Prativa Panday used to be quite satisfied being a doctor to Nepal. But she loved to trek and go places. Earlier this month, she was elected president of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) at its convention in Lisbon. Not only is she the first Nepali to hold this position but also the first Asian and the first woman.

Born into a big clan that emphasised the need for education, Panday was already studying medicine in Delhi at age 15. She worked in Nepal for some time before going to the US for a postgraduate degree in Internal Medicine.

After practicing for 10 years as an attending physician at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital and as a clinical instructor in medicine at Harvard University, Panday decided she wanted to come home. "My children were growing up and I didn't want to grow old in a foreign country eating turkey and mashed potatoes," she says. The fact that there was a family support system in Nepal helped.

Panday works with CIWEC Clinic Travel Medicine Centre in Kathmandu. She has trekked all the major trekking routes in Nepal for work, pleasure or both. She even worked one season as a Himalayan Rescue Association volunteer doctor at Pheriche and the work varies from stomach bugs to acute mountain sickness.

CIWEC Travel Medicine Centre helps tourists, expatriates or even locals with almost any medical problem and if they are not able to provide the required services, they provide referrals to other appropriate medical facilities or even arrange evacuation to another country. The Centre is a member of ISTM, which is the only and largest international organisation of travel health with 1,800 members from 72 countries.

Nepal is now known as one of the best-studied destinations in the world for travel medicine. Panday has been a doctor for 30 years and she tells us that she enjoys her work immensely, which is the reason behind her dedication. When asked for advice for other aspiring professionals she says: "Anything is possible if you try hard and work towards your goal."

Aarti Basnyat