Vasumathi Sriganesh is a perfect example for those women who think that it’s not possible to be a working woman after serving home as a housewife for 12 long years. Vasumathi is a CEO of a non-profit foundation Qmed and their website is www.qmedkf.org.in. and www.indianmedicalsites.in

Welcome Vasumathi on Orkut’s Hall of Fame! Pleasure having you here.

Thanks so much for that delightful intro Zazo I am going to enjoy this interview and I hope I will motivate many more people

Thank you for accepting my invitation Vasumathi, To start with the interview, Can you please tell us about yourself, your location, education and your profession?

Wow that seems to be the complete interview content
Well – a brief background – I did a BSc in Home-Science (with Physics & Chemistry) in 1977 in Chennai (then Madras). I always loved medicine, but could not take it up for family reasons (lost my dad and granddad early). Home-Science, unlike what most people believe, is about the next best option – as it covers a lot of medical-related subjects……Nutrition, Physiology, Biochemistry, Child Psychology etc.

I got married immediately afterwards and in the next few years I thought I was going to be a good family person and not a professional. It was an unsettling feeling at times. I was first in Kolkata, then moved to Mumbai where I have settled down since 1981 (except for 3.5 years in a village – Uran just out of Mumbai)

In the years that followed I had two sons, and I also did some “good things” like attending Bengali language classes, doing a Secretarial Course, worked as a receptionist for a month, taught in a Primary school for an year, volunteered for the PTA in my boys school……..

In 1989-90 I did a PG Bachelor’s degree in Library & Information Sciences with the sole objective of joining my boys school as a librarian. Fate decided other things and i joined a research library (subject – Geomagnetism!!) where I worked till 1992. Then between 1992-1997 I worked in a Hospital library and then a Consumer health library

since 1997, I freelanced, then set up a company and finally moved all operations under a NOT-FOR-PROFIT banner – called QMed Knowledge Foundation. This – in Dec 2007. Our objective is “Empowering the Medical Information User”. We want to make healthcare professionals use information in the best possible ways – be it for retrieval (getting info), organizing it or writing / publishing.

In the few months that have passed we have achieved quite a bit! But we of course have miles to go before we sleep. Personally I am hoping that in a few years there will be others to take care of the organization and I am a mentor and champion!

For all about being brief – I needed a “second scrap” to add:

1997-99 I did a Masters in Lib & Info Sciences (Distance-education – IGNOU).

2000 – I also did an online course on “Searching the literature for Evidence Based Medicine” – this is a specific set of methodologies to search medical literature to get information that aids in decision making

2004 – I did a one-week course in Oxford, UK – on “Critical Appraisal Skills” – which is in a way a continuation of the above. Once you get specific literature, then how do you read critically and arrive at decisions.

A BIG LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS!!!!

Vasumathi can you please make me understand the use of medical library in a layman term?. I was not good in studies and never thought that there is also library specially for medical purpose.

Thanks

A library is a place from where you can learn with pleasure…..if you are led to it with the right ways. Eg – in childhood – I was made to read story books in my school library. That made me start reading books.
In high school we were shown how to “read more” about anything that we learnt in classes. I studied in two Kendriya Vidyalayas and the focus on libraries was excellent in both

Then you have “special libraries” – based on Subject or certain other bases. Medical libraries, Engineering libraries etc are special libraries. A film library is a special library. A music library is a special library

A medical library will have or “create access” to a medical collection of books, journals (subject magazines), audios, videos, information snippets……….all in the medical collection.

When I say “create access” – it means the librarian/s will learn about the best information resources that the organization needs, and will either buy them, or subscribe to them or see how they can share resources with other libraries……all the time keeping legal aspects in mind (copyright laws)

In today’s time, information resources in ANY subject are far far too many – thanks to the Internet. So any special librarian has to know about lots more resources – both by way of the information content as well as the technological aspects (e.g. blogs / wikis etc)

So – a medical librarian has to know about print resources, electronic resources and how to handle all of them. She/he also needs to know how to network with medical librarians world over to share information. A medical library today can even be a single office room, from where a librarian ensures that all users in the institution has access to information from his/her desktop. Or the library can have a print collection, but the items are delivered to the user by way of electronic requests…….the possibilities are endless. People may think that libraries are no longer needed, but actually the need for high quality librarians is higher!

How is the standard of Indian medical libraries in compare to other developed countries? What are the improvements from last 10 years?

I am sorry to say that except for a tiny handful, our medical libraries are far behind those in developed countries. The tiny handful has made good strides though.

In the last 10 years the ones that have progressed have done one or more of the following:

- Computerized their catalog……which means as a user, I can search for the presence of a specific book or a list of books (by subject / author etc) using a computer and then locating the book easily

- Computerized many library operations – e.g. issues / returns etc

- Have access to many “medical databases” or collections through CDs or Internet (by paying subscriptions to these

- Offer “alerts” or other services to their users

As I mentioned before there is lots more these libraries can do. And a majority of medical libraries need to wake up and get moving

How QMed Knowledge Foundation works? How someone from the field of medical can get benefit from it?

QMed Knowledge Foundation works with medical / healthcare professionals as well as medical libraries.

We offer medical libraries a service (for their users) – by getting them journal articles that their library cannot provide. We also offer consulting services by which medical libraries can offer better solutions for their users. The consulting can be for things like:

a) To create their computerized library catalog quickly and accurately

b) To customize a medical journal article index database called PubMed (www.pubmed.gov) so that when a user searches it, he/she can restrict a search to retrieve only articles from their own journal collection

c) Putting their institutions publications (articles written or papers presented by their institutions’ doctors / scientific staff) in online “Open Archives”. Open Archives are areas on the Internet where people can upload their papers. Any institution can set up its own archive or use some specific public ones. In India for medicine we have a Govt archive called OpenMed – available at http://openmed.nic.in

There are many more potential areas where we can help libraries.

For individuals – we offer them the following services:

a) We do “literature searches” – i.e. we search and get them highly relevant article references/information on topics they need

b) We get them full-text articles, after they go through the literature search results – (which usually gives only references and abstracts)

c) We help them with their PowerPoint presentations if they have to give talks

d) We help them with papers they want to write in journals – by doing “copy-editing” to meet the requirements of the journals instructions

e) We create web-pages or websites for them

How you get into social networking? like orkut. Is it for business networking or catching up with friends?

My first social networking site was Ryze. Next I got into Orkut.

I got into Orkut through another medical librarian who invited me in. While I do love making friends, my chief objective is networking for my work. Well I must say that most people who I network with automatically become friends – that’s because of my nature

As for Orkut – I think I have made some of my best connections here. For all the bad publicity that has happened in newspapers on and off, I am sure there are many like me who have found great benefits (this interview is one of them!!)

In fact, I specifically mentioned Orkut, on the day we had an inaugural launch of QMed Knowledge Foundation.

What are your activities on orkut, in communities or you have a group of people to do conversations? Please tell us if you play any major role in any orkut community(s)

The communities I chose to be in fall under one of the following categories

a) Professional
b) Alumni related
c) Some serious discussions
d) Fun / hobbies

among the professional ones I am most active on Orkut Hospital – and I am responsible for one thread – which is “Good news related to India and medicine”. I try and put in all good news that I find in this area. I admit I am unable to put in my best efforts, but I constantly try. The other ones where I occasionally contribute are Essential Medical Updates and South Asian Cochrane Network.

Unfortunately many communities have people filling in all kinds of crap and then the professionalism is lost. Orkut Hospital is one really serious attempt and I really commend young Dr. Nagendra and all moderators for this!

Alumni – I have my schools and college and the school where I was a teacher during 1985-86. It was fun to find a couple of my old students and the fact that they remembered me!

Fun – my favourite was the Enid Blyton community – I had great fun participating in a quiz…….that made me remember all my childhood reading………but regretfully I just cannot find active time for that community

The Art of Living communities and the Stephen Covey communities are ones that I enjoy, because both these (the courses and the books respectively) have made me what I am today

In India which is one of the most populated country of the world, majority of the people comes from small villages and towns, they often neglect illness which looks “small” for them and don’t prefer to visit doctors but choose to buy medicines directly from local pharmacists. In result sometimes things went uglier. Who you blame? Education, awareness or people? How much a pharmacist is trustworthy?

I read a nice quotation somewhere – “Don’t fix the blame, fix the problem”!
Education IS an issue in India and health education is also an issue

We do not have enough doctors in the country and very specially in the rural areas. We need to make rural areas attractive enough for people to go there and technology can really make a huge difference for this.

Pharmacists have a great role in health education; so do nurses, dieticians, other therapists and health librarians. Unfortunately all these careers are not amongst the “most sought after”. The intelligentia in the country want to be IT specialists or Management people. The salary difference between these and other careers is just too disparate.

I personally feel that unless some primary careers like the ones I have listed, and another very important one – “Teaching” (both in schools and colleges) become attractive, our future generations are going to suffer in both basic and health education.

QMed Foundation wishes to do its bit by being part of an International campaign – HIFA2015 – which is “Health Information For All by 2015″ – this campaign wishes to ensure that by the year 2015 – everyone will have access to an “Informed healthcare provider”. The minimal level is a caregiver like a parent or relative, who should be able to have access to simple information like “Do give water and liquids to a child who has acute diarrhea” – (out of ignorance many villagers do not)

Tell us something about your family, how much time you give to them?

Oops…… asking me tough questions

my immediate family consists of my mother-in-law, my husband (a consultant in the IT industry in the areas of Finance / Regulatory etc) and two sons – 27 and 24. My older son works in Hyderabad (is in a transferable job) and the younger one in Mumbai – and lives with us.

We are all a very IT savvy family – yes – that includes my 70+ year old m-i-l, who enthusiastically learnt how to use email from me, and then went on to learn web-browsing by herself. She spends about an hour on the net – keeping in touch with relatives – including grand nephews / nieces etc.

My time with family is a little tough…..because very often even when I am at home, I have work to do. Running an organization that seems to be well ahead of its time in terms of what we have to offer takes up a lot of creative thinking.

One thing – when I have relatives (extended family) visiting I make it a point to spend more time at home. Similarly whenever I travel out of Mumbai on work, I try to stay with family (relatives) so that I am in touch with all……..uncles / aunts / brothers etc. I have a wonderful relationship with ALL my relatives – on my side as well as my husband’s

A special word about my m-i-l. She is one of my main supporters – she talks about my work very enthusiastically with people. I can discuss anything about it with her and she is all ears – trying to soak in everything. If only she were physically healthier, she would have actually come along to my office and worked with me

Then – my husband – another wonderful pillar. He has helped me financially, work wise supported me with all regulatory / legal stuff, and is my critique for many things….. out of which I learn! Not always easy, but in the long run so much makes sense.

Both my sons……may tease me a lot, but they are proud of their mum. I hope my being with them in the first few years paid off Jokes apart – I am glad I did…….I remember so many funny pieces of conversations between them!

What if you could not be a medical librarian? Where could we see Vasumathi today?

One of the following – and I’d be happy in any of them:

Librarian in an Education related institution
Librarian in IT related institution
Librarian in any healthcare related institution
Librarian in a school
Teacher in Art of Living courses
Teacher in Stephen Covey courses
Home maker

(Definitely not in Finance / Politics)

What are your expectations for future development of Medicine and related field in coming 5-10 years in India? Need your comments also for Indian Medical Libraries.

My expectation for future development of Medicine and related field in coming 5-10 years in India

My personal opinions and expectations:

a) I would like professionals from all fields – Allopathy / Ayurveda / Homeopathy etc to respect each other and help people get the best of all. I would be happiest when they refer patients to each other depending on the need.

b) I would be happy if Public Health and Preventive health became very important, so that the focus of any system of Medicine is “keeping people healthy”, and “treating illnesses” is less of routine.

c) I would like lay people and patients to take greater care and responsibility for their health. They should get more aware and educated, and work WITH doctors to take care of themselves.

My comments – for Indian Medical Libraries

India is emerging as a super power for technology and we have enough talent in this area. Infrastructure is also fast emerging. My dream is to see Indian Medical Libraries reach the levels, or even surpass those of developed countries!! For this – we need to develop a breed of professionals……..people who are strong in basic sciences AND information sciences AND IT. This breed of professionals need to be paid on par with IT and related professionals. Only then can we exploit the power of IT for proper development of healthcare with strong support from good Medical libraries and librarians!

Vasumathi I am eager to know the secret behind the way you manage time for everything like family, work and for your own self, don’t mind if I ask you to disclose it.

No real secret. The fact is that I always wish I had a little more time for my family. I’d love to cook more, arrange my house better, keep my personal papers better organized etc. But then a day has only 24 hours.

The Art of Living courses have taught me to accept people and situations as they are. They have also taught me to appreciate what I have …….look carefully……there is SO much…….instead of craving for what I do not have.

Practicing what I learnt in these, and then what I have read in books by Stephen Covey and more recently Robin Sharma (my newest read – is an EXCELLENT one – “The Saint, the Surfer and the CEO”…….. has made me contented with how much I can do for each part of my life. So rather than trying to “manage time”, I try to focus on doing as many right things and important things as possible. Things that I cannot fit in at any time, I know that I have not left undone by poor management.

Live keeps changing and evolving, and so do people. The most important thing is to have a purpose. QMed’s objectives form a great purpose. Any alternate thing I do will be with a purpose of changing something for the better!

You achieved so much, did you ever faced failure too, if yes then can you tell us how you came back with a success?

Failure I think is more a feeling than an event. I did feel like a failure when in my two jobs as a medical librarian, I drew pathetic salaries, and the powers to be did not feel that my position deserved better, though they were fully aware of the levels of work I did. QMed – as a company ran into losses – that can be viewed as a failure. QMed as a Foundation is still running losses………

With all the above anyone in my place could feel like a miserable failure. But I KNOW I have achieved a lot in the last approx 10 – 15 years. My work has been pioneering and pioneers do not have things easy.

I will admit that I have been depressed several times over, but something in me never allowed me to give up. The fact that my husband supported me financially is a HUGE thing, but I am not sure that every other person in my place would have continues even with such support.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, the books I read and the courses have made me understand life and get large doses of courage to see life as a success and not a failure. And I can proudly say that thanks to such exposure, I do very often end up being a confidante for many people, especially youngsters. Just a few days ago, I counseled a young boy and at some stage he said “You are an angel” I was happy that he felt good.
Before you ask your next question……..since I have revealed so much about myself, I must share two more areas to which I devote time

1. My school alumni association and egroup. I studied in this school in Chennai – Kendriya Vidyalaya IIT – and we have a great AA. Being in Mumbai, I cannot physically do much always, but I do moderate our Yahoo group. And being in the Exec committee I try to help with ideas etc. Whenever I am in Chennai I attend any event there – and try never to miss the Annual Alumni Day. This year, I was honored by being invited to be Chief Guest for the Republic Day celeb. Boy was I thrilled to be treated like a celebrity in a school where I was once a “mere student”

2. I am Vice President for the Indian Association for Medical Informatics, and am on the Editorial board of its journal – the Indian Journal of Medical Informatics.

Again – I always wish I could give more time to both these, but…….

Do you have any idol? If yes then please share with us.

I have had my share of them as I grew up. As a kid it was Florence Nightingale (yes, one of my career wishlists included Nursing). One of my high school teachers – Ms. Shanta V. (Biology) – was another. Apart from being a wonderful teacher, I always remember her especially for one thing – she never hesitated to admit that she did not know an answer to a question, if we asked her something special. She would take the trouble to find out and update us.

There are lots more people I admire and love for many traits / qualities / abilities

In the more recent years I have admired the Art of Living Founder – Sri Sri Ravishankar, some of the Senior teachers – Rishi Nityapragyaji, Bawa, Dinesh Ghodke (the last two are on Orkut!)…………they are all awesome down to earth people, full of fun and humor!
And as I have mentioned before – Stephen Covey and Robin Sharma

One lesson I have learnt from all these people is – you don’t need to have “idols”. You can admire all of them, learn from them, but you must love yourself and want to be yourself. We need the variety in the world and each of us as individuals has *something unique* to offer to the world.

Thank you so much for this wonderful interview Vasumathi. Its one of the biggest pleasure of mine having you here, God bless! and keep up the good work.

I have to thank you Zazo! I do think you are doing something unique by featuring people like me (and so many others who are doing unusual things) in Orkut’s Hall of Fame as well as flockpost.com

Before I log off, I must pay a big tribute to all my colleagues – present and past – at QMed. All of them have not just worked with me……they are all part of my Vision

And – finally – I wish YOU all the best……..I hope you do a huge bunch of unusual things too. God Bless

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