Today we’d like to introduce you to Neeta Natan.
Hi Neeta, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Mysore, a beautiful city in Southern India. I was a severely asthmatic child and couldn’t run and play like most children.
From there to becoming a physician triple boarded in geriatrics, hospice and palliative medicine, I have come a long way.
I am grateful to be a 5 time awardee for Best Geriatrician by D Magazine. I am a passionate geriatrician and feel fulfilled doing home visits for patients homebound with dementia or other life limiting diseases and also for hospice patients. There’s something special about seeing patients in their own residence rather than in a clinic or hospital setting.
As a middle schooler, I used to conjure up images of words in my mind as I walked home, but started writing seriously over COVID to cope with the isolation from masking and social distancing.
I’m an active member of the Poetry Society of Texas and recently surprised myself by winning third place in a statewide poetry contest and second place at the Rusk county poetry society contest.
I have been published in PULSE- voices from the heart of medicine magazine, a dozen times so far and written a movie review for the Journal of palliative medicine.
Three of my poems were selected for publication in the Baylor University Medical Proceedings in 2026.
I was delighted to share in the “People’s choice award” at the prestigious 2025 ART MEETS POETRY exhibition in McKinney Texas.
I am working on publishing my first collection of poetry “A CELEBRATION OF THE ORDINARY(and the extraordinary)” and “Tales from the geriatric chronicles” in 2026 and beyond.
My long term vision is to create a nonprofit organization that supports wellbeing by fostering creativity in poetry, literature and the arts.
I feel like I am living my best dream of being a physician with a poetic soul and it is reflected in my Instagram handle
“White Coat Poetess”!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Childhood asthma, while being raised in a developing country that had hardly any treatment except oral steroids when I was a small child resulted in life threatening episodes of bronchospasm. I vividly recall the fearful feeling of suffocation. Use of steroids resulted in many adverse consequences which I reflect upon in my poem “Buffalo Hump and Moon Face”. I wouldn’t call the journey smooth but also realize it could have been worse, if not for the unflinching support of my family of origin and family of creation.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a physician with poetry in my soul. I love to write and can lose myself in writing for hours at a time. I write about the human faces I see, the joys and sorrows of existence, the cosmic spirit, the tragedy of death when it occurs in a rather young patient, hospice and its meaning, the exhilaration of being one with Mother Nature and numerous topics under the sun.
Being a physician gives me an intimate glimpse into the lives of many and it’s a privilege that I deeply cherish and hold sacred. I learn so very much from my elderly patients. I treasure their knowledge, wisdom and experiences. It adds fuel and spirit to my creativity. I aim to carry their voices of wisdom through poetry and essays with the hope of empowering my readers through their own mysterious journey of life!
What does success mean to you?
Success is different things to different people.
For me it is being able to exist in alignment with my goals and values while making progress in profession and personhood—as a mother, daughter, wife, sister, aunt, friend and physician.
It means choosing a direction that feels meaningful, learning and evolving along the way, maintaining my physical and spiritual well-being, and contributing positively to my community without sacrificing inner peace.
It means balancing practical pragmatism with idealism.
Rather than a single achievement or external metric, success is a way of living where my daily choices reflect who I am now and what I am becoming.
It means being forever curious about the world, the inhabitants, the journey, the destination and learning something new everyday!
