VP Urges AIIMS Deoghar Graduates to Put Compassion First
C. P. Radhakrishnan calls on young medical professionals to serve rural and tribal communities and advance inclusive healthcare
GG News Bureau
Deoghar, 10th Oct: Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan on Saturday urged graduating doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals to make compassion and public service central to their careers, stressing that medical education carries a responsibility to reach people who struggle to access quality healthcare.
Addressing the second convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Deoghar, in Jharkhand, he described the institution as a symbol of expanding opportunities in healthcare and medical education for the tribal and rural communities of the Santhal Pargana region.
“Let your knowledge heal, your research innovate and your service inspire,” he told the graduates, encouraging them to combine professional competence with integrity, empathy and ethical conduct.
Highlighting the legacy of tribal leaders Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Sidho-Kanhu and Tilka Manjhi, the Vice-President called on young medical professionals to take their knowledge beyond hospital walls and serve villages, remote areas and vulnerable communities.
He said access to quality healthcare and higher education across every state, district and village was essential to achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. Institutions such as AIIMS Deoghar, he added, reflected the importance of balanced and inclusive development.
Radhakrishnan also praised the institute’s community outreach initiatives covering malaria elimination, lymphatic filariasis surveillance, anaemia, hearing health and school health. He stressed that a medical institution’s responsibility extends beyond its campus and includes improving public health in the surrounding region.
The Vice-President noted that women accounted for 132 of the 173 graduating students, describing their participation as a sign of progress in women’s empowerment and their growing role in professional fields.
He encouraged graduates to use emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, telemedicine and digital diagnostics, responsibly. Such advances, he said, should benefit people in remote areas as much as those living in cities.
He also urged the young professionals to spread a “No to Drugs” message among young people and acknowledged the vital role of nursing professionals in providing compassionate patient care.
Referring to the expansion of medical education in India, Radhakrishnan said the number of medical colleges had risen from 387 before 2014 to 846.
He expressed confidence that AIIMS Deoghar would continue to develop as a centre of clinical excellence, scientific research and compassionate service for Jharkhand and the wider eastern region.
Concluding his address, the Vice-President asked graduates to remain connected to the communities the institute was established to serve and to make competence, compassion and character the guiding principles of their professional lives.
The convocation was attended by Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar; Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav; Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari; Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey; Rajya Sabha MP Pradip Kumar Varma; Deoghar MLA Suresh Paswan; AIIMS Deoghar President Professor M. V. Padma Srivastava; and Executive Director and CEO Professor Nitin M. Gangane, along with faculty members, graduates and their families.
