The Medical Officer And Second Year MBBS Students

It was fun taking the third term MBBS students on a visit to the Primary Health Center and Anganwadi. Me, my senior and junior took the batch of 25 second year under-graduates to the PHC in Holalur, a village roughly 20 kms away from the city of Shivamogga. We showed them the staffing pattern and demonstrated the rooms and services provided at the PHC. Students were eager to learn the activities happening at the grass-roots level of the healthcare delivery system of India. The enthusiasm and curiosity to learn was apparent in their doubt-clearing intentions.

Anganwadi visit - revisiting childhood?

After the discussion at the PHC, we walked outside. I tossed a question: "So, having seen all that goes on in the government health center, how many of you are willing to work in our PHC's? Raise your hands, all those who will." After a brief mumbling, I saw more than three-fourths of the students smiling and raising their hands. I smiled at my junior, Dr. Thippeswamy, standing next to me, who had served one year in a PHC in Davangere district after his MBBS.
He said: "Let me see how many of you would raise your hands after your internship."

My senior, who served as the Medical Officer at a PHC in Yadgir district for more than 10 long years, sported a broad smile after listening to our group interaction.