Annual Convocation of Calicut Medical College,2010

I am indeed delighted to participate in the Annual Convocation of Calicut Govt Medical College. My congratulations to the graduating students, who will be taking up the responsibility of delivering quality healthcare to the society. My greetings to all the graduating students.

Today you are becoming a member of a noble profession and a true professional who is capable of delivering healing touch to many human lives.  A professional in this field need to have many virtues. They are generosity, ethics, tolerance, perseverance, cultivating pure concentration and to be intelligent. These virtues will empower the care givers with a humane heart. I am sure; all the young students graduating today from this college will inculcate these values.

You may be aiming at newer heights in this profession, becoming super-specialists or medical scientist. Few may be thinking of working at primary care level as family physician. Wherever you reach, whatever you achieve you should always thrive for the best practice. Patient-physician relationship is an important aspect of medical practice. We see hundreds of patients, and looking back every one will admit that each individual is different. Even with the same disease different people present in a different way, they react differently and they respond to treatment differently. Thus each individual need different approach or they need “special care”. Spending some time with the patient, interacting with him on his concerns and suffering will help the physician choose an individually tailored treatment rather than prescribing the same to all patients with the same disease.

In an era of technological advance it is often accused that the doctor is communicating more with machines than with his patients. The younger generation more often employs technology rather than depending on clinical skills. Medical complexity, interpersonal challenges and administrative burden have been cited as the chief barriers to communication with the patients. This definitely compromises the quality of care. Many efforts to change the behavior of physicians failed. More over as a result of technology based failures and distractions, many patients have concerns and their expectations are often unmet.

In relationship centered care patients and physicians work together in pursuing shared goals in health care with attention to both illness and personal experiences. Here the both patients and physicians have responsibilities, are willing to negotiate and gain something through their relationship and encounters. It is often better to know the patient and his environment before administering the care. The relationship centered approach involves physician understanding the patient’s perspectives, being responsive to the needs of the patient and sharing treatment relevant power with patient and relatives.

We should always remember that patient-physician relationship is the most consistently reported and powerful determinant of physician satisfaction.

Dear young doctor friends, graduating today is a beautiful event of the journey of your life. Once again congratulate the Graduating Students. My best wishes to all of you for delivering the best of healthcare to everyone through knowledge, hard work and integrity.

May God Bless you.