That haunting expression, which was a mix of surprise and ecstasy, has stayed etched into my memory over the years. At times when I feel overburdened with clinical, academic, and administrative responsibilities, it is that expression that keeps me going. It was way back when I had joined my department as a newly minted psychiatrist. […]
Down the memory Lane
Psychiatry Residency in India: Bridging Training Gaps in the NMC Era – By Dr. Ruchi Soni
It has been thirteen years since I walked in the corridors of the psychiatry ward as a junior resident. Back then, psychiatry training happened while walking back and forth from the psychiatry ward to the OPD. There were no specified competencies at that point in time. You learned psychiatry, as Albert Bandura once postulated in […]
The Art of Being Understood
The first time I sat across a patient as a newly crafted doctor, I realised that the stethoscope, to detect cardiac murmurs, wasn’t the hardest tool to use. Words were.It was a small public healthcare OPD room, the kind where the wall paint has long given up to the invasion of black fungi, and the […]
From Campus to Clinic, First Year in Practice
The year was 2015.I had just completed my MD in Psychiatry from Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, and joined as an Assistant Professor at MGM Medical College, Indore. Since private practice was legally permitted here, I opted out of taking NPA (Non-Practicing Allowance) and began looking for a place to start evening consultations. Someone suggested […]
“sugar rush or sugar trap?” The rising concern for sugar addiction in children.
Volume 14 Issues 2 February, 2024 As far as life dates back on earth, every living organism has needs something to feed on. We humans, however, have always been peculiar creatures in this regard. As we evolved, with time our food too evolved. What was once a basic primal instinct for survival slowly turned into […]
The Auspicious Day
Down the Memory Lane Volume 14 Issues 1 January, 2024 Millions of people worldwide believe certain days are auspicious and specific times in a day are auspicious. There will be millions of days that are not auspicious and billions of hours that are not auspicious if we get into this belief system. Just as I […]
Swinging into Psychiatry: My Rewarding Journey in Child & Adolescent Mental Health
Volume 13 Issues 12 December, 2023 My formative years in medical school and residency were filled with invaluable lessons from mentors who emphasized the significance of cultural competence in individual and family-focused care. Through their guidance, I was exposed to global mental health issues, which profoundly influenced my approach to psychiatry. This year, during a […]
Down The Memory Lane by Dr Rayees Ahmad Wani
Volume 13 Issues 11 November, 2023 The Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) started by NMC from year 2019 has made undergraduate students more interested in the field of psychiatry. CBME is an approach to medical education that focuses on defining specific competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes) that medical students must demonstrate before they can progress through their […]
Against our will
Volume 13 Issues 10 October, 2023 During my earlier days at NIMHANS, I was shocked by an incident that happened not very far away from the campus. One evening when a woman was walking along the busy Double Road, she was forcefully taken away and raped. She was a married working woman who was walking […]
The magic of Psychiatry Quiz for undergraduates
Volume 13 Issues 9 September, 2023 Karnataka had undergraduate psychiatry quiz programs for a long time; this continues even today. One was prize examinations on Multiple Choice Questions across the state simultaneously in respective colleges, and answer scripts were mailed to organisers affiliated with one institution (who do the task in rotation). They evaluate and […]