Meet Ashwini Bapat

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashwini Bapat a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashwini, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I don’t think I will ever “overcome” imposter syndrome. As a physician, despite going through college, medical school, residency, and fellowship, I experienced imposter syndrome any time I went up to present in front of my fellow physicians and colleagues. I always felt like they probably knew more than me, could have asked the patient better questions, and could have figured out the patient’s problem or diagnosis much quicker than I did.

Imposter syndrome became even more prominent on my entrepreneurial journey. Now I’m really working in a space where I didn’t receive formal training where calling myself an “entrepreneur” feels “fancy” and only reserved for “tech bros” and not for myself. What I’ve come to realize is that imposter syndrome will likely continue to be a companion on my journey, BUT the amount of space it takes up gets smaller and smaller the more I do. The more people I help through my company, the less space that imposter syndrome takes up. So my way of dealing with imposter syndrome is to put it in the corner, to recognize that yes its there, it will likely be there, BUT it doesn’t have to get in my way. And the more I do, the more confidence I get, the less time I spend feeling like an imposter. And I know that when I find myself out of my element when I try something new, imposter syndrome will likely take up more space, but the more I do, the less space it will occupy.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As a palliative care doctor, I’ve learned very early on, from my patients, that our time on earth is fleeting. Whether you die when you’re 100 years old, or at 24 or at 4 minutes old, death is always shocking and feels unnatural. Seeing this reality on a daily basis, made me realize that I wanted something more, that what I was doing – my day to day life in the hospital – just wasn’t “it” for me.

I had always wanted to live abroad. I love learning new languages and cultures, and now I want to share this with my family and my kids. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, my family and I packed our most treasured belongings into two carry-ons, two checked bags, two camping backpacks, and a double stroller and boarded a one-way flight to Portugal. We did not speak a word of Portuguese, had no friends or family there, and settled in a city we had never visited.

When our physician friends and colleagues saw what we were doing, they kept asking how they could move abroad, how they could do it too. And so it was this collective curiosity that gave us the idea to start Hippocratic Adventures a community of US-trained physicians looking to move abroad. In the past 4 years, our community has grown to 10,000+ physicians, all interested in having an experience abroad. To help physicians do just that, we offer a a job board with international physician opportunities, one-on-one guidance to move abroad, Telemedicine & Beyond (a curated list of opportunities that physicians can do from abroad), and our online course Telepsychiatry From Abroad.

I am most proud that our story of moving abroad and the community we’ve built through Hippocratic Adventures inspires other physicians to “ditch the grind” and start their own adventures – where they feel like they are still growing an are excited about what the future holds.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

There were 3 key skills I developed in building HIppocratic Adventures:
1. The Mindset that “Everything is figureoutable” as Marie Forleo would say. THIS mindset has literally changed how I approach the MANY obstacles or problems that pop up when you’re an entrepreneur. When a challenge pops up, instead of freaking out, I ask myself “how can I work around this?”

2. You can always learn. I never formally had training in starting a company or a business or a community. But I was able to learn by finding people that had and learning from them.

3. Join a community of entrepreneurs striving for more. Join a community of small business owners so that you don’t feel as alone when challenges pop up in the business – that way people can understand what you’re going through and you won’t feel so lonely.

My best piece of advice is find someone who has done something similar to what you’re trying to do, and learn from them.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

We are looking to collaborate with:
1. Expat Tax Expert or Tax Experts who work with people that have moved abroad
2. Physicians who have moved abroad
3. Physician recruiting organizations that are looking for US-trained physicians to move abroad

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Image Credits: Ashwini Bapat

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