“Surgery overall is a very interesting field. It’s my passion. Whether you do open surgery, Laparoscopy or Robotic surgery, the basic principles of surgery remain the same and need to be followed strictly to achieve good outcomes for patients,” are the views of a renowned Surgical Gastroenterologist, Dr. Deepak Govil, who has over 30 years of experience as a Surgeon, he is currently working with Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
Dr. Deepak was fascinated since childhood to see the prefix ‘Dr.’ before his name. Speaking of his motivation to become a doctor he says, “Also this being one of the most respected professions has always impressed me. Coming from a simple family, my parents wanted me to become a Doctor.”
His parents never let the limited resources stand in the way of providing him the highest of education and made lot of sacrifices for his education. “I sincerely wanted to fulfill their dreams and worked very hard to get into medicine.” he says.
Dr. Deepak’s elder sister was admitted to MBBS at the Lady Harding Medical College, which along with his parent’s motivation was the driving force and a strong factor in his becoming a Doctor. Reminiscing old memories he asserts, “I can never forget the expression of happiness and satisfaction on my mother’s face when I got the selection letter from AIIMS for MBBS entrance.”
Inspiring Journey of Dr. Deeepak Govil
His journey as a medical student began with getting admission into AIIMS. Here he completed his MBBS, “It was a great experience” he says. Working alongside some of the greatest surgeons of that time Dr. Deepak thoroughly enjoyed his training at the AIIMS. Speaking of his memories he asserts, “I was always impressed by the great Surgeons at the AIIMS, namely Prof. Atam Prakash, Prof. I.K. Dhawan, Prof. BML Kapur and Prof. S. Nundy.”
He has a strong belief that surgery is all about learning and nurturing skills to remove the disease and ailments of a person, and not mere prescription of medication. He says the compliments and blessing of the patients are his most treasured ‘assets’.
Earning the prestige of being an expert in GI surgery didn’t come easy, many years of hard work went into developing this skill, “I was fortunate to work in the unit mainly concentrating on GI Surgery during my MS (Surgery). There I learnt the value of discipline and hard work in Surgery. There were 2-3 days continuously when we were in the OT on 8th floor at AIIMS and used to watch Delhi from the glasses of that floor and worked just on and on.” here he was exposed to all major surgical procedures.
Then he moved on to join Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where he learnt the importance of simple surgical procedures. “I learnt from Dr. KN Shriwastav that no procedure is a minor procedure. One should not take any procedure lightly and do every procedure with same patience and meticulous technique.” Within few years Dr. Deepak decided to move further.
Around this time he got married and speaking of his wife, he asserts, “I am very grateful to my wife, who sacrificed her career for me to progress and fulfill my ambitions. She looked after the kids and family and kept me carefree from this aspect.”
Dr. Deeepak joined PhD in GI Surgery at the Department of GI Surgery, AIIMS under the guidance of Prof Samiran Nundy after taking study leave. He also worked for almost a year without any honorarium or pay during this course. “I owe everything I have to my Alma mata. It is one of the finest training I have ever had in the Department he added.
After completing his PhD in GI Surgery, he then joined GTB Hospital as Assistant Professor in Surgery. Fortunately, he got a break to become a consultant GI Surgeon at the PSRI Hospital of liver and digestive diseases. Here he started the Department of GI Surgery under the guidance of the then Director Prof B.N. Tandon.
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