Oru
CMC Diarykkurippu : Dr. Sebind Kumar
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hi friends,
those of u who have
been missing my mails,...here i am,... this is me....and
there is no where on earth i'd rather be!
i'm presently in
the CMC mood(or is it mode?!).it was an amazing experience.not
only 'be cause i cleared it(though i didn't get through
the interview) which was akin to "pottakkannan
mavelerinjappo manga veenu muyal chathu!".but
it was sure a morale booster.
i think the exam
was not so tough.i think many of you who got good
rank in Kerala would have done well in this exam.out
of 240 q's about 140 were direct q's like salgunan.then
some 60 q's had more than one correct ans.and the
rest were clinical q's.one specialty of CMC exam is
that some of the q's are based on the protocol followed
by CMC which may not be found in the texts.but the
CMC itself conducts exam orinted classes 1 month before
the test that anybody can attend & is free of
cost!
about the selection
as far as i can see(which may not be very far given
my innate naiveness!)it was based on merit.of course,50%
seats are reserved for the sponsered candidates &
you cant blame them because these are people who have
dedicated 5 years of their life for a seat in CMC.and
there were cases where CMC preferred 'general' candidates
over the CMC candidates!
my interview panel
consisted of 4 psychiatrists & a gastroenterologist.they
asked me q's like the psych postings at MCTVM,the
common cases,diagnoses & some q's from pure psych
per se.since i hed wrote the general paper i was not
prepared for the interview.
we were told about
the opportunities at CMC & other mission hospitals
in a programme called 'cross roads' conducted on the
eve of the exam.there is a post called Non PG Registrar
in all depts, which i think is like an RMO,where in
you are payed about Rs 6000/m and free accomodation
at CMC campus.or you could work as a research assist.or
there is a scheme in which for 6 months you can work
in any dept of your choice and for 6 months you have
to work in the dept they say.
the place(vellore)
as such is a rural area.in the midst of the arid waste
the hosp stands as a testimony of what can only be
God's greatness!the story of how Dr Ida Scudder started
this as a one bed affair a 100 years back is amazing.one
day three women who were in labour pain and in need
of medical attension came to her father who was a
Doctor.but according to the local custom a male person
could not attend a female.all three women died the
next day.Dr Ida who was not a doc then, went back
to the US,became one, and came back here to dedicate
her life here.today her smiling face adorns the many
walls of this institution!
we were also given
the opportunity to visit the hosp and talk to its
staff.the PRO himself took us round the hosp to give
us a general idea.the staff were very approchable.
one day i met Dr
Rema Pai on the way.she is doing a training in the
hemato dept here.you may be knowing that the CMC is
one of the very few places doing bone marrow transplant
in India.she was very impressed by the latest treatments,the
dedication of the staff etc.i could not help being
impressed by the enthusiasm she had for learning new
things.in fact,she talked to me for about an hour.that
too, while standing in the road!
to complete the series
of 'amazing' experiences, i discovered in myself a
desire to take up psychiatry as a profession( which
was hither to been in the background of mind).i'm
thinking of joining as a Non PG in the psych dept
here to see whether the job fits me or more importantly,whether
i was suited for it!
well, i suppose thats
enough for one mail!catch you again soon,bye,
your loving friend,
sebind.
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