Doctors feel the pulse of their alma mater

The Hindu

3 days ago

A rare 'diagnosis' of excellence at Madras Medical College
Madras Medical College of the 1960s and 70s encouraged extracurricular activities from the get-go. Interviews pertaining to admission into courses accorded weightage to accomplishments in sports and music as well as communication skills. Once onboarded, students found themselves being urged to participate in intercollegiate festivals.
Dr. N. Karthikeyan, an active member of MMC's basketball and volleyball teams when he was a student at the college, recalls: 'In July and August, an inter-medical colleges sports festival would take place for a week. I remember going to CMC - Vellore where basketball, volleyball, hockey and athletics tournaments were conducted,' says Dr. N. Karthikeyan, retired director of medical services (ESI).
MMC had a decent sports facility which was busy during weekends and busier ahead of inter-medical colleges sports events.
'MMC's biggest rival was Stanley Medical College as they they too had a good basketball team,' says Karthikeyan.
Sports enthusiasts from the 1975 batch recall a visit to Thanjavur Medical College where they were provided with bicycles, the campus being vast in expanse and could not be covered on foot.
'Once we went to Osmania Medical College, where all arrangements and expenses were met by our college so that we could participate in the event,' says Dr Karthikeyan.
Skits and drama events were a big draw at college fests. V. K. Ramadesikan, who was professor of Biochemistry at MMC, remembers being part of 'Operation Garage' where he played the role of a patient. The skit was staged at the fest organised by All India Institute of Medical Science in New Delhi and won the team of 12-13 the best skit award.
'It was a humorous mime about surgery happening in a motor service garage,' says Dr. Ramadesikan, adding that it was later telecast on Doordarshan.
The 1975 batch has a doctor's satchel of memories to relive during the reunion on August 10. During the third year of college, more than 50 of them went on an overseas trip to Ceylon. The college also hosted a medical exhibition - a first of its kind - that widened the students' horizons of knowledge in terms of advancements in the field of medicine.
Notable members of the 1975 batch include Dr. S. Natarajan, a Padma Shri and BC Roy awardee; Dr C.V Harinarayanan, an endocrinologist; and Dr T. Rajkumar, a cancer researcher.
There are also batchmates who excelled outside the field of medicine.
'Next to my roll number was Rajasekhar's, who dropped out of college during the house surgeon days, to enrol with the film institute and is today a popular actor in Telugu film industry,' says Ramadesikan.
Plans on to restart an old initiative
In 2015, a clutch of old students from the 1975-1981 batch of Madras Medical College started 'MMC Batch of 1975 Trust' to free economically disadvantaged students of financial worries as they pursue their medical education.
The trust, which has Dr. N.V. Arulmozhivarman as managing trustee, has so far provided 15 students with financial assistance from the first to the final year of their medical course. Doctors V. K. Ramadesikan, Shantha Ravisankar, G. Kumaramanickavel and Vasantha Jayaram are the member trustees.
'A card given to students when they joined college would mention their parents' occupation. We would identify the most deserving students and fund all their expenses during their medical programme including tuition fee,' says Dr. V. K. Ramadesikan, who retired from the Department of Biochemistry, MMC in 2016.
Every year, five students were identified and helped to complete their studies. 'We spent an average of ₹55,000 on a student for a year,' he says, adding that Dr. Sudha Seshayyan, who was his colleague, also helped get names of deserving students.
The initiative ran for three batches, and lost the initial momentum as the team struggled to find students.
'During this reunion, we will discuss how this initiative could be restarted,' says Dr. Ramadesikan, adding that 70 batchmates from various geographies across India and abroad are expected to participate in the two-day meet being held in Chennai on August 10 at the college campus. The meetup will be followed by a trip to Yercaud.
The meetup promises to be a union of doctors who have made significant contributions in fields of medicine, medical education, research and healthcare over the last five decades. The 1975 batch has 161 students and 19 of them passed away.