It’s absolutely OK to not know what you want to do next

Rija Khanal was about to turn 16 when she suddenly ‘felt my world was ending.’ Her Nepalese family, who were living in Bangkok, decided to migrate to Melbourne and everything changed for Rija.

“We moved from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok to Melbourne which was then a lot quieter in comparison. It was quite a culture shock!” recalls Rija.

“It was a tricky time in my life to make such a big move but I actually transitioned into my new life pretty quickly and school was a big part of that.”

After a few months at a school in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, just before she was due to start VCE, Rija was offered an academic scholarship to study at Haileybury. She credits that opportunity with changing the trajectory of her future.

“Haileybury gave me a strong academic foundation and showed me that I could do whatever I set my mind to. The teachers around me believed in me and my academic potential, and helped set me up to go into the world with confidence,” says Rija.

“The school created a space where I belonged and where I could recognise and focus on my strengths. It allowed me the opportunity to appreciate that my voice is just as important as anyone else’s. I had space to lead and to be myself.”

Rija was initially drawn to the Humanities, International Studies and English Literature were favourite subjects, but she also developed an appreciation for science. When she had to decide which pathway to take after graduating, Rija faced a dilemma.

“I wondered if I should go down the journalism route, but I was also interested in working with vulnerable people so medicine was also on my mind,” she says.

“I think it’s absolutely OK to not know what you want to do next – it can mean that you have strengths in a few different areas. Lots of my colleagues have come into medicine after doing other things. I think it’s important not to feel rushed and to take your time and try a few different things before you lock yourself into a career.

“Sometimes the career we think we want can turn out to not be quite right for us and it’s OK to move to another pathway. That’s what high school and university life is about and there’s a lot more flexibility and opportunity now for people to move between different areas of study and change careers.”

Since graduating from Haileybury in 2008, Rija has continued to learn and carve out her career. Last year, she qualified as a junior consultant general paediatrician and also moved to Adelaide with her husband. Rija works at a public hospital in Adelaide where she is part of a team that looks after children admitted to the hospital wards. She also sees young patients at outpatient paediatric clinics and trains junior medical staff.

Making a difference in the lives of families facing challenges is close to Rija’s heart, so she also makes time to work with SBS to help create health information podcasts and broadcasts in Nepali for Australia’s Nepalese community.

“It is very difficult for a family that comes to a new country and who doesn’t know the language or how to navigate the healthcare system,” says Rija. Every few months, she also works at a refugee and asylum seeker medical clinic in Melbourne’s outer east, providing paediatric support.

“I learn a lot through working with refugee families. They have complex lives and share wonderful stories of their journey and how they are working to build a new life in a new place. I see people’s resilience firsthand and to be a small part of their story is rewarding,” says Rija.

In 2024, Rija became a mum for the first time and the arrival of her daughter has brought a whole new level of empathy and understanding to her work.

“I think being a parent has made me a better paediatrician. I have a deeper appreciation of the immense toll placed on parents when they have a sick child,” she says.

Still relatively early in her career, Rija wants to continue to develop her medical knowledge and the scope of her work, but as with many other professions, she says being a woman in medicine is challenging.

“Women can do everything men can do and I have very strong female role models at work, but at certain periods of your life, as a woman, you have to take a step back because you want to have a baby and be a parent,” she says.

“So, it is harder for women to have the same career opportunities as men if they want to be fulfilled in other aspects of their life, too. But medicine is very rewarding and no day is the same as the next. For me, it’s a very special career.”