Some docs consider themselves worldly, but how many can say that they’ve practiced on three continents? Tanzanian native Jayendra Patel, who is of Indian descent, worked as a physician in Asia and Africa before settling in the U.S. Now, he has gone bicoastal, moving from Rhode Island to Louisiana, where he is now in private practice.

 

His adventure began in his birthplace of Tanzania on the east coast of Africa where in his teens, he moved to India and completed his schooling as a psychiatrist. While in India, he met and married Ratna, who was studying physical therapy, and later returned to Tanzania, where his parents were still living, and practiced psychiatry for about a year and a half. But, his true love was research – so he set his sights on America.

 

Patel was accepted to Harvard University, where he became board-certified in psychiatry and completed three research fellowships. He then taught psychiatry as an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

 

Practicing medicine on three continents was quite a challenge for Patel. “When you go from one country to another country, it takes a while to become part of that cultural system,” he said. “I think the biggest challenge is trying to figure out how to fit in, and the biggest advantage is that I’ve been able to see people in so many different cultural settings. It’s amazing to realize that people may say things differently, eat different foods and have different cultural norms, but at the end of the day, the people are generally pretty much the same – they have good hearts and want to do good for everybody else and themselves.” 

 

After enduring 20 years of frigid winters in Massachusetts, the Patels started looking for a warmer climate similar to their birthplaces. Fortuitously, Dr. David Buttross III of Lake Area Psychiatry saw Patel’s curriculum vitae and recruited him to Lake Charles. Patel came down, and fell in love with the place. “All of my friends think that I’m crazy to do this; they say that I’m going through my mid-life crisis,” he said with a laugh.

 

Patel started private practice with Lake Area Psychiatry in January, 2010. He maintained contacts with UMass, retaining a position as associate professor. Why the big switch from academia to practice? “It was mainly because of Dr. Buttross and his group, which was a small group, and this was what I was looking for,” Patel explained.

 

Ratna will continue working as a pediatric physical therapist with the school system in Massachusetts until the session ends. In June, she plans to join her husband in Lake Charles. Their daughter, Jignasha, age 21, is currently studying at Barnard College, which is affiliated with Columbia University in New York. Coincidentally, she will join her parents in Louisiana when she graduates in May, working for two years in Baton Rouge with the Teach for America program. The Patels’ son, 19-year-old Shail, is a first-year student at Clarkson University in upstate New York, where he is toying between a major in electrical or computer engineering.

 

In the meantime, Patel is adjusting to his life in Lake Charles. Besides practicing at Lake Area Psychiatry, Patel is also seeing patients at Allen Parish Hospital in Kinder and will soon be affiliated with Christus St. Patrick Hospital in Lake Charles. In his off-time, he enjoys attending cultural programs through McNeese State University’s Banners Series and is actively trying to meet members of the Indian community. “I really like it – it’s a big change from the north and Massachusetts,” he said. “But, it is not that big of a change for us in the sense that I’ve grown up in Africa and in India, and people here are very family-oriented, and very open, warm people. For me, I thoroughly enjoy it.”

 

He has a special interest in country music, a staple of Lake Charles’ culture. “I’ve loved the country music scene in America because it tells stories about common people, their experiences that they live day in and day out, and it’s amazing,” he explained. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to learn about life, and it really makes me a better person.”

 

Even though Patel comes from a bi-cultural background, he has a lot in common with Louisianans. “They might be surprised to learn how easy it is to relate to me,” he said. “Being a psychiatrist, you get to meet patients and understand how their lives are, and that’s one of the best ways to understand our culture.”

 

Ultimately, Patel hopes to spend lots of quality time getting to know his patients, as well as publishing, researching and teaching. “I like win-win situations,” he said. “I made a big change in my career, going from academics, which I loved, to private practice. By moving into private practice, it was mainly from a fiscal perspective. So, my goal would be to make money, but at the same time, contribute to the community and to the patients.”