Alka Ahuja: My Working Life as a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist 

 

 

What did you want to be when you were at school/growing up? 

I come from a non-medical family background but always wanted to be a doctor. My early memories are of dressing up as a doctor and taking my toy stethoscope to nursery. 

 

Can you describe your work in one sentence?

I am a clinical academic working as a child and adolescent psychiatrist and the national clinical lead for technology enabled care (Wales).

 

What qualities do you think you need to do your job well?

• Resilience
• Patience
• Ability to manage people and systems in healthcare
• Ability to deal with rejection (especially in academia).

 

What three words would your colleagues use to describe you?

1. Cockroach (I am a tough nut and don’t give up)
2. Conscientious 
3. Hard working.

 

What do you enjoy most about your current role?

Psychiatry offers me the ability to make a difference for my patients and possibly to change their trajectory in life.  It also provides the opportunity to carry out action research – apply my research into making things better for patients. 

What are the main three factors that make you frustrated at work? 

1. Inefficiency and laziness
2. Dishonesty 
3. Poor time management. 

 

If you were recommending your career to a young person, what positive aspects would you highlight?

You will work with young people and have an opportunity to make a difference in their lives.  You’ll work as part of a multidisciplinary team, which allows everyone to bring their own expertise and strengths to support young people and families. You’ll also have opportunities to do non-clinical roles, eg, research, teaching, and take on leadership roles, as well as to work with partner agencies too. I love working with schools, for example, and helping to organise youth conferences and workshops.

What was your best career move?

At the start of the covid-19 pandemic, I was invited by the Welsh government to lead on technology enabled care.  I had to implement video consultations across health and social care in Wales. They were rolled out across primary care, secondary care and in care homes, etc –  digital transformation that would have taken years under normal circumstances was achieved within months. It was one of the most challenging but rewarding jobs I have done in my career 

 

If you could go back in time and give one piece of career advice to your younger self, what would it be? 

Slow down and regularly take some “me time”. Being a working mother means I have always had to juggle work and family.

 

What do you do to de-stress?

I love cooking and studied catering during my foundation years, thinking if I got fed up with medicine, I would start a restaurant! 

 

On a typical day, what do you eat for lunch, where, and how long is your break?

I often skip lunch breaks or just eat some fruit. I don’t advise that but it is a habit I developed when the children were young as it meant I could work during  my lunch breaks and sometimes finish early to pick them up from school.

 

Where are you happiest and why?

At home with my family. My kitchen is my happy place with everyone sitting around the table, eating and chatting away. My two children have taught me a lot in my life personally and professionally.

 

What do you hope will be your legacy to your profession and colleagues? 

Someone who inspired others to dream more, do more and become more.

 

Is the thought of retirement a dream or a nightmare – and why?

Nightmare. I cannot imagine not doing the things I love doing everyday.

 

Biography

Professor Alka Ahuja is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in Wales.  After completing her medical training at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India, she worked as a senior lecturer at Bombay University, before moving to the UK in 1998. She completed her  MRCPsych (membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, London) in 2001. She went on to complete higher training in child and adolescent psychiatry in 2005 and secured her first  consultant post in child and adolescent psychiatrist in South Wales that same year. 

Today she is the national clinical lead for the Welsh government’s technology enabled care programme (TEC Cymru). She is chair of the  Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales and a vice president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. 

Professor Ahuja’s professional interests include qualitative research, neurodevelopmental disorders and co-production in healthcare and digital health. Her research and writing in psychosocial issues in street children in India have been recognised nationally and internationally.  She is a visiting professor at the University of South Wales and an honorary professor at Cardiff University. She was awarded an MBE for her services to the NHS during the pandemic.