NDM 1: New Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamase-1

NDM 1 or New Delhi Metallo-beta-Lactamase 1, is a Plasmid mediated gene which confers high degree of antibiotic resistance in bacteria which carries this gene, particularly against Penicillin group, Cephalosporins, Fluoroquinolones and Cabapeneme Group of antibiotics! And thus is a potential threat to the entire health care delivery system!

Living up to the Expectations....

Living Up to the Expectation… The story of My life...

Before I went to boarding school in Nainital in class sixth… ours was a joint family and for providing best possible education, my parents and I used to live in a small town called Forbesganj in Bihar... and so did my 8 cousins! The city was named after the Britisher Alexander John Forbes, a Military adventurer who later on established many indigo-farms in the nearby areas! 

I AM NOT GONNA SAY GOOD BYE....

"Yeah and its over before you know it,

It all goes by so fast...

Yeah the bad nights takes forever,

And the good nights don't ever seem to last...."

It was Monday... the 13th day of Sep. 2004 when I joined this college as a first year MBBS student. I was almost one and half month late from most of my batch-mates who had already joined this institution in the month of August.

My happiness was soaring high... not only because I had accomplished the long cherished dream of wearing a white coat but also because the most fierce period of ragging was almost over by then...(truly speaking the later one had contributed more to my happiness) And today when I am just few days away from bidding adieu to my alma mater- Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla,

Why I enjoy my Internship?

Why I Enjoy My Internship?

For the last few days I have been quite busy. In the previous week I had to take AIIMS PGMEEE at New Delhi. Soon after my return, I had 4 back to back emergency duties! Well, that all is over now, and I have now been resetting my biological clock back to normal (from nocturnal to diurnal!), meaning thereby I had ample of free time in last couple of days! So, while I was whiling away in last few days, I went through my 10 months’ journey so far, its highs and lows, as an Intern- and without any doubt I can tell I have enjoyed it! That’s why blog is titled “Why I enjoy My Internship?”

My Profession!

In west, by west I usually mean US, they say "Pursuing a career in Medicine, you have to give it your Life-time!" And I used to wonder,"is it so?"

I am standing at the end of, what is often labeled as the 'Golden-Period' of life, my six year long College life! Within less than two months from now I will be gone from here and I am not sure if I will ever have the opportunity again to come back here at my proud alma mater- Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla which has made me whatever I'm today!

It has given me a lot but still I feel so inadequate in my abilities that it's sometime difficult to imagine that in a few months' time I'll be shouldering great responsibilities like saving people's lives!! Now I realize that it's not just the saying "...it takes your life-time..."

The Essence of Medical Profession!

What does it mean to be in this profession?

       The year I got selected, some 275 thousand students appeared for the exam and approximately 2,500 got what they aspired for! Less than 1% of total!! 

              That by default makes us the ‘chosen few’ for the job. This also means that we have been chosen as individuals who can be trusted upon with other people’s lives. This is definitely a great honour and thus we can be proud of our achievements so far. But we should also remember that this privilege also brings with it immense responsibilities- to patients, to society and above all to humanity. 
Let me elaborate what I mean by it:

         Before entering the World of Medicine whatever we did, we were doing it with ‘us’ at the centre. We watched movies, cricket matches, listened to music, roamed on mall, played games, read books, novels, slept, worked-out, partied etc all because we felt like it and it was fun doing all. Our all interactions with this world were solely about ourselves.

           But now things have changed. Everything that shapes us now will somehow be affecting our patients in future. So the way we treat our life is no longer just about us. Whatever we do, we think, we add to our clinical skills will affect the people we treat. We miss one lecture or practical or a procedure and we might be jeopardising someone’s life later on! May be I am exaggerating too much but still it implies that from now on at every crossroad that we come across in life, we have the responsibility to make the positive and right choice for ourselves so that we can be the best physician/ surgeon for our patients!

              Entering this medical field has ushered us into the world of understanding human body and the limit to which it can be pushed... which we do realize during 30 hour long night duties when we try hard to remain a ‘human’ but on a really long night shift, we tend become more like a “programmed bio-mechanical individual” working automatically based on algorithms, following the protocols and guidelines rather than a calm sensible doctor with the ‘human-touch’ which the patient expects us to be...!! 

            So, it’s easy to get trapped in this world of medicine... but yet along with all these chaos, we do meet interesting colleagues, mentors and friends... who make this interesting journey of ours little more exciting and fun... So, Let's not forget to ENJOY! After all, beside a doctor, we are all human beings with certain needs and so are our patients! :-)

Virat Kuntalam
IGMC, Shimla