Nimhans toppers want to serve in rural areas, hometowns

A total of 347 students received various degrees and certificates at the 26th NIMHANS convocation on Monday.

The degrees were presented to students of the 2021 and 2022 batches. Of them, 22 received excellence awards for topping their respective programmes.

Some of these awardees have taken their learnings back to their hometowns.

Dr Vibhor Pateriya, who received the ‘Silver Jubilee Award for the Best Outgoing Student in Neurosurgery 2021’ will now work in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh.

“The neurosurgeons in this region do only minimal surgery. In areas like Vrindavan, there is a large elderly population that is left unattended,” he says.

Dr Pateriya, now working in a mission hospital, performs advanced neurosurgeries at a nominal cost. He also works part-time in a private hospital.

He said his three-year MCh Neurosurgery course in NIMHANS was rigorous. “We started at the wards at 5.30 am and ended the day at around 10.30 pm. Over the three-year course, students assist and independently perform a total of 800 surgeries.”

Dr Mohammed Arshad E C, who won the ‘Silver Jubilee Award for the Best Outgoing Student in MD Psychiatry 2022’ is back in his hometown in the Malappuram district of Kerala.

“NIMHANS is among the best in providing training in the world in terms of faculty, training in various specialities and exposure,” he said. He now works as a senior resident at a private medical college in his hometown. However, he is keeping his options open, with plans to go abroad. Dr Arshad said that the stigma among the public in receiving psychiatric treatment is a barrier. “People contemplate for a long time before starting treatment, which is a challenge,” he added.