Minoo Ramanathan, right, with her husband, Ravi D’Cruz ’13 RES’16 F’19.
Minoo Ramanathan ’11 MD’16
Age: 27
Hometown: Muscat, Oman
Undergrad school and major: Brown University, Human Biology
Specialty: Family Medicine
Residency: Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island / Alpert Medical School
When did you decide to become a doctor?
My earliest memories of aspiring towards a career in medicine were during my trips to my dad’s hometown, Erode in India. Invariably his presence would attract family members and acquaintances to line up outside my grandmother’s house with a variety of complaints and accompanying radiographs that didn’t always relate to his specialty. I was always moved by the power of his training to assuage their fears and provide support during such a vulnerable time in their lives.
How did you choose your specialty?
The moments that inspired me to choose family medicine were witnessing my preceptors embrace their patients like long-lost friends and catch up on their visits to specialists near and far, working as a team to make sense of all that they had learned. Or when a prenatal patient’s eyes light up on finding out that the doctor she knows and trusts is also willing to take care of her baby after birth. I wish to have that enduring presence in my patients’ lives.
What advice would you give to yourself on your first day of medical school?
Be kind to yourself. Celebrate the small victories, and brush off the bad days. Everyone has them. And remember, at the end of the day, this is not about your grades or your accolades. This is about those extra moments you spent by a patient’s side, whispering words of comfort, when no one else is watching.
