Why was I called, wasn't even a good student, PM jokes @ AIIMS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attended the 42nd convocation of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Modi addressed the audience and said that India was way behind in the field of medical research and doctors from AIIMS needed to give back to society which contributed in making them what they are.

He also asked doctors to work among the poor in far-flung areas at least for a week in a year. “You are so lucky to have studied in an institution like AIIMS. I leave you in hope that as children of Mother India you will give back to society which has given you so much love,” he said at at 42nd convocation of the institute.

Modi said Indian doctors have made a name for themselves world over but the country was far behind other countries in the field of research. “In the field of research we should become more conscious towards case history. We should record the case history of patients and it can give us valuable information in two-three years. It may be possible that some among you could become a research scientist,” he said. 

While addressing the convocation, Modi advised the students to keep the student in them alive. “You must keep the student in you alive. That is when something can be done. Do not think your student life has ended here.”

He said doctors must be aware of and practice innovations and fast-changing technologies in the field to stay relevant.

The difference between a good and bad doctor, he said, was often that the former touched a chord with patients while the latter treated the sick part of body like a tool to be fixed. “You should become popular with your patients as they follow you. A patient may think why I should care when the concerned doctor himself is smoking. You are an example... You must remember this,” Modi said

Modi also said that poor students should be invited to convocations like these as “special guests” as it will spark “curiosity and inspiration” in them which no teacher can do.

In his concluding remarks, Modi said he was “puzzled” why he was invited as he was neither a “good patient” nor a doctor. "I was never a good student, nor did I have the chance to receive an award.”

He also said that he was surprised he was called for the convocation, saying, “Why was I called? I am not a good patient - I don’t plan to be one, and neither am I a doctor.”

Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 42nd AIIMS convocation. Photograph: Press Information Bureau