Jaimini Raniga was born in Mumbai, India. Her father Mr C.C. Patel was a well renowned entrepreneur and business consultant in East Africa and her mother Savita Patel, a compassionate social worker in East Africa. She went to boarding schools in Kenya, India and England. She graduated in Medicine from St Mary’s Hospital London in 1982, and joined their fellowship program in anaesthetics. In 1984, she migrated to Melbourne, Australia, where she started her career in Family Medicine.
Eight years in her career, Jaimini came to the realisation that doctors were only treating symptoms, but not the root cause of the disease. Her daughter who developed Asthma from the age of 2 years, was only being supported with conventional drugs, from which she experienced many side effects. This was the driver to explore other ways of healing, and she commenced her journey of discovery through studying and qualifying in various Complementary modalities, and ancient wisdom.
Jaimini qualified in acupuncture trained by Dr Felix Mann in London in 1990, got a Postgraduate Diploma in Classical Homeopathy in Sydney in 1992, completed a Diploma in the Bowen Therapeutic technique in 1997. She travelled to India in 2002 to do an internship at the Poddar Hospital in Ayurvedic Medicine, and got a post graduate diploma in Unani Tibb Medicine in 2003 from the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town South Africa. In 2009 she studied Nutritional and Environmental medicine in the UK, South Africa and Australia.
She set up Integrative Medical Clinics in Cape Town South Africa and in Sydney, Australia. She was the author of numerous articles for health magazines and columns and has appeared as a specialist on a number of radio and TV health shows in South Africa. She returned to Sydney Australia in 2010 and thereafter set up Sivanna Health Integrated Medical Practice, where she currently runs her Integrative Medicine practice. Her passion lies in the prevention and treatment of illness by restoring function and balance mentally, emotionally and physically utilising ancient wisdom in modern health practices.
1 Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?
Sydney, Australia with my family. I believe that family is the most important factor to making you feel that a place is home. I have lived in many cities around the world, and have been able to make each place my home because of my loving family around me, they are the one constant in my life. Love and support is what makes the place feel like home.
2 What are your proudest achievements?
Getting admission into St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London University, where I studied Medicine, and qualified as a doctor. I dreamt of being a doctor from the age of 6, and so this really was a dream come true.
Finally graduating was also a very proud moment, a feeling. The feeling that I had made it!
3 What inspires you?
The healing and transformation I see in my patients motivates me to continue to learn and discover new methods of treatment and management for the benefit of my patients. I also get a lot of inspiration being with nature, gives me time to reflect and be in stillness.
4 What has been biggest obstacle in your career?
Regulatory acceptance of Integrative Medicine, a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. Conventional medicine is focused on disease management whereas integrative medicine is patient centred and treats the cause. I believe that both have a place in managing better health outcomes. There are several root causes of disease that cannot always be measured, and may be beyond the scope of science alone. There needs to be more openness, to other ways, apart from the current medical model, especially if you want to reduce the escalating health costs. We are not making an impact on chronic disease management with the current approach, so we see the rate increasing. Now we see children suffering from adult conditions.
5 Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
My late grandfather, Dr C.S. Patel. He was the ex-president of the Indian Medical Council for 16 years, holding this position until he passed in 1968. He was the first Indian doctor to graduate as a Fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in England, became a specialist in both Cardiac and ENT surgery. He taught me that you could achieve anything with determination, hard work and perseverance despite the obstacles you may face. He made me believe in myself.
6 What is the best aspect about your current role?
Making a difference in my patient’s health and wellbeing. I see sustainable outcomes treating the person as a whole. Taking the time to get a deeper understanding of the individual you are treating is more rewarding than coming up with a quick solution. I feel privileged to make the journey with my patients to fulfil their health goals and to empower them to take more responsibility for their own health.
7 And the worst?
My work requires a lot of my time, energy and focus. Sometimes I can feel drained and exhausted after investing all my energy into the people that I treat. If there was more public awareness and professional acceptance of this option it would create less stress in my work, instead you feel you are required to practice defensive medicine.
8 What are your long term goals?
Devise a system or a way that allows me to share my knowledge and experience with many, as opposed to the limited numbers I am able to see on a one-to-one consultation.
9 If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
In regards to the health care industry; I would be more inclusive of other health modalities with adequate regulation so more people can have access to other solutions that the public would benefit from with government funding, as opposed to self-funding as it stands currently in Australia.
10 If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why.
Mahatma Gandhi - I would love to have the opportunity to learn from his wisdom and conscious awareness. He knew how to survive with simplicity, and he was able to have an impact on so many people through example and leadership.
