A Career in Medicine with Doctors without Borders

Crossing a waist-deep river carrying a woman in labour on a stretcher is not what most people imagine when they think of being a doctor. For Class of 2017 alumna Neha Joe, it is part of her day-to-day life. 

Now working with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in a conflict-affected region of South Asia, Neha provides primary healthcare to tribal communities living in remote areas with limited access to medical care. Neha’s journey in medicine began with a fascination with the human body and a calling to drive social change. Today, those two passions have taken her to the front lines of humanitarian healthcare.

Choosing the long road

After graduating from CIS, Neha took a gap year to spend time with her family in India. She went on a year of self-discovery that would eventually change the direction of her life. She volunteered with Make A Difference (MAD), teaching children in shelter homes, and completed a fellowship with non-profit Thanal, working with the local government on waste management.

“These two formative experiences made me realise that I wanted to play an active role in driving social change in the long term” 

Neha did not choose medicine because she had always dreamed of saving lives. Her interest started with a fascination with human biology and the medical mysteries she watched on House M.D. She decided she wanted to understand the human body, even if she eventually chose not to practise medicine. The path she chose was long, demanding and daunting, but she decided it was worth taking.

Finding purpose in medicine

During her six years in medical school, Neha continued volunteering while taking on ambitious social impact projects. She launched Project Gift a Smile, an emotional support programme for children with cancer, and, as General Secretary of her university’s student executive committee, led a fundraiser that raised Rs. 1.5 million for low-income patients and migrant workers receiving care in Emergency Medicine.

Neha pursued her growing interest in neurology, completing a research internship at the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science and an exchange programme at the University of Minnesota, where she rotated through child and adult neurology.

The combination of her academic, leadership and community work eventually saw her named a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford.

Taking medicine beyond borders

After graduating from university, Neha joined Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an international humanitarian medical organisation. 

“I was always fascinated by the doctors who risked their lives and worked in conflict zones to help people, and I wanted to be a doctor who does that too” 

Neha has worked with MSF for a year now, and her team travels into the forests each day to provide medical care. Reaching patients can mean trekking over rough terrain for over an hour with a 10kg backpack filled with medical supplies including malaria kits, medication, mosquito nets, lab tests, and scales.

As part of a mobile clinic, Neha provides free primary healthcare, including diagnostic tests, vaccinations, malaria treatment, antenatal and postnatal consultations, and health education.

Working with MSF has shown Neha that healthcare is as much about people as it is about medicine. From providing treatment to sharing knowledge that can prevent illness, every day brings an opportunity to make a difference. 

"If you love human biology and making meaningful connections on a daily basis, no other career can offer the same sense of purpose and fulfilment as working in healthcare"

Keep exploring

Looking back, Neha sees a connection between the person she was at CIS and the doctor she has become. She credits CIS with encouraging her to be an “explorer”, trying everything from softball and theatre to Model United Nations, Green Machine and science club.

She brought the same curiosity to medical school, exploring specialties beyond the curriculum and spending study breaks observing procedures from awake craniotomies to organ transplants. It was through this exploration that she discovered her interest in neurology.

Neha's advice to students considering medicine is to stay open-minded and not be deterred by the years of education it takes to be a doctor. 

“Life is a long journey and this pathway can never be treated as a race”

She hopes to become a clinical neurologist while contributing to healthcare policy and improving equitable access to care.

Thank you, Neha, for sharing your journey. We’re so proud of all that you’ve achieved and the difference you’re making through your work.