Dr. Sanku Rao
AAPI President Wants To Make A Difference

"From the very beginning in my life, I wanted to become a physician just like my parents and to make a difference in the lives of as many people as possible," Dr. Sanku Rao, President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), said, "It was the same motive that led me to join AAPI, which represents 45,000 practicing physicians and 15,000 medical students and residents in the USA," Dr. Rao, who comes from a family of physicians told this writer during an exclusive interview.

Dr. Sanku Rao, President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and Health Minister Ambumani Ramdoss.

Brilliant and with good credentials, after his medical degree from Institute Medical Sciences Osmania University (1969) – Hyderabad, India, he appeared for an interview at a trust by the Hyderabad Nizam, where he was interviewed by the then Chief Secretary of the Government of India. He was chosen instantly and was offered a fellowship to come to the United States to pursue his studies in medicine. After coming to the US in 1973, Dr. Rao completed Internal Medicine Residency and Gastroenterology Fellowship in Brooklyn, New York. And very soon, he began his own practice in Manhattan and Brooklyn and was very successful. Being attached to the family, he was not able to spend enough time with his wife, who is a pediatrician and his son and daughter. "At the time, I was spending many hours commuting and did not have the opportunity to even spend time with my first newborn daughter. As I did not want to be away from family for longer hours, I decided to move to Oklahoma to have a higher quality of life with my family. I have now been practicing gastroenterology in Oklahoma for the last 30 years," he said, describing on why he had to leave New York.

Dr Rao with Mr. Agnihotri left and Ambassador Sen.

Not satisfied with a family life of his own and a successful medical practice, Dr. Rao always wanted to reach out to the larger community and as he always believes, "I want to do whatever I can to make a difference in the life of other people." Since then, he has been involved with AAPI for over a decade. Starting out as a Regional Director for the Southwest Region, he had taken on different roles with increasing responsibilities starting from Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, President Elect, and now the President of AAPI, a forum to facilitate and enable Indian American Physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs.

Describing his professional achievements, Dr. Rao said, "I have a long track record of being involved with organized medicine." This has enabled him to be chosen to hold some important positions. He has served as a trustee of Oklahoma State Medical Association and was chosen to be an Alternate Delegate of American Medical Association. Dr. Rao was the past Chairman of the Garfield County Medical Society, a member of the Governing Board of Integris Bass Baptist Hospital – Enid, OK, past President of the Northwest Oklahoma Blood Institute and past President of Osmania Medical Alumni Medical Association. With a desire to help aspiring medical students in India to study better and graduate successfully, he had taken the initiative and was the Founding Chairman of the Osmania Medical Alumni Charitable Trust, which has set up an ELibrary, facilitating aspiring medical students to find and use resources available online.

Dr. Sanku Rao and his family.

Not limiting himself the medical field, Dr. Rao has been very active in the local Indian Community. "I was one of the original founders of our local Hindu temple in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma over 20 years ago and served on the Board of Trustees and eventually became the Chairman of the Indian Cultural Foundation and Hindu Temple of Oklahoma City." Back in Hyderabad, his hometown, he had founded the free GI Endoscopy Unit at Durgabhai Deshmukh Hospital at the Andhra Mahila Sabha. Married for over 33 years to Dr. Rohini Rao, the couple has a daughter, Archana, who is a Gastroenterology Fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and their son Ameet is currently pursuing an MBA degree.

As president of AAPI, one of Dr. Rao’s objectives, while assuming charge was "to increase our membership, one of the foremost ways that any association can have an impact on the world is in the size of its membership." Increased membership has helped AAPI while "lobbying in US Congress for AAPI’s causes - to make our voice heard within the AMA – or to increase our fundraising for charitable causes," he said.

Helping out the generation of physicians, especially in their initial stages has been a topmost priority for Dr. Rao. With this objective, Dr. Rao had helped start in Oklahoma the first of its kind program in the entire nation to help receive Residency to the growing number of ethnic Indian origin medical graduates. "That too with a very nominal fee, whereas other institutes charge over $10,000 from each candidate," he said. AAPI Externship Program, which is currently operating in three cities (Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Boston) is in the process of expanding to three more centers (Dallas, New Jersey, and Michigan). This will vastly improve the chances of the 4,000 Indian medical graduates awaiting placement in US Residencies, Dr. Rao said.

Strengthening the leadership of AAPI for the future has been another area Dr. Rao wanted AAPI top concentrate, encouraging AAPI members to take an active role in their local medical societies and organizations. The first ever AAPI Leadership Development Program was aimed at young physicians who would be trained in leadership skills that will help them achieve great goals in the future.

Medical education and research is another area Dr. Rao wanted to help AAPI members "to achieve our greatest potential in delivering medical care to our patients. Academic medicine is a vital force in the advancement of the clinical practice of medicine and we need to further our role in promoting academics. Fortunately, we have a talented pool of young Indian physicians who have already achieved great success and recognition in academics and research," he said.

At the very outset of presidency, Dr. Rao wanted to "expand our role of providing the highest quality CME’s here as well as in India. To help this cause, I have started the process of obtaining ACCME accreditation for AAPI to provide CME certification," he said.

Providing a successful healthcare delivery in India has been a top priority for Dr. Rao. "I am very glad to note that we continue to work closely with the Government of India, MCI, and IMA on meeting the real medical needs of rural India. As many of you know, we’ve signed an MOU with the government and now have a pilot project in place in select rural villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Eventually this initiative will expand to all states in India, making a difference in countless lives there," he added.

The Continuing Medical Education Committee is continually achieving. We are continuing to pursue the ACCME accreditation process putting together high quality CMEs for the benefit of Indian Physicians. The committee has completed or is planning CMEs of high caliber in the Greek Isles, Goa, Atlanta and Orlando. The CME to take place in Atlanta will also include a practice management seminar for the first time.

APPI’s Charitable Foundation has been doing a commendable job since its inception. Dr. Rao, who feels grateful to India for giving him the quality medical education that helped him achieve all the successes that he has today, said, "It is time to give back to our motherland. We will continue actively supporting the Charitable Foundation to raise funds to sustain operations in the free clinics and hospitals in India where AAPI is involved."

The AAPI Charitable Foundation is still committed to helping the poorest of the poor in the remote areas of India. "We recently opened our 17th free clinic in rural India and are always looking to expand our reach," he said, and pointed to the Indo-US Health Summit, which is to take place in Delhi Jan 2-4, 2009. "We are concentrating on six disease states spanning Heart Disease, Diabetes, Maternal Child Health, Infectious Disease, Allergy and Mental Health. The leading experts from US, Britain, and India will meet to exchange ideas and create a plan of action on how to implement the recommendations in the rural areas of India,’ he explained.

Dr. Rao, while appealing his fellow "successful physicians who possess in our minds and hearts, the well-being of two great countries - India’s and America’s," said, "AAPI gives us a chance to make a difference in the world – on both sides of the globe. I consider every single one of us to be an ambassador of AAPI. Our chance to influence the world has never been greater. Every single one of us has the chance to convey our mission and goals and to inspire others to share them."

BY AJAY GHOSH