Yearn to learn and learn to innovate: Vice President

The Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu has advised the graduating Doctors to be never content on complacent with status quo and yearn to learn and learn to innovate. He was addressing the 19^th Convocation of the National Board of Examinations, in New Delhi today. The Ministers of State for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, and Smt. Anupriya Patel and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

Congratulating the young doctors who were graduating as the 'Diplomates of the National Board', the Vice President remarked that they were about to undertake a fascinating voyage that would offer them rewards of recognition, service and personal fulfillment while helping them improve the quality of human lives. He extolled the objectivity, thoroughness and the rigor of the examination process of the National Board of Exams, he said that the graduates who acquire the DNB qualification are as good, if not better than those who acquire MD, MS, DM, and other equivalent degrees.

The Vice President said that education is a life-long learning process, especially when it comes to the Medical Field where breakthroughs and advancements happen rapidly. Medical scientists, epidemiologists, and clinicians must continue their experiments with truth and strive to extend the frontiers of scientific and medical knowledge, he added.

The Vice President told the Graduates to always be observant and curious and to keep up their Scientific temper. This Scientific temper, he said, was a grand tradition in India right from the times of Charaka and Sushruta. He implored the young doctors to never be content with status quo and to continually yearn to learn and learn to innovate. He advised them to be knowledgeable, skillful, and above all, generous and caring, making empathy and service their basic approach. He went on to say that Medicine was a mission and quoted Mahatma Gandhi's words, 'The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others', encouraging the Doctors to make service their life's motto.

Before closing his address, the Vice President raised three problems, that deserved the undivided attention of Healthcare professionals. He spoke about the urban-rural divide and added that rural India suffered from a lack of access to medical facilities, especially specialist care. He encouraged the young doctors who are in the prime of their career to dedicate themselves to serve the un-served and reach the unreachable rural population and to ensure equity in access to health care facilities.

The Vice President noted that in spite of progress on the economic front, there have been many instances in which families have been driven into penury due to huge medical costs incurred on the treatment of their dear ones. He added that every effort should be made by the Medical fraternity to aid the government's initiatives such as 'Ayushman Bharat' to provide good quality healthcare at affordable prices. Recalling the golden period of Medicine in India during the times of Charaka, Jeevaka, and Sushruta, he told the Doctors that it was time to make India the Global Leader in Healthcare once again.

The Vice President emphasized the role that is to be played by holistic health practices including yoga and Ayurveda in complimenting Modern Medicine and in making India the most trusted healthcare destination of the world. He wished the Young Graduates a satisfying career for themselves and said that he hoped for a brighter, healthier future for India and the world.

(With inputs from PIB)