Heroes: The Physicians

Dr. Payel has provided us invaluable guidance throughout our summer and we have been inspired by her work to transform the hospital. As a bridge between the clinical and administrative departments in her role as Clinical Operations Director, Dr. Payel has spear-headed innumerable projects to improve the quality of care and create clinical systems that result in the best patient outcomes. She has a keen eye for places where the hospital could improve and constructively does something to address any concerns. In our first several weeks, we saw her lead the efforts to make the hospital into a more dignified, hygienic place. ­­ There was rarely a night when she was not in the ER or IPD overnight assisting in the heroic and often creative efforts of the clinical team to save a patients’ life. Her energy carries through the rest of the hospital as she encourages others to produce top-quality work. In an organization with a basic tenet that ‘good intentions are not enough,’ Dr. Payel embodies efficiency and effectiveness in getting things done.

Dr. Bibhusan is among the kindest, most visionary physicians I have known. As Medical Director, he has earned tremendous respect from the entire clinical staff as a skilled physician, excellent teacher, and an effective manager. However, I have been most inspired by my interaction with Dr. Bibhusan as a physician who makes a concerted effort to improve community health beyond the clinical space. After attending a training program on the government’s HIV initiatives, Dr. Bibhusan came to Ashma and me to discuss how we could fill in the service gaps of the region’s community and home based HIV care model. Through our conversations over the next couple weeks, we created a program that would bridge several of our departments and bring all of the community stakeholders together. This was not a theoretical exercise – within a week of our initial conversations, we were able to begin bringing community partners together. Dr. Bibhusan’s gentle leadership throughout that process fostered the beginnings of a very positive and productive partnership among a group of people who had never before been able to work together in a meaningful way.

Dr. Roshan’s constant optimism is infectious. I’ve never once heard him complain and he claims to have never had a bad day. People seek Dr. Roshan out to be reminded of why we do what we do and maybe to be tossed a mango or a wide smile. Dr. Roshan is a role model for everyone at Bayalpata Hospital with his love of learning and teaching. Even after a long day in the clinic, Dr. Roshan always finds time to teach anyone interested in learning. One night while I was in the ER for rounds, Dr. Roshan was looking at a patient’s xray. He paused when he saw Sindhya and me to thoroughly explain the patient’s history and the relevance of the xray findings. He then went on to explain the difference between a number of similar-sounding medical terms related to the next patient’s condition. The next morning in the daily continuing medical education lecture for the health assistants, he made sure to slip a few of those new terms in and looked over to Sindhya and me to make sure we had caught the terms. As he did so, I was reminded of just what makes Dr. Roshan so incredible – he naturally connects with and improves the life of each individual he meets, whether patient, co-worker, or friend.

Dr. Rashmi’s passion to improve patient outcomes drives her work. As one of the first female physicians in the region, she has quickly gained the trust of the many female patients who come to Bayalpata Hospital with Ob/Gyn concerns. Dr. Rashmi looks out for others. One night she came to us quite concerned about the quality of the blankets we give to newborns and expressing the desire for a project where we could perhaps provide infants with their first (and likely only) outfit that they will receive in their first days of life. She takes the lead in addressing any complications with maternal and child care. Dr. Rashmi also greatly contributes to the morale among the staff by helping to organize staff bonding nights and by being a friend to all those in the Bayalpata community.

Drs. Payel, Bibhusan, Roshan, and Rashmi are heroes.