Dr. Pratiksha Khalap Vice Chair of Yi-Goa, elaborates on her journey as a homeopathic doctor, a clinical researcher and the varied organisations that she is part of
Dr. Pratiksha Khalap has her fingers in many pies. Apart from being a homeopathic doctor, she is also President of the Rotary Club of Mhapsa Elite and co-chair of Young Indians (Yi), Goa Chapter.
Dr. Pratiksha was brought up in a liberal home where her mother was always supportive towards her and her three other sisters. Her father is a lawyer and her mother was a nurse at a government hospital. Dr. Pratiksha’s mother wanted her and her sisters to concentrate on their studies while also making it a point to see that they indulged in other co-curricular activities too.
As a child Dr. Pratiksha was enrolled in dance classes and she also learnt classical music, playing the harmonium till her tenth standard. She also played hockey and has represented Goa at the national level, twice in Delhi, once in Chennai and West Bengal.
Her schooling was at St. Francis Xavier School and she completed her 12th from St. Xavier’s, both in Mapusa. After her 12th she moved to Shiroda to complete her graduation from Shri. Kamaxidevi Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital.
Dr. Pratiksha’s interest in biology and medicine took root thanks to her mother, who always encouraged her, being a nurse herself. “I thought of doing something that would excite me and when I learnt about homeopathy and its holistic way of treatment and healing is when I decided to take up this branch of medicine. I did learn about allopathic medicines and forensic sciences along with internships at Asilo and Hospicio. I wanted to opt for medicine and I chose homeopathy after doing a lot of research and understanding what it is about.”
“Women are always looking for ways to strike a balance between home and a career. I feel there is nothing that is impossible for a woman if she really decides to chase her goals”
When in Homeopathy College, she received the all rounder student of the year award and stood out from the rest when it came to cultural activities. Dr. Pratiksha loves mixing with people, social interactions and networking is her forte. After her graduation she worked for a year as a RMO at Mapusa Clinic Hospital and later did her post-graduation in clinical research from Mumbai. She lived there for two years and got a job through campus placement at Cognizant. But Dr. Pratiksha wanted a career in writing medical reports and analysis which made her take up a job at Vedic Life Sciences in Mumbai. She started as a trainee with medical writing and then moved on to another organisation, Sciformix Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (now acquired by Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, more commonly known as Labcorp). Dr. Pratiksha has worked for this company for ten years and moved on to become the Lead Safety Science Specialist. Currently, she is helping her husband with his hospitality business as a director. She is also the Administrator of Mandre College of Commerce, Economics and Management which is a college run by Vikas Parishad Mandre Trust, which was established by her father-in-law Adv. Ramakant Khalap in the year 1978. This trust runs schools, a higher secondary and a college in Mandrem and other cultural and sports academies.
Dr. Pratiksha is the co-chair at Yi Goa and her aim right now is to support the current chair in whatever possible way she can. “This year’s chair Vaikunth Dempo has a particular plan of action and I am helping him execute the plans and vision that he has for this year. My task is to support him and understand how things function at Yi so that when I take over next year I will be accustomed to the workings of this chapter. This year, we look to strengthen our social media presence and broadcast our activities of nation building to the youth and increase our membership. We have added a new vertical “Vocal for Local” to support our Goan entrepreneurs in whatever way we can.”
Dr. Pratiksha credits her success to the excellent support of her family. “My husband, Nikhilchandra Khalap is a former chair at Yi and he has been my biggest cheerleader. My parents have always encouraged me to follow my heart and my in-laws have been very encouraging right up from day one. I am part of several organisations and without the support of my family it would have been very difficult.”
She concludes with a message to aspiring women leaders. “Women are always looking for ways to strike a balance between home and a career. I feel there is nothing that is impossible for a woman if she really decides to chase her goals. When you are clear with your ambitions and decisions, you can work your way around it. You need to believe in yourself that you are capable of chasing your dreams and achieving them. Believe in yourself and there will be nothing to hold you back”
