Meet Radhika Shankar: How Doctors of BC is helping her pursue her interest in adolescent medicine

As an 11-year-old girl, Radhika Shankar never imagined a career in medicine. In fact, a severe illness in her family instilled in her a dread of hospitals that took years to overcome. Today, however, she is a fourth-year UBC medical student and grateful recipient of a Doctors of BC bursary.

Radhika’s interest lies in adolescent medicine, which has a unique set of challenges. “It’s an up-and-coming pediatric subspecialty in Canada where trainees are instilled with the skills to support youth through their unique health journeys,” she says.

“Eating disorders, sexual health, mental health, chronic illness, and gender diversity are some of the areas of focus. Although we think of adolescents as ‘kids’ in that they’re less than 18 years of age, most don’t identify with the colourful setting you may find at BC Children’s Hospital, nor do they feel connected with the more adult St. Paul’s hospital. It’s an awkward age gap, and it means that some adolescents don’t connect with health care professionals.”

Radhika was born and raised in Pune, India. At six years old, her family left for Canada and created a home in Waterloo, Ontario. She eventually became a student at UBC and regularly travels back to India to see her grandparents. This past December, she dedicated her time to work with the pediatricians in Pune, who are core to India’s emerging expertise in adolescent medicine. She aims to learn more about the gender diversity programs for youth in India, and how they compare to Canada’s. “It’s something I’m fascinated by,” she says, “It’s a field where you become an advocate in an adolescent patient’s life and have the ability to incorporate both clinical medicine and counselling to best support them.”

Her own experience inspired her to take up a career in medicine. “My sister, who is 11 years younger than me, was quite ill when she was born. I vividly remember many trips to the hospital, 911 calls, and the ambulance pulling into our driveway. It was a dream come true to have a sister, and I didn’t want anything to take her away from me. Whenever my sister was unwell, I would set my alarm for every four hours overnight to check on her. I began to associate the anxiety I experienced with her illness with hospitals. It got so bad that my heart would race when I drove by a hospital.”

Radhika recognized she needed to overcome this fear and fortunately, she had a friend who helped her through this. “My friend was very gracious; we would go to the hospital every week to just sit and take in its sights and sounds. I realized that although my sister went to the hospital sick, she came home healed.” She soon realized that hospitals were a positive space and provided an opportunity to heal. 

The effect on Radhika was transformational. She was inspired to study medicine, discovering her passion for supporting youth during her clinical rotations in her third and fourth year of medical school at UBC.  

The award she received from Doctors of BC came at the perfect time; while immersed in her studies, she was planning her wedding. “I’m the oldest child in my family, and I’ve always wanted to make sure that I can support my parents financially and give them a happy life, just like they’ve given me. In traditional Indian culture, the bride’s parents host for their daughter’s wedding, but we wanted to give them the gift of celebrating with us. I’m very grateful to have a partner who thinks of my parents as his parents, and we have been saving for our wedding to remove some of the burdens from them. Doctors of BC truly allowed for that to happen. The bursary was also a wonderful way of receiving validation that I’m on the right path and that medicine is my calling.”

When Radhika finishes her education, she wants to maintain her personal and professional connection to her home in India and incorporate the Indian perspective into her approach to medicine, as well as invest in the next generation of talent.

“Bursaries let us know that there are donors who had come before us, who were in our shoes and were impacted by meaningful, powerful medicine. The act of giving back and recognizing aspiring physicians provides us all with a satisfaction that is hard to feel when you are busy studying in medical school.”

Doctors of BC is proud to support BC’s doctors of tomorrow, and does so in many ways: scholarships and bursaries like the one Radhika received, funding special interest clubs; writing and advocacy awards; free membership, insurance, and disability; support via our Physician Support Program; and special events like our Find Your Match career speed dating night. 

Radhika thanks Doctors of BC and its members for “inspiring students and enabling me to pursue my dreams!”