New doctors must serve patients with compassion, says Wardha minister

The foundation day and graduation ceremony of the MBBS batch of 2020 was held at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) in Sevagram, Wardha district. Addressing the event, guardian minister Dr Pankaj Bhoyar said the institute was not limited to Wardha district but was doing important work in taking healthcare to people in remote and tribal areas. He appealed to the new doctors to carry forward the education, values and spirit of service they received from the institute and extend that service to the last person in society.

Dr Bhoyar said the 2020 MBBS batch had begun its studies during the most difficult phase of the COVID pandemic, and these students had shown courage, confidence and a spirit of service despite adverse conditions. For this reason, he said it was more appropriate to call this batch the "batch of COVID warriors" rather than just the "COVID batch". He told the new doctors to always remember the simplicity, decency, moral values and spirit of service instilled by the institute, and to use these values to serve the needy and underprivileged in society.

Congratulating the new doctors, Dr Bhoyar also recalled his family's memories associated with MGIMS. He said the institute, established in 1969 with the aim of service, had made a major contribution to the health sector and that this tradition of service continued today. According to him, delivering healthcare to ordinary people in villages and remote areas, in addition to cities, was the true measure of success of the health system.

Dr Bhoyar further said the number of medical colleges in the country had increased significantly, and seats for postgraduate medical education, along with MBBS, had also seen a good increase. The number of AIIMS in the country had also gone up. He said the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and Ayushman Bharat were providing large-scale cashless healthcare to people, and special efforts were being made for cancer screening and treatment as well.

Dr B S Garg, secretary of the Kasturba Health Society, said the students were now stepping into society as sensitive doctors, and it was therefore necessary to treat patients with empathy. He said compassion, skill and humanity should be maintained while treating poor, women, children, elderly, disabled and neglected patients. Dean Dr A K Shukla said that wherever the institute's students went on to work, they would always remain MGIMS's messengers of healing. He told the students to always keep with them the education and values they received from the institute, and, remembering their parents' sacrifices and their teachers' guidance, to use their knowledge to serve needy patients.

On the occasion, Dr Kanchan read out a message of good wishes from union minister of state for health Prataprao Jadhav, while Dr Punam Shivkumar read out a message from Kasturba Health Society president P L Tapadia to those present. MBBS degrees were conferred on the students by the guests present at the event, and the new doctors were administered the doctors' pledge.