Although the field of Public Health may not always be visible like surgery or emergency services, its impact can be felt through robust health systems, proactive diagnosis, prevention, community trust and access to critical care.
Ashish Krishna, our next pathbreaker, International Public Health Consultant with the World Health Organization Headquarters, supports work related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and noncommunicable diseases.
Ashish talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about starting his career in MBBS (medicine), and subsequently moving into public health, which focuses on problems that affect thousands or millions of people, not only one patient at a time.
For students, do not think that medicine means only becoming a hospital doctor. There are many meaningful careers in health: public health, epidemiology, health policy, digital health, health economics, global health, research, program management and implementation science.
Dr Ashish Krishna, Your background?
I am Dr Ashish Krishna, a medical doctor and public health specialist from India. I grew up in an environment where education, discipline and service to others were valued. Like many students, I did not know the exact shape of my future career from the beginning. However, I was always interested in science, people, and understanding why some communities have better health than others.
In school and college, I was interested in subjects related to biology, health and society. Over time, I realised that health is not only about hospitals, doctors and medicines. It is also about clean systems, early diagnosis, prevention, awareness, good policies, trained health workers and access to care.
This thought slowly shaped my career. I started as a doctor, but later moved into public health because I wanted to work on problems that affect thousands or millions of people, not only one patient at a time.
My family played an important role by encouraging me to study sincerely and stay grounded. Their support helped me take up challenging opportunities, including working in different states, national programmes and later international public health assignments.
What did you do for graduation/post-graduation?
I did my MBBS followed by a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
I also have undergone Advanced Field Epidemiology training program-NCD , Epidemiology, Non-communicable diseases, Health research from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-USA & National Institute of Epidemiology-ICMR
I completed my MBBS from Government Medical College, Calicut. This gave me a strong foundation in medicine and patient care.
Later, I completed a Master of Public Health from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. This was an important turning point because it helped me understand health from a broader perspective: how health systems work, how diseases are prevented, how programmes are implemented and how evidence is used for decision-making.
I also completed training in Field Epidemiology for Noncommunicable Diseases through the Indian Council of Medical Research and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States. This training helped me develop skills in disease surveillance, data analysis, programme evaluation and implementation research.
In addition, I completed management-related training, which helped me understand leadership, programme management and coordination with governments and partners.
What made you choose such a rare and uncommon career in Public Health?
I did not choose public health in one single moment. It happened gradually through experiences. As a medical student and young doctor, I saw that many patients came to hospitals when their disease had already become serious. For example, people with high blood pressure or diabetes often looked healthy for many years, but later developed stroke, heart attack, kidney disease or blindness. I began to ask myself: why are we waiting for people to become very sick? Why can we not detect and manage these problems earlier?
That question pushed me towards public health.
My biggest influencers were the communities I worked with, patients I saw, public health leaders, and mentors who showed me that one good health programme can benefit lakhs of people.
I learned from doctors, public health experts, government officials, World Health Organization colleagues, programme managers and field health workers. I realised that public health is a team effort. No single person can improve a health system alone.
Working in large public health programmes, including immunization, polio eradication, hypertension control and diabetes care, helped me understand the power of organised systems. When a programme is well planned, it can reach remote villages, urban slums, primary health centres and large hospitals.
One turning point was moving from clinical medicine to public health. Another was working on hypertension and diabetes control, where I realised that simple, standardised care at primary health centres can prevent serious complications. Later, working with global teams strengthened my interest in international public health.
How did you make the transition into the career you wanted – Medicine to Public Health?
My career path was not a straight road. It was built step by step.
My approach was simple: learn from every role, take responsibility, work sincerely, and keep moving towards a larger public health impact. I never thought only about job titles. I focused on the kind of problems I wanted to solve.
I started with medicine, then moved into public health programmes, then into noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Over time, I developed expertise in programme implementation, monitoring, digital health, evidence synthesis and global health coordination.
From 2006 to 2008, I was working as a resident doctor in a government hospital in Seelampur, East Delhi. During this period, I was approached by Bhartiya Parivardhan Sanstha, an NGO working with people affected by HIV, particularly female sex workers and people who injected drugs.
I initially became involved alongside my clinical work, providing medical support and interacting directly with these vulnerable communities. I found this work more fulfilling than my routine hospital duties because it allowed me to understand the social, behavioural and economic factors affecting people’s health. I could see that treatment alone was not enough; awareness, counselling, prevention, community trust and access to services were equally important.
This experience motivated me to move from purely clinical work into public health, and I subsequently joined the organisation as a Programme Manager. For almost two years, I coordinated HIV prevention and care activities, supported outreach teams and peer educators, organised health camps and awareness sessions, facilitated referrals and linkages with health facilities, monitored programme activities, and prepared reports for the organisation and its stakeholders.
This was my first formal exposure to public health program management. It gave me practical experience in working with vulnerable populations, community engagement, field-team coordination, monitoring and reporting, and ultimately shaped my decision to build a long-term career in public health.
After completing medical training, I worked in public health programmes where I was involved in field-level implementation.
Tell us about your career path in Public Health
One of my early major roles was with the World Health Organization India, supporting disease surveillance and polio eradication-related work. This gave me strong field experience and taught me how health programs actually function on the ground.
I learned how to work with district health teams, government officials, health workers and communities. This experience was very valuable because it taught me that public health is not only about writing plans; it is about making those plans work in real settings.
After WHO, I worked at John Snow Inc. John Snow, Inc., commonly known as JSI, is an international public health nonprofit organisation rather than a conventional private company. It works with governments, development partners and communities to strengthen health systems and implement public health programmes in areas such as immunisation, maternal and child health, infectious diseases, supply chains and health information systems.
At JSI, I worked on a project supporting the introduction and scale-up of the rotavirus vaccine in India. Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea among young children, and the vaccine was being introduced into the national immunisation programme.
My role involved working closely with government health officials and programme teams to support implementation. This included planning for vaccine introduction, coordinating with state and district stakeholders, supporting the training of healthcare workers, reviewing vaccine and cold-chain preparedness, monitoring programme progress and identifying operational gaps.
I also supported field visits, data review, reporting and follow-up actions to ensure that the vaccine was introduced smoothly and delivered safely through routine immunisation services.
This role gave me valuable experience in large-scale vaccine introduction, government coordination and health-system strengthening. It also helped me understand how a national public health policy is translated into implementation at state, district and health-facility levels.
Later, I worked on vaccine and immunization-related programmes. This helped me understand how new health interventions are introduced, how training is conducted, how supplies are managed and how states monitor progress.
I then moved more deeply into noncommunicable diseases, especially hypertension and cardiovascular disease. I worked with World Health Organization India and later with Resolve to Save Lives, supporting hypertension control programmes. This included work related to the India Hypertension Control Initiative, one of the largest public health efforts to improve blood pressure control through primary health care. I worked on programme implementation, treatment protocols, monitoring, digital systems and coordination with government teams.
Currently, I work as an international consultant with the World Health Organization Headquarters, supporting work on diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and related global health initiatives. My work includes supporting the Global Diabetes Compact, diabetes and hypertension care projects in countries such as Ghana and Uganda, guideline-related work and implementation planning.
My qualifications helped me at different stages. MBBS gave me clinical understanding. The Master of Public Health gave me a systems view. Field Epidemiology training gave me skills in data, surveillance and evidence. Management training helped me coordinate large programmes.
Contacts are useful, but they are built through sincere work. In public health, people remember whether you are reliable, respectful and able to deliver. My professional network grew because I worked seriously with teams, responded to responsibilities and maintained relationships.
How did you get your first break?
My first major break came when I started working in public health programmes after my medical training. Working with field teams and public health systems gave me exposure to real-world health challenges. At that time, I may not have fully understood how important this opportunity was. But looking back, it became the foundation of my career. It taught me discipline, field realities, government systems, teamwork and the importance of data.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
Challenge 1: Moving from clinical medicine to public health
As a doctor, the usual path is to continue in clinical practice. Moving into public health was not always easy to explain. Some people think that doctors only work in hospitals. I had to build my own clarity that public health is also a powerful and meaningful medical career.
How I addressed it: I kept learning, took up public health training and focused on the impact of population-level work.
Challenge 2: Working with large systems
Public health programmes involve many people: government officials, health workers, donors, technical experts and communities. Things do not change quickly. Sometimes progress is slow.
How I addressed it: I learned patience, communication and teamwork. I understood that in public health, sustainable change takes time.
Challenge 3: Keeping technical knowledge updated
Health is a constantly changing field. New evidence, guidelines, technologies and programme models keep emerging.
How I addressed it: I made continuous learning a habit. I read guidelines, reviewed evidence, participated in training and learned from colleagues across countries.
Where do you work now?
I currently work as an international public health consultant with the World Health Organization Headquarters, supporting work related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and noncommunicable diseases.
My work is not about treating one patient in a clinic. It is about helping countries and health systems improve through prevention, diagnosis, treatment and long-term care for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
What problems do you solve?
I work on questions such as:
How can countries detect diabetes and hypertension earlier?
How can primary health centres provide better long-term care?
How can medicines and diagnostics be made available consistently?
How can digital systems help track patients?
How can evidence be translated into practical guidelines?
How can global recommendations be adapted to real country settings?
In simple words, I help design and support systems so that people can receive better care before complications occur.
What skills are needed for the job? How did you acquire the skills?
Important skills include:
Medical knowledge, because one must understand the disease.
Public health thinking, because the focus is on populations.
Data skills, because decisions should be evidence-based.
Communication skills, because we work with many different stakeholders.
Writing skills, because reports, guidelines and technical documents are important.
Programme management skills, because ideas must be converted into action.
Teamwork, because public health is never done alone.
I acquired these skills through medical education, public health training, field experience, international exposure, mentorship and continuous learning.
What is a typical day like?
A typical day can include reviewing programme data, joining meetings with country teams, preparing technical documents, reviewing guidelines, coordinating with partners, supporting project planning or writing reports.
Some days are focused on evidence and documents. Some days are full of meetings. Some days involve solving practical implementation problems, such as how to improve reporting, training, medicine supply or patient follow-up.
What do you love about this job?
I love the fact that public health connects science with real human impact. A good decision at programme level can help thousands of people receive better care.
I also enjoy working with people from different countries and backgrounds. It helps me learn continuously and understand that every health system has its own challenges and strengths.
How does your work benefit society?
My work benefits society by helping health systems become stronger, more practical and more people-centred.
Diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are often silent in the beginning. Many people do not know they have these conditions until complications happen. If health systems can detect these conditions early and manage them properly, many heart attacks, strokes, kidney failures and deaths can be prevented.
Public health work may not always be visible like surgery or emergency care, but its impact is very large. It prevents suffering before it happens.
For example, if a primary health centre has trained staff, simple treatment protocols, regular medicines, blood pressure machines, glucose testing and patient tracking, many lives can be improved. My work contributes to building such systems.
Tell us an example of specific memorable work you did that is very close to you.
One memorable area of work for me has been supporting large-scale hypertension and diabetes care through primary health systems. Many people think that high blood pressure is a small issue because it often has no symptoms. But uncontrolled blood pressure is one of the major causes of stroke, heart attack and kidney disease. Through public health programmes, we worked to make hypertension care simpler and more accessible.
This involved standard treatment protocols, regular follow-up, use of digital systems, training of health workers and improving monitoring. The idea was simple: a person should not need to wait for a heart attack or stroke to receive proper care.
Another memorable area is my current work supporting diabetes and hypertension care in African countries such as Ghana and Uganda. This work is meaningful because it focuses on strengthening primary health care, improving access to medicines and building systems that can continue beyond one project.
These experiences are close to me because they show how public health can quietly save lives at scale.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
My advice to students is: do not choose a career only because it looks popular. Choose a direction where your interests, skills and values can come together. Your first break may not look glamorous. Sometimes the first role is difficult, field-based or less comfortable. But if you learn sincerely from it, it can open many doors.
A few lessons from my journey:
First, you do not need to know everything from the beginning. Careers evolve with time.
Second, marks are important, but curiosity is equally important. Ask why things happen and how they can be improved.
Third, do not think that medicine means only becoming a hospital doctor. There are many meaningful careers in health: public health, epidemiology, health policy, digital health, health economics, global health, research, programme management and implementation science.
Fourth, communication matters. Even the best technical idea fails if you cannot explain it clearly.
Fifth, respect field work. Real learning happens when you meet communities, patients and frontline workers.
Finally, success is not only about position or salary. It is also about whether your work improves lives.
Future plans?
My future plan is to continue contributing to public health, especially in the areas of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and health systems strengthening.
I want to work on making prevention and early care more practical for countries, health workers and communities. I am also interested in digital health, implementation research and using evidence to improve real-world programmes.
In the long term, I hope to support more countries, mentor young professionals and help students understand that public health is a meaningful and exciting career path. It combines science, service, leadership and social impact.
My journey started with medicine, but public health helped me see a bigger picture: when we improve systems, we improve lives at scale.