Dr Puroshini Pather is a Hair Transplant Surgeon working at Treatment Rooms London. But when she’s not performing surgery, she’s busy composing award-winning neoclassical music, having composed for Webtoon. She won Best Original Score for Culver Film Festival in 2022, and specialises in orchestral arrangements for short films, documentaries and webcomics. Her motto is “why choose one when one can choose both?” and she’s passionate about juggling this creative side hustle alongside her outstanding career.
We quizzed her on how her creative pursuits co-exist with her career, and for her insight on maintaining work/life balance.
We all know that the idea of perfection in all things is entirely unattainable. So it’s important to strive for balance instead, especially when it comes to maintaining passions alongside our professional lives.
What does balance actually look like, and how do we achieve it?
I’m a hair transplant surgeon at The Treatment Rooms London by day, and a musician and composer by night. Balance is something I’ve been lovingly polishing my entire life and career.
The reality is that life becomes far more manageable when we learn to flow with our busy timetables rather than resist them. That mindset ultimately gives me enough breathing space to focus on both medicine and music. But this balance does take practice. It requires learning to be mindful of how your time is spent, because time, after all, is the ultimate currency.
A blend of two worlds
For me, surgery is an art in itself, and I often find inspiration for my music within it. The two worlds are intertwined in an unconventional way, not because they outwardly resemble each other, but because I’m able to translate the emotions that arise in surgery into the emotions and colours I express through music. Even the music my team listens to during procedures becomes a creative catalyst. I catch myself jotting down song titles that crop up during the week so I can study them later and weave their influence into my own compositions.
My love for both surgery and music keeps my brain switched on: finessing my surgical technique while simultaneously picking up musical tidbits for later. It blends into a strangely perfect environment where I’m working with my hands while conducting my own surgical orchestra.
Working with my hands has always come naturally, and both surgery and playing instruments demand dexterity, discipline, and continual practice. What surprised me most was how much inspiration surgery would feed into my music: the sound of dedication, tenacity, problem-solving under pressure, and pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in the hair-transplant field. All of it has bled into my creative world.
Building habits
Medicine was something I formally studied, while music has always been as easy as breathing. Over time, doing both – first studying, then practising medicine while continuing to make music – became a habit. When inspiration hits me mid-procedure, I shelve it away until I’m off the clock, ready to unpack it and shape it into whatever tune comes next.
Still, finding time for both passions is its own challenge. It’s easy to over-dedicate to one side and forget that my brain and heart need feeding in equal measure. At times it feels like holding the leashes of two eager golden retrievers, each desperate to chase a different squirrel, and I’m the one in the middle trying to satisfy both. It’s perfectly okay to find it difficult at times, and dogged persistence is key.
Change is the only constant in life
Balance is a lifelong effort, not a puzzle to be permanently solved. To nourish your passions is to nourish your wellbeing, yet modern life often pushes us to prioritise external tasks over ourselves. Taking even a little time each week to indulge your passions goes a long way toward making life feel balanced.
