MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT  

Dear IMANE members,

Let’s begin by congratulating Dr. Shikha Merchia on a truly inspiring year as President. Her passionate focus on healthy lifestyles gave every one of us practical tools and timely reminders to protect our own health while we care for others.

I hope this message finds you and your loved ones in good health and good spirits.

My name is Dr. Sanjay Aurora and as the incoming President for 2026, I am a pediatrician and neonatologist who has spent 20 years witnessing both the miracles and the tolls of our profession. This experience has made one truth crystal clear: we need to take care of our physicians!

That is why my entire presidency will be built around a single, urgent priority—Physician Wellbeing.

Because IMANE exists for YOU. 

Because burnout is not a personal failure—it is a system failure we can fix together. 

Because the same resilience that keeps us at the bedside at 3 am deserves to be protected, nurtured, and celebrated.

In 2025, IMANE will become New England’s safest space for Indian physicians to:

• Speak openly about moral injury, secondary trauma, and the weight of micro-aggressions 
• Access confidential peer-support circles led by our own members who “get it” 
• Learn evidence-based wellness strategies that fit desi schedules—family-style potlucks alongside yoga 
• Advocate for fair schedules, loan forgiveness, and visa security without fear of retaliation 
• Mentor the next generation so they enter medicine already knowing how to protect their light 
• We will host quarterly “Recharge Weekends” in New England settings—CME credits included, kids and spouses welcome, no guilt attached. 
• We will work toward  an IMANE Wellbeing Helpline staffed by our own psychiatrists and therapists. 
• We will partner with hospitals to pilot “Wellness Sabbaticals” specifically for Indian physicians who have shouldered disproportionate service burdens.

If you are exhausted, if you are questioning why you chose this path, if you secretly worry you are “failing” at balance—you are not alone, and you are not weak. You are exactly why IMANE is doubling down on wellbeing this year.  

To every member reading this: renew your membership not just for the CME or the gala, but for the promise that someone has your back. 

To every Indian physician in New England who has never joined: come home. There is a seat saved for you at the table, and a therapist on speed dial if you need one.

Together, we will prove that a profession that heals others can also heal its own.

I cannot wait to walk this wellbeing journey with our extraordinary Executive Committee, to learn from our past presidents, and to welcome every single one of you into a healthier, louder, prouder 2026.

In unity, in strength, and in genuine care for each other— 

With warmest regards, 

Sanjay Aurora, MD

President, IMANE 2026

#IMANEWellbeingFirst