St John's Medical College awards 244 degrees

The college saw a PhD scholar, 17 super specialty postgraduates, 82 postgraduates and 144 MBBS students get their degrees

St John's Medical College held it 56th graduation day on Tuesday.

The college, that was established 60 years ago, saw a PhD scholar, 17 super specialty postgraduates, 82 postgraduates and 144 MBBS students receive their degrees at a grand ceremony.

Six students each from MBBS and postgraduate courses received university ranks from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, along with five from the super specialty courses. The pass rate for the different courses was 90% or more.

Delivering the graduation day address, historian Ramachandra Guha, who was the chief guest, urged the students to devote some time outside of work to art, literature or music. "Having some time and passion for these domains will help you be a better doctor and a compassionate person," he said.

College director Rev Dr Paul Parathazham said, "Medical profession is not a career, but a calling. But increasing commercialisation of healthcare is tempting more health professionals to turn it into a mundane career of self-promotion, at the expense of the values they swore to uphold."