Science, Stories and Sevagram: A Physician-Teacher's Reflections
MGIMS students, interns, residents, lab technicians, healthcare workers, teachers- yesterday night they all teamed seamlessly to deliver more than the musical night had promised- entertaining and enthralling the audience with super-hit Hindi filmy sangeet. Little wonder that they kept the audience- all ears to the musical melodies- spellbound for full three hours. So, when the singers kept … Read more
Accreditation. Never before on MGIMS campus, did this word buzz as much as it did in the last week of April. Accreditation, for dummies, is a peer-review process that assures the quality of the education students receive. MGIMS believes that accreditation is an important mechanism to assess, evaluate, and improve the quality of the programs … Read more
Satyamev Jayate Even before the first ball of the World cup final was bowled, the entire world witnessed a bizarre happening. Dhoni flipped the coin in the air for Sangakkara to call. Sangakkara mumbled his call, and had apparently lost the toss but the toss ended up being disputed – the first time such an … Read more
Dhoni winning the toss Chasing 250+ in a World Cup semi-final is not an easy task. The Mohali pitch was not ugly, but contrary to what most Pundits – Saurabh dada included- had predicted, it not a batting beauty either. As the inning progressed, the pitch turned slow, the balls stopped, and the batsmen found … Read more
I simply cannot understand why Binayak Sen is back behind the brutal bars again. Yesterday afternoon a session court at Raipur found him guilty of sedition and treason and sentenced him to life in prison. Those who love and admire Binayak were shocked to know that such a distinguished ethicist, pediatrician, human right activist and … Read more
Every Wednesday morning, physicians and medical residents in my department gather in the seminar room to discuss morbidity and mortality data of the previous week. Our residents tell us how many patients were admitted to our wards, how long did they stay, how many went home and how many couldn’t. A resident tells a story … Read more
Very soon, our teaching hospital, located in a village in central India, shall use a new computed tomography (CT) equipment for obtaining high-quality radiologic images. The previous CT scanner- it had served us well for 10 years – was living a borrowed life. The hospital, therefore decided to invest into a new CT scanner. The … Read more
Parsimonious. My teachers taught me this principle at the bedside during my residency. A single diagnosis should explain all symptoms and signs whenever possible. That was in 1980. Physicians relied on their brains and stethoscopes. They took detailed histories, examined patients thoroughly, ordered few tests, discussed differentials, and took pride in getting the diagnosis right. … Read more
Are the medical professionals so poor, as a BMJ editorial asked long ago, that they cannot afford to buy their pen, pad or pizza? And are the doctors so ignorant about the new therapies and new drug discoveries that they need help from medical representatives and the drug industry? Very few doctors learn during their … Read more
A well-focussed research question is one of the most important components of the research study. Here is a link to the PowerPoint presentation on YouTube: