Quality & compassion - ethics & equity should be guiding principles for Doctors: Vice President Naidu

He was addressing the 9th Annual Convocation of the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), in Puducherry on Friday.

JIPMER is a 200 year centre of excellence in medical education and patient care and is among the top five medical schools in India.

The Vice President appreciated the institution for managing a hospital that caters to the poorest of poor where 90% of the treatment is totally free.

He added that this 6th best hospital in the country would be a great boon to the poor people of the region including those from neighboring states.

He also congratulated the institution for the large number of innovations they have initiated in Tele-Medicine and teleconferencing services, connecting themselves to almost all medical colleges in India and the BIMSTEC Countries.

The Vice President said that JIPMER should aspire to become a model for health systems in India through innovations in education, patient-oriented research and service excellence, in tune with their mission statement which speaks about compassion, ethics and selfless service.

He observed that the frontiers of medicine were expanding continuously and rapidly. Hence the graduates should be always open to new learning and be active researchers, innovators and thinkers in addition to being lifelong students of their chosen disciplines.

The Vice President lauded the yeoman service for the treatment of cancer done by the Regional Cancer Centre which provided expensive treatments like bone marrow transplantation and Rapid Arc High Technology totally free of cost. Appreciating the good work done by the alumni of JIPMER, he urged them to serve their alma mater and the patients it cared for.

Describing the transformative phase India is going through, the Vice President suggested that we should focus more and more on expanding basic services, including health care, to all our citizens.

He added that forging public private partnerships actively could help accelerate the progress. Reminding the graduates that the healthcare needs of our vast and diverse population were huge, he requested them to never compromise when it comes to making affordable and quality healthcare accessible to all.

Wishing the graduating students, the faculty and the institution the very best, the Vice President said that the young doctors had the knowledge and skills needed to transform human lives, having been mentored in a great institution like JIPMER.

He reminded them to always have a ready smile for the sick and infirm who would be looking for a smile and a kind word.

He added that doctors could bring hope to the most desperate.

Following is the text of Vice President's address:

I am happy to be here on the momentous occasion of the 9th Annual Convocation of this illustrious Institution that has grown over the last 200 years into a centre of excellence in medical education and patient care.

I am very happy that Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) is among the top five medical schools in India.

It is not only imparting undergraduate and postgraduate medical training but is also managing a hospital that provides inexpensive medical care to a large number of patients.

Established in 1823 by the French government, it was one of the earliest institutions of tropical medicine. Later, for a short period it was called the Dhanvantari Medical College, and finally on July 13, 1964, it was rechristened as the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research.

It is gratifying to note that JIPMER has completed a decade as an Institution of National Importance and is now ranked as the Third Best Medical College in the country.

Dear faculty members and students,

You have set for yourself a broad vision to become a “model for health systems in India through innovations in education, patient-oriented research, population health and service excellence”.

Guided by this vision, you have been making consistent efforts, as you have mentioned in your mission statement, “to develop compassionate, ethically sound health professionals and provide service of the highest order across the health care continuum”. I congratulate the Director and his team for all the efforts they have been making in shaping this institution as an institution of excellence.

Building an institution is a long, arduous process in which the entire team must work towards a common goal. Cooperation and collaboration, initiative and innovation, reflection and reform are key elements that can make an organization grow in stature.

Today, I am glad to note that about 200 students are graduating from the two campuses of JIPMER.  I congratulate each one of them on their successful completion of a rigorous course of study.

I congratulate the dedicated faculty who have mentored them over the course of the last few years and the proud parents of all the students who have selflessly contributed to their success.

Dear students,

You are fortunate to be among the select few in this country to have had the benefit of such a high quality education.

I am sure you have received excellent grounding in the fundamentals of medicine and are ready to specialize in the fields of your choice. With the frontiers of knowledge expanding continuously and rapidly, you need to develop the capacity to access and absorb the latest from around the world.

You must not only be aware of the innovations in medicine but also be active researchers and thinkers who will be able to add to the pool of knowledge and expertise so that you emerge as frontline leaders in your chosen domains.

I do hope you will keep the spirit of curiosity and yearning for excellence alive throughout your professional careers.

Dear faculty members and students,

It gave me great pleasure to learn that this Institute has achieved great progress in research and there are various national and international collaborations on projects as well as filing of patents. Under the able guidance of your President Dr. Bhan who is a great academician and researcher, I am sure this Institute will scale new heights.

I am pleased that the hospital services of this Institute are rated very high and you have been ranked the 6th Best Hospital in the country. The OPD attendance of nearly 10,000 patients per day, the Emergencies of nearly 1000 per day and even the deliveries of nearly 100 per day stand testimony to the confidence reposed by the patients coming from Puducherry and the adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu and even from the neighbouring states of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. I am told that this Institute caters to the poorest of poor and over 90% of the treatment is totally free. This is really a great boon to the poor people of this region.

It is gratifying to note the number of innovations you have initiated in tele-Medicine and teleconferencing services connecting your institution with almost all medical colleges in India and to the BIMSTEC Countries.

I foresee a bright future for this Institute which is clearly poised for great growth in the areas of organ transplantation and trauma care services.

I am happy that the Government of Puducherry has allotted a 50 Acre Land for the Second Campus which will specifically cater to the establishment of these centres. The Karaikal and Yanam Centres of this Institute would be additional feathers in the cap of this institution serving the poor people in these area of the UT of Puducherry.

The Regional Cancer Centre has done yeoman service for the treatment of cancer especially to the poor patients by providing expensive treatments like bone marrow transplantation, Rapid Arc High Technology, radiotherapy and chemotherapy totally free.

Dear faculty members and students,

I am told that you have an active JIPMER alumni some of whom are present for this event today. Today, all of you, new graduates, will be joining this proud and accomplished group. You will have ample opportunities to serve your alma mater and the patients it serves. I hope you will take keen interest in the growth of this Institute even after you leave its portals.

Dear students,

Our country is in a transformational phase. We are focusing more and more on expanding basic services, including health care, to all our citizens and we are seeking to actively forge public private partnerships to accelerate progress.

The healthcare needs of our vast and diverse population are huge. Any visit to our primary healthcare centres or super specialty hospitals like yours and AIIMS, makes it clear that there is so much more to be done. The access to quality healthcare is not yet universal. Nor is high quality treatment affordable to many segments of the population. In order to deliver good quality health care to every one and make it affordable, the Government of India has initiated the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana recently. It is an unprecedented initiative in scope and scale. Effective implementation of this programme can change the heath care landscape in India. In this great thrust towards affordable quality health care, institutions like yours have a key role play.

In fact, I am glad that JIPMER has been at the forefront of providing excellent health care at affordable cost to a vast multitude of our population for a long time.

In addition to continuing your good work, I urge you to move into a higher leadership orbit.

I believe that even for the best, there is always a possibility to be better.

I would like to see more focus on original research and patient centered clinical transformation.

Let quality and compassion as well as ethics and equity be your guiding principles and touchstones of progress.

Dear faculty members and students,

I wish you all the very best in your future endeavour. You have the knowledge and skills needed to transform human lives.

You have been mentored in this great institute by some of the best academic leaders.

You are now stepping out into the real world where the sick and infirm will be looking for a smile, a kind word and medical intervention that will restore them to good health.

Believe me, there can be no greater challenge than this in the world. Nor can there be a greater opportunity.

You can make a difference between hope and despair.
You can make a person’s life more livable and enjoyable.

You can make the pain and suffering more bearable.

You can add new meaning to life.

I am sure you have opted for this profession because you have the ‘aptitude’ for this exacting but exciting work.

I hope your professors have inculcated the ‘attitude’ necessary to carry out the responsibilities you are about to shoulder.

I am confident that you will reach the ‘altitude’ you aim for in your professional career if you can keep your sight clearly on your goals and take firm confident steps with passion, compassion and ceaseless quest for greater competence.

My best wishes to each one you.

Jai Hind!