vishnu-era-14

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A QUARTERLY NEWS PUBLICATION FROM SRI VISHNU EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY
face to
face
Dr R.D. Ravindran
Chairman, Aravind Eye Care System
Interaction with Dr. S. Suresh, Associate Professor,
Department of Public Health Dentistry,
Vishnu Dental College, Bhimavaram.
“It is important for the institutions to have values and principles.
Then, the success of an institution depends on how well the staff of
the institution understands and implements its values system” the
words were flowing from a gentle yet firm voice of a gentleman.
Accompanied by Mr. Ravi Chandran, the Vice Chairman of Sri
Vishnu Educational Society, he was addressing the heads of the
institutions and various departments at the Bhimavaram
campus.
'Aravind Eye Care System' (AECS), as it is called today, had a
humble beginning as 'Aravind eye hospital' in 1976 by Dr.
Govindappa Venkataswamy (whom the staff fondly
remembers as Dr. V) in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Today the AECS
encompasses five tertiary hospitals, a manufacturing centre for
ophthalmic products, an international research foundation and
a resource and training centre that is revolutionizing hundreds
of eye care programs across the developing world. It is the largest and
the most productive eye care facility in the world, in terms of surgical
volume and the number of patients treated. It has already made a major
impact in eradicating cataract related blindness in India. Aravind hospitals received
various awards, including Champalimaud vision award (2007), Conrad N. Hilton
Humanitarian Prize (2010), Gates award for global health (2010), India's most
innovative hospital award at India health care awards (2010), FICCI award for best
private hospital in India etc.
Dr.Ravilla Duraisami Ravindran has been serving as the Chairman of the Aravind
Eye Care System since 2010. He did his MBBS from Stanley Medical College, Chennai
and Masters in the field of Cataract and Intraocular Lens Surgery from Madurai
Medical College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Dr.Ravindran started his Ophthalmology
Practice under Dr.G.Venkataswamy, the founder of Aravind Eye Care System in 1987.
After serving as Chief Medical Officer in the Aravind Eye Hospital at Tirunelveli,
Coimbatore and Pondicherry for close to 23 years, Dr. Ravindran took the role of
Chairman of Aravind Eye Care System from 2010. He is involved in bringing changes
to standardize quality eye care across Aravind Eye Care System. He has presented
papers in numerous International and National Conferences both on clinical as well
as managerial aspects of eye Care. He has over forty publications in national and
international ophthalmology journals. He served as a Regional Co Chair for
International Association for Prevention of Blindness from 2004 to 2012 and
contributes as a Board Member of VISION 2020 Right to Sight India since 2008. He is
a recipient of several national and international awards and recognition.
Amid his busy schedule during his visit to Bhimavaram, he took out time for an
interview. It is transcribed with the valuable contributions from Dr. MV Ramesh,
Senior Lecturer and Dr. P. Jhansi, Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry,
Vishnu Dental College.
Q 1: Please tell us about your journey as a young medical graduate from Stanley Medical College to
the Chief Medical Officer at Aravind Eye Hospitals to the Chairman of Aravind Eye Care System.
I did my MBBS from Stanley medical college, Chennai, which was then called Madras. I was fortunate few of
my batch to finish the five and a half year course without any failure in between. I remember receiving few
medals from my college and University too. Stanley was a medical college with lot of spirit and values; we call
it as 'Stanlian spirit'. My connection with Aravind Hospitals started in 1978, during the semester-break after
completing my 2ndyear of MBBS. I used to attend the eye camps organized by SatyaSai Organization and watch
the ophthalmologists performing procedures in hospital. This exposure helped me to do well in my
Ophthalmology classes, which we get to attend in 3rd year. After completing my MBBS, I joined Aravind as a
full time student in 'Diploma in Ophthalmology' (DO). When we were in Internship, our job was limited to
attending our patients in OPDs, inpatients in wards, and assisting professors in Operation theaters. We used to
handle patients where diagnosis was already done and treatment was already planned, which was no real
challenge. We used to treat patients as specimens in pathology and refer to them as 'cases'. But here in
Aravind we have to talk to patient, examine them, do the investigations, arrive at diagnosis, plan the treatment
and do the procedures, which was challenging yet gratifying. After joining Aravind, I stopped referring to
patients as cases and learned to treat them with empathy. Immediately after completing my diploma, I was
asked to take care of the new hospital, started in Theni. Later I went on to do my Masters in Ophthalmology
from Madurai medical college. By the time I completed my Masters, a new Aravind Eye Hospital was started at
Tirunelveli on a regular basis and I joined there as Chief Medical Officer. I was the only doctor for one year
before a team of doctors joined and the scale of operations were expanded. From Tirunelveli, my journey
continued as Chief Medical Officer at the newly opened Aravind hospitals at Coimbatore and Pondicherry. And
then I was asked to come back to Madurai to serve as the Chairman of AECS. Thus my journey that started from
Madurai completed one full circle to reach Madurai again. I feel fortunate that I was in right place at right time.
My professional development is an integral part of the development of Aravind Eye Care System.