16/03/2026
Ten years after finishing my postgraduate training from AIIMS, I realised something important: where you did your PG eventually matters far less than you think. I still remember an interview early in my career. I had an MD, DNB and FNB in Reproductive Medicine, all from premier institutions, worked In JIPMER after Post-graduation had worked hard, earned medals and believed I was ready for the role of a fertility specialist. During the interview, the CEO of a corporate hospital asked me two questions: “Are your parents doctors?” and “Whom do you know in Chennai?” Then he added, “You don't seem to have much of an online profile.” At that moment I had no recommendations, no network, no social media presence — only my degrees and training. For a day I was upset, but that experience taught me a reality that medical training rarely tells us. Institutions like AIIMS give you something incredibly valuable: exposure to complex cases, access to world-class infrastructure, a structured clinical approach, the discipline to practice safely and the confidence to manage complications. But there are things no institution teaches you — how to build a practice, how to start a clinic, how to earn trust and how to create your professional identity. Over the years I have been pushed to corners in practice many times, but skills always find a way to redirect you.
Today information and techniques are available everywhere and the era of “knowledge gatekeepers” is slowly fading. What will truly define a doctor now are older values:
staying calm in emergencies, empathy toward patients, the wisdom to operate and more importantly the wisdom not to operate. Equally important is having a circle of good colleagues, respecting juniors and peers , helping a colleague and never bad-mouthing another doctor. Medicine needs human touch not degrees alone . These are lessons young postgraduates should learn early. If not, time will teach them anyway.
