Cuneatus

After a satisfying year at Dehradun, I have been posted to Leh. Though the journey to Leh through Chandigarh was more time consuming than it should have been, landing here makes me feel it was worth the effort. I'm living in a small room with basic amenities and no luxury. But there are larger blessings on offer. River Indus is flowing in all its glory right in front of my quarter. The constant turbulence of the river is a pleasure to the eyes and it's constant burble rings round the clock in my ears. The rocks and pebbles here are smooth and rounded. Himalayan mountains stand as mute witness to the immaculate flow of the river. I can capture the mountains, their snow-clad peaks, clouds wandering through the sunrays, pine trees in rich foliage and the Indus flowing in elegance with my eyes. I'm standing at the very place where time stood testimony to mankind, at the cradle of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Years 2016 and 2017 have proved to be the turning points in my life. Chronologically, I cleared my MD exam in Nov 2016, worked in the State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Bangalore for 6 months and then came the bumper draw. I cleared the Short Service Commission interview. This was my fifth stint at the selection but the joy of clearing the interview and physical examination is certainly long-lasting. Today, I'm a Medical Officer in the world's second largest army and ninth largest employer, the Indian Army. I got commissioned to the rank of Captain on July 12, 2017. You never know what life has in store for you. Keep believing in yourself and work hard. You deserve the best.

Alexander Langmuir, expert in public health surveillance and intelligence     Alexander Langmuir, the man behind epidemiologic intelligence, gave a crystal clear definition of surveillance as it applies to public health. He defined it as the continued watchfulness, systematic collection, consolidation and interpretation of public health data, and dissemination of this information to people who are in a position to take action. Surveillance is not static, but dynamic. Surveillance system must be flexible. It should adapt itself to the changing epidemiology of the problem under surveillance. There was an era when measles in India was under event-based surveillance. But it is now realized that in order to achieve elimination of measles, we should move on to case-based surveillance where every case of measles has to be investigated and control measures promptly instituted. Though not in the literal sense, surveillance can afford to be less rigorous when the disease has a ...

     I'm one among hundreds of post-graduate students who were admitted into our courses late in the year 2013. Consequently, there has been a lot of confusion regarding our eligibility for the regular examinations and the validity of our masters degree if at all we pass the exam. MCI has set its rules straight in its post-graduate medical education regulations that were formulated in the year 2000 and subsequently amended. According to the regulations, prematurely terminating the course and obtaining the degree thereafter are deemed invalid. (Image courtesy: Google Images and the blind artist who created this. icanbecreative.com acknowledged.)      In the light of these factors, today I have finally come to a decision that I am going to boycott the regular exam which is merely six days away while I'm writing this post. Our university has been largely insensitive to the concerns of some three hundred and odd students who were admitted during August...

Of late, I have been participating in a lot of competitions by public health institutions. But, the evaluation process has taken me by surprise, especially those of the essay and e-poster. I do not wish to disclose if I won an award or not. Downloaded from Google Images But, I would be posting here an essay and a poster that were done for the competitions, which, I feel they should reach a larger audience. You need not be a public health practitioner to read this. If there is an interest, you are likely to spend your time reading my subsequent posts. 

The World Health Organization gave a beautiful definition to the perpetual enigma that we call 'health'. This definition is like a suit that covers almost all parts from head to toe, but is the body really in there? The more I learn from the books on medicine and sociology, the more elusive it seems to define health. Let me put before you the international definition from the WHO, the people we consider are the ultimate authority over these aspects as they even guide countries to promote and protect the health of their citizens. They say, 'Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.' There is nothing more to ask from God. Infinite thanks for keeping us alive and disease-free. More than a thousand discussions have been held to refine and redefine health, and well-being in the course of it. Thank God for disease has a definition. Diseases fall under three groups: the ones that come and go...

It gives me a strange feeling reading all of my previous posts after a long time of more than 6 months. My last post was in December 2015.  Downloaded from Google Images There has been a lot happening and I have been busier than ever. I accept the fact that nothing is a good excuse for not writing. I have been mentally jotting down a long list of the stuff I want to post here.  As you would find here, my posts are not focused. I write about music, humanity, public health, etc. Hereafter, I would try to stay focused on a particular theme and write a series on that theme.