Dr. Vaishali Shah has worked in bigger cities, but she says she likes Greenwood's slower pace.
Still, working at clinics in Greenwood and Itta Bena gives her plenty to do. "I'm busy most of the day," she said. "It doesn't matter where I am."
Shah, 36, began practicing in Greenwood in May. An internist, she works at Leflore Specialty Clinic with her husband, Dr. Rohit Panchal, a pulmonologist and internist.
Shah works in Greenwood on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and in Itta Bena on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
She recently returned to work after going on maternity leave in August and September. She and her husband now have a 2-month-old son, Anshul.
As the daughter of a pathologist and a pediatrician, Shah grew up interested in medicine, and she said her parents encouraged her to enter the field.
In addition, her sister is a professor of pharmacy in India.
Shah was educated in India. Early on, she was interested in becoming an obstetrician/gynecologist, but she later chose internal medicine as her specialty.
Shah completed her residency in Summit, N.J. She practiced in Woodbridge, N.J., for about two years before she and her husband came to Mississippi.
Greenwood offers a more relaxed pace than Woodbridge, and she is able to balance work with family time.
Shah said she enjoys her practice and likes living in Greenwood.
"The community has been very supportive, very helpful," she said. "I enjoy interacting with the patients and the staff."
The other physicians in the area are very cooperative as well, she said.
"It's a close-knit community, so it just feels like a big family."
