Member profile: Krishna Kalpurath

Member profile: Krishna Kalpurath

Dr Krishna Kalpurath  left India during a period of long service leave to work for a year in Alice Springs Hospital. Twenty years later he has built a life in Launceston. 

What is your current role?
I am an Australian trained geriatric and general physician working as a staff specialist in North-West Tasmania. I also work in the private sector with Calvary St.Luke’s Launceston and I teach medical students as a senior clinical lecturer in UTAS. I am a PI for the AdNet registry and an active gut micro biome researcher.

When did you arrive in Australia and where did you first live and work?
We arrived in Australia in 2002. Before we left India I was working in the Public Health Service with the Government of India as a gazetted officer .I took long service leave for one year and was planning to work for one year as a registrar at Alice Springs Hospital . I fell in love with the lifestyle where you could switch off on the weekend when you are not on call and I never went back. I had moved with my wife and 10 year old son and was initially very apprehensive. This was a time when Australia was not a preferred destination for Indian doctors. I worked in many roles including ICU registrar and flew retrievals with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

At what stage of your career were you at then?
I was a PGY8 when I moved to Australia. I was an early convert to AMC and cleared both exams in the first attempt and joined the BPT program. I was well settled back home and my son went to one of the best schools in my town .Both my wife and myself were offered registrar roles in Alice Springs Hospital and we planned to stay for a year, explore Australia and then leave. We were still visiting India annually until the COVID pandemic.

What kind of challenges did you first face?  and what were the biggest adjustments you had to make?
The culture shock was huge. Not having a car for transportation was a big challenge and moving away from family was another. My dad died in 2004 and it took me three days to get back home for his funeral. Alice Springs Hospital was an eye opener.

There were many adjustments that I had to make but minuscule in comparison to my wife’s sacrifices. We had two home helpers for babysitting and cooking back in India, an unheard-of possibility in Australia. Racism and the proverbial invisible glass ceiling was just as prevalent as it is today, but it was never overt and never an overwhelming issue at the workplace. Learning aboriginal culture and understanding their ethos and concepts of aboriginal health was a big challenge. 

What were your impressions of the hospital you first worked in and Australia’s health system?
The health system appeared well funded then but low in manpower. This meant frequent on calls, long 14 hour shifts every 3rd day .A brutal toll on health. Moreover I recall working with stellar paramedics and considerate consultants who were helpful. I applied and got a job at Flinders but my consultant would not let me go .Finally I applied to Hobart for a registrar position without telling my supervisor and moved to RHH Hobart, a cold country.

Tell me a bit about moving from Alice to Launceston- another brave move.
Moving to Hobart was equally brave but with it I first saw some structured basic physician training.

I had a daughter at this time and we could neither afford childcare, nor was it available . My wife who’s an anaesthetist wanted to return to work when Anjana my daughter was 2 but RHH would not offer her a job. Moving to Launceston was a no brainer as my wife was given a job the day after she applied. Now we are settled here in Launceston as a professional couple working in the public and private system.

How have you seen the role of geriatricians evolve since you arrived in Australia?
I was amazed with the role of geriatricians here in Australia. Many of our career choices are based on role models that we encounter and I was fortunate to meet couple of stellar geriatricians. I was equally amazed with the Victorian geriatric training programme easily the best in the country .As a proud product of this system, it has helped me become a more well-rounded and holistic physician , a legacy from this training and something I get reminded of daily by my  patients . 

I am also the principal investigator with the Alzheimer’s Dementia network registry for North Tasmania. I teach medical students as a senior clinical lecturer with University of Tasmania .

I am the president of the Indian Medical association of Tasmania a 110 member strong association of Australian Indian specialists and GPs .

How do you stay connected to the culture you left behind?
They say that you can take an Indian out of his country but you can never take India out of him . I remain connected with my culture by creating and maintaining a healthy relationship with members of my community and my country and we regularly host Indian, cultural events and festivals here in Launceston. Currently I hold the position of president of the Launceston Malayali association.

Every year we celebrate Diwali the Festival of Lights, Onam the harvest festival from Kerala, Navrathri a nine-day festival and Christmas.

The essence is harmony and yet a portal to provide our children a sense of their identity and ethnicity and also a unifying base for assimilation into the immigrant Australian culture ethos where they live and are a part of now.

Image Courtesy Krishna Kalpurath: Krishna and his family