Dr. Mukta Panda is Professor of Medicine and the Assistant Dean for Well-being and Medical Student Education at the University of Tennessee College Of Medicine Chattanooga. Dr. Panda has been inducted as a Master of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, for her notable contributions to teaching, outstanding work in clinical medicine through research, practice, contributions to preventive medicine, improvements in the delivery of health care, and contributions to the medical literature. She was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) and started a chapter for UTHSC College of Medicine students, serving as the chapter advisor. She is a former chair of the Department of Medicine in Chattanooga.
Her roles include physician, educator, scholar and administrator. She works internationally, nationally, regionally, and locally on her interests of educational methods and curricula, health and wellbeing, fatigue, stress and burnout prevention in health care professionals, spirituality, and empathy in healthcare and contributes nationally in leadership roles.
Her new book Resilient Threads: Weaving Joy and Meaning into Well-Being, launched in February 2020. This book is a narrative on her Journey to Champion Soul-Deep, System-Wide Self-Care. Dr. Panda gives voice to the exhaustion and gives courage for another way. By weaving stories of connecting to her patients, students, and colleagues with her own stories of belonging, she models how we can each thrive by creating community and self-awareness. Resilient Threads: Weaving Joy and Meaning into Well-Being received the International Silver Nautilus Book Award in 2021. Her blog Resilient Reflectionsinitiated at the start of the lockdown in March of 2020 has served a safe space for authentic connections, conversations and cocreating a community of belonging. She is also the author of the reflective and motivational book, Rhythm of Our Hearts, coauthored with her father, a retired surgeon, Dr. Shyam Parashar.
She grew up in India and has studied and practiced in India, London, and Saudi Arabia. She is a proud mother and mother-in-law of Natasha and Rajas, and Nikhil and Anuja and grandmother to baby Amara.
In our conversation we discuss the powerful place stories hold in her life and the life of many. We talk about 2 sets of 3Rs: Rituals, Reflections, and Relationships in addition to Reflecting, Rejoicing, and Rejuvenating. We move to discussing how stories can lead to a sense of belonging and how she has told the stories in her life. We explore touchstones that set the tone for a group.
Her personal pearls for her own wellness include:
1. Have a ritual of solitude with self and gratitude.
2. Be self-aware.
3. Eat when hungry.
4. Find a connection with your patient.
5. Walk.
6. Practice being less cynical.
7. Say no.
8. Have friends that will be honest with you.
