57th convocation: 283 doctors graduate from St John's Medical College

Bengaluru: The St John's Medical College Auditorium on Tuesday came alive with excited chatter from students, parents and faculty, as 283 doctors received their degrees during the 57th annual convocation.

Of these, 148 had completed their MBBS, while 109 were postgraduates, completing their MD (Doctor of Medicine). Twenty-four doctors graduated from their super speciality postgraduate degree programmes and two scholars completed their PhD (Doctor of Philosophy). 

Awarding the degrees was the chief guest, Dr Tessy Thomas, former Director General of Aeronautical Systems at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). She was joined by Most Rev Dr Victor Thakur, Archbishop of Raipur and Chairman, Governing Board, Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI). 

Thakur emphasised the need for graduates to give back to society and earn people's blessings beyond earning monetary returns. He requested the graduates to not look at rural service as a burden and assured them that they would make a "significant impact" on people's lives.

Dr Tessy drew parallels between the development of medical services and defence systems as essential to the protection of mankind.

The college saw a 95% pass percentage in the MBBS examinations, 100% pass percentage among the postgraduate students, and 96% pass percentage among super speciality students.

Postgraduate degree holder Dr Jeganish, who obtained the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences gold medal for the highest marks in Community Medicine, initially wanted to pursue administration and public health. His advice to students — work hard consistently, and find a friend you can study with. 

Dr Dyan D’souza, the gold medallist in the Pediatric Surgery super-speciality, explained his vision: the need for a paediatric surgeon in each district of the country.

"India has a dearth of paediatric surgeons, which is why the care has not reached the poorest of the poor. We must push to have a paediatric surgeon in every district in India so that no child with an anomaly is rejected or goes without help," he said.

Top of the game  

1) 148 MBBS graduates, five of whom secured 11 RGUHS University ranks.

2) 109 postgraduates, 16 of whom are among the top 10 RGUHS University ranks, including three gold medallists.

3) 24 super speciality postgraduates, 10 of whom are among the top six RGUHS ranks.

4) Two PhD scholars