Bihar governor urges doctors to serve rural India at AIIMS-Patna convocation

The governor said medical science in rural India still lacks adequate capability and understanding despite improvements in overall infrastructure.

Bihar governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) called upon young doctors on Wednesday to dedicate a part of their time to rural India, stressing the need to bridge the gap in healthcare standards between rural and urban areas.

Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) being honoured during the 2nd convocation of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Patna on Wednesday. (Santosh Kumar /HT)

Addressing the second convocation ceremony of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, as chief guest, the governor said medical science in rural India still lacks adequate capability and understanding despite improvements in overall infrastructure. He urged graduates to contribute to strengthening healthcare delivery in underserved regions.

Referring to remarks by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hasnain noted that many patients continue to travel from Patna to New Delhi for treatment and expressed hope that AIIMS-Patna would evolve into a centre of excellence, reducing such dependence. Drawing parallels with Indore, where premier institutions like IIT and IIM have boosted academic and professional ecosystems, he hoped Patna would emerge as a hub of medical excellence in the coming years.

Highlighting the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the governor encouraged graduates to embrace innovation, research and technology while upholding ethical values. He emphasised compassion, empathy and professional integrity, urging young doctors to treat patients with dignity beyond prescriptions and procedures.

Earlier, Ravi Shankar Prasad urged doctors to remain sensitive to the needs of the poor and contribute to nation-building. He also called on the institute to scale up transplant services and build AIIMS-Patna into a nationally recognised brand.

Minister of state for coal and mines Satish Chandra Dubey described doctors as “living gods” and urged them to earn public trust while remembering the sacrifices of their parents.

AIIMS-Patna president Dr Radha Krishan Dhiman emphasised ethical practice and patient-centric care, while executive director Raju Agarwal highlighted the institute’s commitment to excellence in education, research and healthcare delivery.

Talking about the upcoming projects at AIIMS-Patna, Dr Agarwal said the 50-bedded burn hospital will become functional next month, while the 150-bedded critical care block will be ready by the end of this year. He said a 220-bedded dharamshala for accommodating attendants of patients was also coming up fast. The ED said the institute was trying to acquire an additional 27 acres of land to expand its services, including mother and child care block and comprehensive cancer care, etc.

Dr Agarwal said the institute had performed 13 renal transplants, one liver transplant (the first successful one in Bihar), and 61 corneal transplants so far. He said the average daily patient footfall at the institute, established in 2012, had now risen to 4,000-4,500.

The governor conferred medallions on several super-specialty graduates and awarded degrees across disciplines, including DM/MCh, MD/MS/MDS, MBBS and nursing streams. Among them were Dr Rahul Khubchandani (M.Ch in surgical oncology, Jan 2021 batch); Dr Sabbu Surya Prakash (DM in gastroenterology, Jan 2021 batch), Dr B Keerthana (M Ch in paediatric surgery, Jan 2022 batch); and Dr Wadaskar Siddhali Ravindra (M Ch in surgical gastroenterology, July 2022 batch). He also awarded post-doctoral fellowship degree in critical care medicine (anaesthesiology) to Dr Prithvi D, in addition to MD, MS and MDS degrees to Dr Ameera Salahudheen (oral & maxillofacial surgery), Dr Shreyas Patil (community & family medicine), Dr Manik Aggarwal, Dr Bhumika Dhamija (both radiodiagnosis), and Dr Aayush Bhadani (general surgery).

A total of 24 students from DM/MCh, 75 from MD/MS/MDS and nine from PDF/PDCC programmes received degrees. Additionally, 108 MBBS students from the 2018 and 2019 batches and over 120 nursing students were awarded degrees and certificates.

As many as 27 meritorious students across super-specialty, postgraduate and nursing streams were conferred gold medals, reflecting the institute’s academic excellence.

Tariq Anwar (MP), Dr Siddhartha Datta Gupta, dean (academics) Dr Punam Prasad Bhadani and registrar Dr Jyoti Prakash also extended felicitations to the graduating students.