Medical Graduates from Apollo Medical College, pass out at a glittering Convocation Ceremony
Hyderabad, 29th November 2021: The Medical Graduates, of 2014 and 2015 batch from The Apollo Medical College, Hyderabad; passed out and received their degrees at a glittering Convocation ceremony, today at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad. Chief Guest Prof. B. Karunakar Reddy, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences and Dr Vijay Dixit, Chief Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills; presented degree certificates to over two hundred MBBS students at the 3rd Graduation Ceremony of the Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, today at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills. Also present on the occasion were Guests of Honour Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group; Dr Sangitha Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group & Secretary AHERF and Dr Dilip Mathai, Dean, Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research. The best outgoing student Dr. Keerthana of 2014 batch and Dr. Ganesh Reddy of 2015 batch, received the prestigious Dr. Prathap C. Reddy’s Gold medal from Dr. Prathap C. Reddy.
Chief Guest Prof. B. Karunakar Reddy addressing the passing out students said, it is a privilege to share this stage with Dr Prathap C. Reddy. It’s been a momentous journey in the past forty years, from the days of no disposables, from boiled syringes, boiled IV sets to World class facilities. This was possible because of the vision of great people like Dr Prathap C. Reddy. They started the private healthcare in a big way in the most adverse circumstances, they had to make lot of sacrifices and because of that now we are in a very comfortable position, as far as healthcare delivery is concerned. Batches of students in 70s and 80s were in search of jobs in Middle East and Western countries, there were no corporate hospitals then, professional satisfaction was low. When we were students, we used to always think that we were a decade behind West. Now we can proudly say all of you are blessed, you are intelligent, have internet and have so many amenities, any information you seek get in minutes. Now we are on par with any advanced country and sometimes even ahead. This was conclusively proved in the management of COVID, we have shown the world that we have World-class facilities, Doctors, Healthcare workers, and our death rate was much less than what the other countries faced and continue to face. Countries like US, UK, are still facing the COVID pandemic, significant cases are appearing even today. It only shows that our doctors have the talent, have tendency to work hard, they are compassionate, committed and they can achieve anything provided the right environment, right facilities and right infrastructure is given. After passing out of graduation you might be in a dilemma, which PG to select, should we do a job. Because world over education system is like a pyramid, have more under graduation seats, lesser number of PG seats and very few super specialty seats, so we have to work hard to get into PG, so that’s where unless you have an aim or goal you will not work towards it and achieve it. There are no shortcuts to success in our field, you choose a profession which is difficult but noble, God has given you the capacity to relieve other person’s diseases, which gives utmost satisfaction, no money or power can get you that satisfaction. In the process many of our professional colleagues were at risk, as shown by COVID pandemic, it taught us to take precautions. Whichever specialty you are interested in work on it. A doctor’s life is going to be hard, have to sacrifice many things, but if you enjoy your profession, it will not be hard, but a satisfied life. As Dr Prathap C. Reddy mentioned that we Indians are good at clinical diagnosis, ensure you do clinical diagnosis, examine the patient completely, then start investigation, don’t write investigations without first clinically diagnosing, in fact students from abroad come to India to learn this aspect from us. Off late the curriculum for MBBS has been revised by incorporating ethics, communication skills and computer language. This modified curriculum will enable our young doctors to face the patients and attendants much more confidently. One more important thing is documentation, it is very important to document all the details of the patient, as that helps you to study the disease pattern, response to treatment, complications, or publish papers, present in a conference, or in a worst scenario of a case being filed against you, those papers come to your rescue. We should also know what not to do, so that we don’t do any harm to any patient. You are fortunate that you graduated from Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences, which is one of the top institutions in the private sector in the country, and I expect at least 25% of you should go for research, because this is one area where our country is lagging behind western Countries, please take up medical research, which will be very beneficial to mankind and you will make all of us proud, your institution, your parents, your family and your country.
Dr Prathap C. Reddy said, in early 80’s I took a resolution that what could be done by American Doctors can be done by Indian Doctors, and went about on a mission, but to accomplish that was not at all easy because healthcare wasn’t considered as a business to seek loans and establish the infra needed to make available advanced care. But today Indian Healthcare is second to none in the world. Today over 65% of our patients are being taken care of by private healthcare. The great work the Indian healthcare did is unrivaled, the work done by our healthcare workers during the pandemic stand testimony to that, our mortality was less than 1%, no other country in the world has this track record. We can fulfill the dream one day that all Indians should get excellent healthcare, which will not be available anywhere in the world. I have a dream for India to surpass what the world does in all the spheres of healthcare. If the Government can promote medical tourism, India has the capacity to become the global healthcare destination of the world. It is you all who will make this difference through which we can give better or best care anywhere in the world. There are four ‘C’ Indian Healthcare is now famous for, in Clinical Excellence we are second to none; Care and Compassion, no one is as caring and compassionate as we; Costs of care are less than 5% of the international costs, with outcomes better than the best centers in the world. So, India has all the qualities to be a global healthcare destination, but it all depends on all of you. India has the largest young population in the world, only India can have enough healthcare people. My wish is that we should train a minimum of one million people a year, we can use one fifth of them for our needs and eight hundred thousand will go outside the country, they will send their remittances back home. I have written to the Government to initiate two steps with which India can become a global healthcare destination and India can also become the global healthcare service provider, that way make India and the world will be healthy, happy, and wealthy. Today we are not just one of the large hospitals of the world, but probably the best in the world, because we touched the largest number of people anywhere in the world. One hundred and forty million people lives has been touched by Apollo alone, this is something which makes us feel proud, we made that big difference. Remember there is an unlimited power in each one of you and you need to unleash it to accomplish all your ambitions.
Dr Sangitha Reddy speaking on the occasion said, when we established Apollo Medical College, we set out with a vision to build an institution which is special, we had to make sure that we have not just academically outstanding students but ensure they are good human beings, they have high ethical standards and more than anything, they have a connect with their patients. I see in the students not just their youthful faces, but I see in their eye the potential to create a cure for malaria, the capacity to transform the healthcare facility from a sick care institution to a proactive preventive, predictive new healthcare system, I see that in all of you. I believe that technology will combine with this knowledge and using the power and the tools of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, whether it be virtual reality or the way you transform technology, we will find new cures. But at the end it is important that we make healthcare accessible to every individual in our country and every member of humanity in this world and that day will become a reality thanks to you all. I commit on behalf of Apollo that we will always be with you in your journey. I had made a promise to the first batch of ours that the students who pass out of our institution with MBBS, we must find a way for them to get into Post Graduation or into research or into management, but all of them must become the best in the country. We will continue in that pursuit. I am happy to say that we now have 35 Post Graduate seats, and we will continue to do to bring out more and more of these, so that we are able to keep many of our students along with us, in this journey. Let us continue in that vision and that mission of touching lives and bringing healthcare within the reach of humanity at large. Healthcare has seen a seamless transition from the Western world to India and India is now on par with the best in the world, this is a matter of pride for all of us.