When Goa’s first female doctor, Emmeline da Cunha completed her medical degree in Bombay in 1896, she paved the way for other young women to follow her passion for medicine and treating patients. Fast forward to 2023, Captain Dr Dolores D’Souza was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps. A huge achievement for the Calangute- based D’Souza family that have always encouraged their daughters to break away from the mould and aim higher.
Daughter of Simon and Conceicao D’Souza from Calangute, Captain Dr Dolores was born in Pilerne, Porvorim and completed her SSCE from St Mary’s Convent High School, Mapusa. She went on to complete her higher secondary studies in Science at St Xavier’s Higher Secondary, Mapusa followed by MBBS at Goa Medical College, Bambolim. She also represented St Xavier’s Higher Secondary, Mapusa at State level in football. She was also a finalist for Miss Goa Pageant in the year 2015- 2016.
“Dolores is the first in the family to pursue medicine and get a posting in the Army Medical Corps. Previously, she worked as a Resident Medical Officer at Manipal Hospital Goa, for two and a half years she served as a Medical Officer at Primary Health Centre, Candolim. She also worked as an Emergency Response Center Physician at GVK EMRI Goa for a year after undergoing a week’s training at Hyderabad,” says Captain Dr Dolores’ father, Simon, who works for Doordarshan in Panjim.
Speaking about her journey into the Armed Forces, Simon explains, that it was her sheer determination which led her into answering the Armed Forces Medical Services Interview at Delhi and topped the Merit list. After that, she had to clear the Medical Fitness, which was a bit tougher. However, her determination made her clear the test and was commissioned on February 14, 2023 and posted at Srinagar.
Dolores’ mother, Conceicao, teaches at St Anthony Pre-Primary School, Duler and her elder sister Synora, completed Engineering at Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi. After working for some years, she answered the SBI Probationary Officers Exam and having cleared is at present posted at SBI, Mumbai after finishing the Probationary period.
“As a family, we love exploring new places and over the years, we have been to different places in India,” says Simon. This is the first time that Captain Dr Dolores is away from home for a job. The last time she had been to Hyderabad for the training. “We had visited Srinagar 15 years back and hence the place is a bit familiar to her,” adds Simon, with a sense of pride that his daughter will be serving the sick and the nation.
