More than eight years have passed since my first step into medical school. It has changed my perspective about the medical science. I want to pursue my career in the field of Family Medicine in order to work for the poor and underserved community of my Nation. I have gotten more and more intrigued by the challenges faced by a Family practitioner while he addresses larger social and political issues affecting communities around the world.
My interest in family practice grew when I listened to lectures of Dr. G.P.I. Singh in my third year at medical school. His unique way of teaching and simplifying the concept of preventive medicine impressed me. During my clinical rotations in the Department of Community Medicine, I got a chance to work in both rural and urban settings of my community. It was in mobile heath clinics giving health cover to underserved population of urban slums where I realized that not every individual can access a pediatrician, gynecologist or geriatric specialist and there is an important role of family physician in the community. Be it health check up camps, intensive pulse polio immunization campaigns, vaccination camps, mother and child health care camps, or home based family care projects, my interest always grew in the field of family medicine. My love for spreading awareness about nutrition, vaccination, hypertension, diabetes alcoholism, drug addiction and communicable diseases was fulfilled in this setting. During my third year, I was assigned a family in the village near our rural center. I looked after health aspects of the family which varied widely as there were children, senior citizens and mothers with different health needs. I immunized the children, looked after their growth and development, counseled mother about the need of contraception, advised their grandmother about eye check up for glaucoma. This embedded the unquestionable interest of family medicine in me.