A doctor’s journey from driving cabs to becoming a Skin Cancer specialist and an Army officer
Sometimes the path to achieving your passion might not be a series of simple steps but full of twists and turns. So is the dynamic career graph of Dr. Navtej Sandhu, who has gone on to own a chain of medical centers from being a taxi driver in South Australia.
On June 5, 2017, he was inducted as an officer of the Australian Defence Force as a reservist at the age of 53.
Doctor Navtej was already a doctor when he migrated to Australia from India in 2004. He had a government job in India where worked as a general practitioner in the Department of Health and Family Welfare Government of Punjab, India. He left the job as he was unsatisfied with the working conditions in Punjab. His dissatisfaction with his job led him to decide that he wanted to study Information Technology at the age of 40.
During his initial years in Australia, he had to struggle. He used to attend classes in the morning and used to drive a cab in the evening. But soon he got a job as a GP in Woomera, a regional town in South Australia, where he used to be on call 24/7.
He recalls that being the only GP in the area he had to seek permission even when he used to purchase groceries. He stayed in Woomera for a year before returning to Adelaide to start his first medical center in 2008.
Dr. Sandhu's commitment was recognized by the Defence Reserves Support Council's Employer Support Awards in the small business category. The ceremony took place in Canberra, where he was the sole winner to be awarded from South Australia.
Dr. Sandhu won this award for supporting a nurse at his Hackham Medical Centre, Toni Chapel who is a Lance Corporal in the reserves. “Toni Chapel earlier nominated us for a state award which we won and then we automatically got nominated for the national award,” says Dr. Sandhu.
Dr. Sandhu claims that he always desired to join the Army but was prevented from doing so due to family reasons. He shared that Sikhs always want to join the army, as it allows them to serve people. But his idea of joining the army was strictly opposed by his mother as he was their only son.
It was during the state award ceremony that his latent desire to wear the uniform and join the officer ranks came to the fore again, and things were set in motion to fulfill that desire. During the state award ceremony, he asked if he could join the army at 53. He received an affirmative response and it all started for him from there.
Doctor Sandhu has passed all the exams and the fitness test and would join the Reserves as a doctor captain.
He shared the story of his struggles. Since he was from a small town in Punjab, his family shifted him to Amritsar so that he could study medical science. He said he couldn’t get into medicine straight away and had to complete a college degree and then study pharmacy. Despite this, he continued to prepare for MBBS studies and finally got accepted. Upon completing his medical degree, he was hired by the government as a doctor and became president of the state medical professionals' body. After moving to Australia, he got a master's degree in information technology before setting up a medical center and becoming a skin cancer specialist.
While many in his situation would like to rest on their laurels and look at their achievements with a sense of pride, Dr. Sandhu feels that he has a long way to go. As part of his next mission, he wants to go to Canada to learn new techniques to carry out surgical procedures.
As for his long-term goals, he wants to make a difference in Punjab, his home state.
“I treat drug addicts here. But when I am in a position, I want to start drug treatment centers in Punjab on a no profit, no loss basis. This will enable me to give back to my country,” Dr. Sandhu said.