Leading with vision

In this Women in Leadership interview we speak with Dr Binita Panchasara, an ophthalmologist, co-founder of iPrepBuddy and clinical lead for Women in Vision.

As a clinician, entrepreneur and new mother, she is navigating senior spaces that have not always been designed with women in mind, while building an AI powered EdTech platform that supports those taking demanding oral examinations. Her story is about holding your nerve when you are underestimated, trusting your ideas and using your expertise to make professional education more accessible and fair.

Firstly, tell us a little bit about your background and what drew you to a career in medicine?

I grew up in London in an Indian household where there was a big emphasis on education and pursuing a professional career path. Helping others has always been so important to me, and many of the health professionals that I knew or was fortunate enough to observe were fantastic women who were incredibly intelligent, strong, resilient and commanding and yet so empathetic and gentle in their approaches towards managing their patients, that I instantly knew that that was what I wanted to be when I grew up. 

Many women in leadership positions talk about the difficulty of being seen and heard in senior spaces. Have you experienced this, and how have you learned to lead with confidence?

Sadly this is something that is still very much existent and across all sectors. I think that a large component of this is down to the subconscious biases that are held about women working in senior professional roles. There have been times where I have had to deal with this, however I found that keeping my focus on what was important to me and my work during those times really helped. 

Those experiences taught me the importance of maintaining confidence in myself and my abilities and I’ve subsequently grown to become a much more effective clinician and leader because of them. 

Tell us a little bit about iPrepBuddy?

IPrepBuddy is a web-based platform that uses generative AI to create complex clinical and communication scenarios that aims to help doctors prepare for their post-graduate oral examinations. It was created soon after my co-founder and I took our final ophthalmology oral examinations. 

We do a fair amount of work in medical education and noticed that some undergraduate platforms were using large language models to help people with their clinical history taking skills, so we thought why not use the same technology to help doctors get through their oral examinations in a way that didn’t break the bank and that allowed them to practice their skills individually at their own pace. 

You hold leadership roles in both Women in Vision UK and iPrepBuddy as its co-founder. What have these two work environments taught you about the role of leaders? 

In both Women in Vision UK and iPrepBuddy I have been fortunate enough to work with incredibly talented individuals. In these contexts, I’ve learnt that good leadership is about creating the right environment for others to do their best work, for example by offering support, clarity and encouragement while also providing a sense of direction.

I’ve also learned to back myself, especially in moments of doubt or when there’s no external validation. While both roles have brought their fair share of scepticism, they have taught me to take feedback constructively where possible, and maybe more importantly, to let go of what doesn’t serve the team or our goals.

What problem in assessment or communication training first convinced you that an AI driven simulator could make a real difference for trainees preparing for oral exams.

One of the main challenges we faced when preparing for our exam was finding the time and co-ordinating practice sessions with other doctors, who were also taking the exam, which was often difficult alongside our clinical and personal commitments. Cost was another major barrier, as the exam itself is expensive and most preparatory courses cost several hundreds of pounds. We wanted to create a solution that made practice more accessible by allowing trainees to practice complex clinical and communication scenarios in a manner that was more flexible, efficient and affordable.

You co-authored a study that compared AI feedback with examiner feedback in ophthalmology exit examinations. What did the results tell you about AI's reliability and performance?

Our study compared AI-generated feedback with that of a Royal College of Ophthalmologists examiner. Overall, the feedback provided was similar, with the AI providing more structured and framework-based responses while the examiner’s insights were often more context specific. The results suggest that AI may not only provide a useful adjunct to traditional learning methods but that it may also have the potential to aid examiners’ assessments, particularly in high turnover settings such as Royal College Examinations.

There are a lot of people who are more cautious about the use of AI. What would you say to them about the positives of AI but also the risks that may emerge in the future?

It is natural to be cautious about AI, especially when considering its use in healthcare. This technology has the potential to enhance diagnostics, streamline workflows, personalise treatments as well as support research and education (to name a few). Despite this, there remains risks of AI such as misinformation propagation and hallucinations alongside concerns regarding data privacy. I think currently, the key is to use AI as a tool to augment human expertise, with robust oversight and safeguards so that we can harness its benefits while minimising any potential harm as much as possible.   

Who has mentored or inspired you most, and what are the key lessons you carried forward?

I can’t say that there is any one person who has inspired my journey. If I’m honest, I think I’ve learnt the most regarding my work ethic, determination (and stubbornness!) from my parents. My father owns a hardware store, and my mother is a primary school teacher, and I have seen them work incredibly hard for as long as I can remember. They are a reminder of what hard work, grit and determination can achieve, especially in the face of constant backlash and turbulence. They’ve taught me to never give up on my goals and to never underestimate my own capabilities.

When thinking about the future, what are you most excited about for your career and for iPrepBuddy as a platform?

Having just returned from maternity leave, I am excited to continue developing my clinical career as an ophthalmologist while keeping my path as multifaceted as possible through my commitments to education, education technology, surgical simulation development and my role within Women in Vision. I am equally eager to grow as an entrepreneur with iPrepBuddy and explore how ongoing developments in large language models and generative AI might shape the platform.

It's an exciting time right now for the company as we are in the process of integrating newer technologies to enhance our user experience. We have a powerful tool with the potential to benefit many, especially those in under-resourced settings. Our goal is to use iPrepBuddy to help equalise access to high-quality medical education and to hopefully make the lives of our fellow clinicians in training a little easier. 

Binita’s story is a powerful reminder of what women in leadership are doing every day, often without the recognition they deserve. For those of us working to support women and underrepresented leaders, especially through networks like EDI-T her journey speaks to what is possible when talent is not only present, but truly empowered. It shows how female leaders are shaping the future of healthcare, education and technology at the same time.