Lets Recycle...!!

The shock-waves of failure in 1st two encounters of the year have settled now and after amply consoling and motivating myself with words like "Take few step back to leap further.."etc. I was finally back on track with my studies!

But somehow yesterday, I was not able to concentrate on my studies... so to utilise the time, I finally decided to make my messy room bit tidy... Just like every other bachelor's room where the largest chunk of 'mess' comes from the thrown away clothes, missing pairs of dirty socks & of course the boxers and 'chaddies', and dirty plates & coffee-mugs beneath the bed...in fact the only thing which can be found exactly at it's usual place is deodrants and perfumes...! ;-) And Mine too was no exception

What alienated me from my Buddy?

I thought of writing this particular post about a year ago when I went to my village soon after my MBBS final prof. exams! But as the result was out... I got busy with the paper works initially and later with hectic, busy and tiring but learning Rotatory Internship Program at IGMC, Shimla and this thought of writing blog was lost somewhere in my brain... And today while waiting to get myself registered @ MCI I fortuitously remembered it while thinking about my friends back there at IGMC and the future ahead...

So, here it is...  

I once had a very good friend...

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

आज का प्रण...

आज फिर तुने प्रण किया है -
" झूठ नहीं बोलूँगा, मन से पढूंगा
माँ-पिता के सपनोंको साकार करूँगा
जग मैं अपना नाम करूँगा "
लेकिन,
ज़रा ठहरो तो -
उस प्रण का क्या जो पिछले इतवार किया था ?
और न जाने ऐसे ही कितनी बार किया था !
"अरे हाँ उस प्रण पर सोमवार को अमल किया था न !"
पर आज तो बुधवार है ना !

आज-कल तो किस्सा ही यही है-
रात मैं प्रण, प्रातः विस्मरण !
"कल से करूँगा !"
'कल'- जो कभी आया नहीं और न आएगा
अतः प्रण कभी पूरा होगा नहीं !

वैसे आज क्या कर रहे हो ?
"बुधवार के प्रण पर अमल करने का
प्रण कर रहा हूँ !?"

डॉ विराट
इंदिरा गाँधी आयुर्विज्ञान संसथान
शिमला, हिमाचल