him not to, I told him that it was just a part of our duty as a doctor. But he is not a doctor, so it was immensely significant for him so he went ahead and shared it anyway. By the time I woke up next morning, it was making news.
Wow! Were there any other doctors on the flight?
To our surprise, no. In a flight with over 400 people, except for me, no one else was a doctor. Or at least nobody turned up. There were a couple of paramedics on the flight, however, they did not stay back too long.
Thankfully so! Moving into your switch to the field of Civil Services after pursuing medicine. Was that always the plan?
Not really, to be truthful. But while I was pursuing medicine I felt like I wanted to serve the country from a much broader platform. As a doctor, I would have helped many and that too would have been very fulfilling but I realized that I wanted to do something which had a much wider and national implication.
Many have heard about the field of Civil Services, but not many know much about it. Can you shed some light?
Certainly. The Civil Services are a permanent executive branch of the Republic of India. It is the administrative machinery of the country, where civil servants are the employees of the Government of India and implement policies in a plethora of services including the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) among others.
The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year. The intake depends on the number of vacancies, but on an average approximately 1000 individuals make it through. The examination is in three phases – a preliminary examination which includes two objective-type papers of general studies and an aptitude test, a mains examination which includes essay and subjective papers based on general studies about India and the world and finally a personal interview. Overall, the examination is a yearlong process.
I am 2013 Batch Indian Revenue Service Officer. My work pertains to Indirect taxes viz. Goods and Services Tax and Customs.
Any comments on GST?
I believe it is a very positive change in the tax structure of the country. It has simplified the taxation system of the country by subsuming multiple taxes to one. I’m sure it will be highly beneficial to the trade and ultimately lead to the progress of the nation.
Absolutely! Going back to the field of Civil Services, were there any other options that you considered?
None. In fact, immediately after my final year MBBS exams, I appeared for the Civil Services Examination Preliminary Test as well as Mains during my internship itself. Although after Mains I prepared and appeared for post-graduation entrance test as well. I managed to crack the exam, but before the counselling for post-graduation streams could happen, I had cleared the Civil Services exam. I had decided that I wanted to give it one try, had I not cleared it in my first attempt I would have certainly continued with my medical profession.
Clearing the Civil Services exam in the first attempt itself is quite an achievement, given that it is one of the toughest exams in India. Moreover, you were from a completely different background. How did you prepare for it?
I was preparing for the civil services (UPSC) exam during my internship. One can only imagine how stressful it must have been, especially when I was in a government setup where the patient load is significant. But as I had decided to appear for the exam, I started preparing on my own. I did not join any coaching institute because firstly there was no time and also Jammu did not have many facilities where we could go and prepare.
After my final year MBBS exams in late 2011, I started to prepare for UPSC’s preliminary exam which were to be held in mid-2012 that year. So, whatever time that was left from my clinical postings, I devoted to my exam preparation. Fortunately, I was naturally inclined to and had always been fond of subjects like History, Geography and General Knowledge so preparing these subjects was not too difficult for me. Moreover, five and half long years in medicine makes one very resilient and gives you the strength to study and work hard.
After my preliminary exam, I began to prepare for the mains examination. I chose Medical Sciences and Psychology as optional, both of which were by and large known to me being a medical student, but significant revision was required. All of this, during the internship period.
The interview happened after my internship got over. It was the first interview of my life wherein I managed to score quite well and thus, cracked the Civil Services Examination.
Wow! Are you happy with your choice?
Extremely. I had always felt that civil services will give me a broader platform to serve my country, and in whatever little that I am doing right now, I get to do that. Not just that, I also intend to contribute to India’s healthcare scenario in future. By and large, this job gives me the joy and fulfillment of being able to be part of the system, being the change myself and working towards the India’s progress.
Is there any advice you would like to give to MBBS students who might be willing to pursue an alternate career path after MBBS?
If you trust your choice, and have researched well, do not let others hold you back. People may not always support you. In my case, some said that I already had such a great career choice, why did I want to switch? They were not very aware about Civil Services and thus for them, clearing the PG medical entrance test was a much bigger win than clearing the UPSC exams. It is only now that they realise that I perhaps made the right choice after seeing the kind of work I do. So I would say that it is okay if the ones around you doubt your choice provided you have thought it out well and are ready to work hard towards it.
One dilemma is always that you have gained so much knowledge in one field and if you make a switch, all this knowledge is going to go waste, but I strongly feel that knowledge is never wasted as happened with me in the flight. Also, in future, I intend to take on assignments and opportunities where I can work towards the betterment of the healthcare sector, to make the lives of patients as well as doctors in India better. Eventually, everything that you have ever learned will enrich you and others around you, no matter where you are and what you do.