The Indian Women Physician’s Forum (IWF) was designed as a platform for women physicians of various backgrounds, specialties and age groups to come together and network with other like-minded women.  The group meets on a Sunday afternoon at a public library or at a members’ home.

Our first, free meeting in 2012 was held on February 5^th, 2012 at 2:00 pm at the Burlington Public Library in Burlington, MA.  Although it happened to be Superbowl Sunday with the New England Patriots playing, we had a wonderful turnout of women physicians from the New England Region.  Of course, as promised, we ended the meeting at 4pm, in time for fans to watch the game!

The first thirty minutes of the meeting was the networking time when members were able to go around and mingle with other doctors from various specialties while drinking their ‘chai’.  This is the crux of what the IWF is all about; a platform for women physicians to nuture and build relationships with like minded women who might be struggling with similar work-life-family balance issues.

For the next hour we heard a wonderful and very informative presentation by Dr. Pratibha Shah on Ayurvedic Medicine and Anti-aging.  Dr. Shah discussed Ayurveda as one of the world’s most ancient holistic systems of medicine, dating back about 5000 years and how herbs have been grouped under categories such as – age defying, increasing youthful radiance, healing and repairing, anti-inflammatory, blood cleansers and those that strengthen the skin metabolism.  She discussed practices under a daily regime and seasonal regimen that ensure a smooth, supple and healthy skin. Additionally, she explained that the concept of individual body typing in Ayurveda enables the ayurvedic practioner to customize skin care for individuals.  You can read more about Dr. Shah at http://www.zanjabee.com/practitioners/

Drs. Manju Sheth and Deepa Jhaveri are the co-chairs of this organization.  Dr. Sheth is an internist at the Beverly Hospital at Danvers and holds a special interest in women’s health.  She is very passionate about womens’ causes and works with many women organizations including Saheli and ATASK (Asian-American Task Force).  Dr Sheth has also conducted numerous workshops for women.   Additionally, she is the President Elect of IMANE (Indian Medical Association of New England) for the year 2012.

Dr. Deepa Jhaveri is a podiatrist in private practice.  She has offices in both Winthrop and South Boston and is a mother of two little girls.  She has been a member of IMANE for several years where she has served as a member at large and was a co-founder of the Young Physicians’ Society (YPS).  She is very passionate about the IWF group in particular as she been involved in it for several years and has helped it grow from its infancy. 

Dr. Mohani Malhotra, a radiologist, is the moderator of this group.

We always strive to bring interesting and knowledgeable speakers to our meetings.  Past topics have included Plastic Surgery, Nutrition and the Indian Diet and Yoga and stress management, to list a few.  To help our organization grow, and broaden members’ horizons, we hope to collaborate with other women groups in the New England region for future meetings.  We welcome our old members and look forward to new women physician members to join us for future meetings.  We can be reached at iwfmd@yahoo.com.  With our kick-off 2012 event underway and hugely successful, we at the Indian Women Physician’s forum (IWF) are looking forward to an exciting upcoming year!

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