How did a young woman from a sheltered and privileged life in India travel 8,596 miles to be the first female physician in a notorious, all-male maximum security prison in California?
Dr. Rajshree Gaitonde was a young woman fresh out of medical school in India when she was plunged into a completely different life in America with her new husband, a virtual stranger through an arranged marriage. Find out how faith, reliance on divine guidance, and music helped her through the difficult transitions and led her to achieve a successful career at the infamous Folsom Prison.
Always with a desire to learn and offer more, while at Folsom, she earned a Law degree and a Masters in Health Services. Her pioneer work as the first woman physician to enter Folsom Prison inspired newspaper articles about her.
From an early age a career in medicine was her goal. But holistic medicine, including the healing power of music, was her passion as well. It continues to be an important part of her life that she shares through educational presentations and seminars.
Dr. Gaitonde felt so blessed in her life that she is determined to help educate underprivileged girls in rural India who have not had her advantages. To this end, she will be donating from the proceeds of the sale of this book to charities and organizations that support the education of these girls.
About the Author: Dr. Rajshree Gaitonde was born and raised in India. She is a physician and went to Stanley Medical College University of Madras, a prestigious medical school in India. Soon after graduating from medical school she married Mr. Surendranath Gaitonde, an architect and came with her husband to live in New Jersey in America. She was passionate about continuing her medical specialization and completed a post-graduate course in medicine and also a residency at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. She specializes in internal medicine, administrative medicine and public health. While working at Folsom Prison, she earned a master's degree in Health Services focusing on Primary Health Care from U. C. Davis in California. Her thesis, Health Systems in Prison, was very well received.
Although there were those who felt she wouldn't last one day at Folsom Prison, she enjoyed a successful 24-year career administering health care to the all-male prison population as the first female physician at the notorious prison. While at Folsom, she earned a law degree from Northwestern California University School of Law and enjoys medico-legal Law. Her patients teased her calling her "a degree collector."
From an early age her passion has been Integrated Holistic Medicine with a focus on Music and Healing. She is an accomplished singer in the classical Indian style. The ancient Vedic rishis of India were familiar with the therapeutic role of musical sound vibrations and it is this quality that forms the basis of using music as a tool in complementary alternative medicine. Dr. Gaitonde has an inner urge to spread these concepts and she is a sought-after speaker. Her objective is to let everyone know that they can choose to attain optimal health and truly enjoy the human experience of being dynamic and fully alive.
