Teaching is the best form of learning : Dr. V Mohan
M3 India Newsdesk Jul 04, 2018
Dr. V. Mohan, Chairman and Chief of Diabetology at Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre and Director of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, an ICMR Centre for Advanced Research on Diabetes provides valuable advice to young doctors just starting out in the medical profession.
As a medical doctor who has been in practice for more than 45 years and as part of honouring ‘Doctors’ Day’, it gives me great pleasure to pen a few thoughts and offer some advice to my younger colleagues in the profession who are starting their career.
The medical profession is one of the noblest professions in the world. In the past, doctors were held in very high esteem in society and given a place next only to God. Unfortunately, the situation has changed in recent times. I will not go into the reasons for this as there are multiple causes and the problem is deep rooted. Instead I shall try to give some general pearls of wisdom to young medicos.
- Develop a passion for the work that you are doing. You have chosen to serve society as a doctor. You can give it 100% of your effort only if you love what you are doing. So, whichever field of medicine or surgery (or any other speciality) you may be in, develop a deep love for the subject and become passionate about whatever you are doing. Once you develop this passion, you will never find your job tedious or a chore but will love doing it. Remember that your work as a doctor can improve the lives of millions of people. Years later, when you look back on your life, you should be happy and contented with whatever you have done.
- Try to keep up with the latest in medical research. Medicine is a fast-changing field and everyday new discoveries and inventions are being made. In fact, today, with the advent of artificial intelligence, electronic records, large data bases and a plethora of clinical trials, medicine is changing rapidly. Even if you are a brilliant student and a gold medallist from your college days, unless you keep abreast of the latest technologies and developments in medicine, you will soon be left far behind. It would be wonderful if you can collect your own series of patient records and carefully document what you see in your practice. The pattern of diseases in India varies considerably from that seen in the West and there are ample opportunities for good quality medical research to be done in India.
- Become a teacher. It can be in a small way in your own clinic where you mentor a junior colleague, or if you have the opportunity, it can be at conferences organized by the Indian Medical Association or a Speciality association. Wherever possible, try to teach and share your own experience as well as the latest things you have learnt. Teaching is the best form of learning.
- Devote at least a small part of your time, to charity. There is nothing wrong in earning money if it is done in an ethical manner. If you become rich, you owe it to the society which was responsible for your success. Hence, try to give back at least a small part to the same society. It need not be in the form of money, it can be just your time that you give. There are ample opportunities to do free medical services in the community. The satisfaction that you get by serving the poor, you will never get from amassing wealth.
Today social media is full of wrong information. Try to cull out the true information and pass this on instead of forwarding wrong information which has not been verified, to your friends and colleagues.
Remember that there are no short cuts to success. In the end it is all a matter of hard work, ethics, following your conscience and having a humane and empathetic nature. This is the only way you would be able to be successful and even more importantly, live a happy and contented life.
Disclaimer- The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of M3 India.
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