If you have a flair for art and think you will be an outstanding artist, you are likely to be a good surgeon said Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman of Narayana Health and Padma awardee here on Tuesday.
He was speaking at The Hindu EducationPlus Career Counselling Digital conclave and said that performing a surgery was like creating a master piece. Dr Shetty drew parallels of several professions with medicine and narrated to young students of how the field of medicine could be an eye opener to them.
Dr Shetty said that if one had a flair for a research, the human body could be a treasure trove for people interested in research as there was so much to be discovered. He also said that a doctor who later pursues engineering would be most sought after by several top companies as they could work with the technological advancements to make healthcare more affordable and accessible.
The cardiologist also spoke of how a significant people who are now in civil services had pursued medicine. “Opening a hospital will open your eyes to how the country runs and how a poor man’s house runs,” he said.
He said that the COVID-19 pandemic had made people realise the value of doctors and the joy of being healthy. He said a popular actor who he had interacted with had said that while actors are heroes in “reel” life alone, doctors were heroes in real life.
He told students that it does not matter which medical college they graduate from. “The only thing that matters is what you do after you come out of the college.”
He also said that a successful doctor is not the one who tops the exam but someone who is passionate and has the innate ability to love people, care for people you have never seen before. He also said that the medical profession is not learnt in library or classroom but is learnt by the bedside talking to patients.
Talking about his own personal experience from failures, Dr Shetty said that those failures should be treated as part of life. He said that it took four attempts for him to obtain the Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons which is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. He also said that his tryst with failure began when he failed in second standard. He went on to state that he had even failed to obtain a medical seat in his first attempt.