Over the years, the medical field has been a popular career of choice for many Indians, both young and old. However, it is a sector that is constantly changing, and doctors are often in high demand; not only for their patients, but also for new ways of administering medical innovations.
Recently, Dr. Tanya Unni, along with her husband Dr. Hamza, also a medical doctor, have been able to expand their group of medical clinics, Amtan Medical, across eight centres in South East Queensland, and are planning to open many more centres in the coming months. However, medicine has been an inspiration to Dr. Unni since the age of eight, but for reasons one might not expect.
“My grandfather was a medical doctor in India, and he had an in-house clinic, so I always used to see his patients when I was there”, says Dr. Unni. It was her grandfather who inspired her to explore the medical field, despite many expecting her to follow her cousin’s footsteps into acting. “I acted in a few Malayalam films, and even won an award for Best Child Actor, so naturally, many people thought that I wanted to become a heroine in film…but I wanted to become a doctor”.
Since then. Dr. Unni’s group of medical centres has gone on to be recognised in both the Gold Coast region and across South East Queensland as one of the largest medical clinics in the area. Dr. Unni and her husband Dr. Hamza were the only Indian couple to be included in Australia’s Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs list, being listed at number 18.
Dr. Unni likes to be known as a “doctorpreneur”, and for good reason. “We (doctors) are not business owners; but we are very entrepreneurial. We are constantly curious, and want to do things differently”. She recently patented a device, known as the NuSonic, that utilises smooth groove technology combined with ultrasound to provide an innovative method for skin exfoliation. This new technology was recently featured on the TV Shopping Network, with the launch widely covered across Australia and within medical circles.
The doctorpreneur was also nominated as a finalist in the recent India Australia Business and Community Awards (IABCA) in 2018 for Businesswoman of the Year and the Business Leader and Professional of the Year nominee, respectively.
Dr. Unni continues to be involved in the Indian community, both here in Australia and also in India; as her involvement in art, culture and literature, also inspired through her grandfather, led her to start a charitable foundation centred on women’s empowerment based in Kerala.
The emergence of doctorpreneurship continues to be an innovative alternative to the way medicine is progressing in Australia; but is certainly one that continues to have a positive impact, both on patients and in society at large, and also in the Indian diaspora locally.
