246 graduate from BMCRI; Divya Ragate hogs the limelight

As many as 246 students were awarded degree certificates at the convocation of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) in the city on Thursday.

Loud cheers echoed in the auditorium as Divya C Ragate walked up to receive the awards. Ragate received the highest number of gold medals this year and is the second topper for the state.

She received eight gold medals in Pathology, Community Medicine, Opthalmology, General Medicine, General Surgery and was also the year’s topper for 2nd, 3rd and 4th years.

A native of Bidar, Divya said that she was motivated and guided by her father, District Surgeon in Bidar, and a professor at the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences. “My teachers at BMCRI have also helped me through the journey. In fact, I learnt a lot from my patients as well,” she said. This topper hopes to bag a seat in DM, Neurology, Nimhans.

Javagal Amith Thejas N, a native of Hassan, who topped the list of male students in the state, said, “I would study only when I felt like. On an average I spent two hours everyday and six hours on weekends for this,” he added.

Thejas, also the state topper in PU, added, “I want to pursue neurology in Nimhans after this.”

Meanwhile, speaking at the convocation, Dr C N Manjunath, director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardio Vascular Sciences and Research said: “The medical fraternity should adopt ‘treatment first and payment next’ concept in emergencies because every minute is so important and the benefit of the golden hour should be passed on to patients. One should always remember that life is more important than the file.”

He added, “For 30 minutes of delay in initiating treatment, the risk of death increases by 7%.”