The Kamineni Hospitals was established 25 years ago with centres in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Hospital when it took its roots in Lb nagar, Hyderabad , stood as a lone colossal complex surrounded by what looked like the inside of the Colosseum in Rome.
Over the years, urbanization had its role surrounding the hospital until it looks like the metropolitan city it is now. Though now enveloped by hospitals galore, Kamineni Hospitals remains the one people flock to, known for its history and its excellent service to medicine.
The Kamineni Academy of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Lb nagar was started in the year 2012 accompanying the Kamineni Hospital. It started admitting students from 2013 so I am now a part of the 6th batch studying there.The college boasts of its infrastructure and its excellent standards of education.
As you walk through its halls you are greeted by the Biochemistry lab, the test tubes glinting off the racks, always filled with people, mostly the first years who have just started navigating the world of medicine , who are relieved when they get their first rings of reddish violet. As you wind your way through the labyrinth , a few places will stick out. The physiology lab, where I spent many a day trying to auscultate the heart sounds, the rhythm of the first one I heard still stuck in my head. The pathology labs, where students on their first day, baffled by the pinks and blues of haematoxylin and eosin that somehow blend together , say with confidence that they can identify fat cells and that should be enough for that day.
At the top of the edifice, the anatomy dissection hall sprawls out , encompassing the museum below where the yellow light of the morning filters into the room, bathing the specimens of livers and jejunums in a warm glow. The skeletons at the end in their own glass enclosures are dotted around the museum like the plants in a hospital. I remember holding the heart, marvelling at the creation in my hand understanding for the first time why people write sonnets about heartstrings.
As I moved on from the blood pricks in haematology to the pin point bleeding in psoriasis, from the pink slides in histology to the pink eyes in ophthalmology, one has to pass through the passageway to the hospital, the Ashoka trees skirting its edges, a constant doubt in your mind whether it’s raining, as the sprinklers do their work.
As I’ve transitioned from practicals to clinicals, our college prides itself on teachers and professors who genuinely want us to learn. Countless cases have been taken and presented by our batch of 150 students yet we are nowhere done, as our professors like to remind us that the art of history taking takes years to perfect. From surgeries in the operation theatres to cases of acne in the dermatology department somehow, our college manages to instill the same amount of excitement to learn.
Discipline and ethics are what takes the centre stage in our college, which are the stepping stones for moulding every student into the professionals we will one day be. This starts with the closure of our college gates at eight am sharp, and not a minute later. No amount of pleading can get anyone through those gates.
There is no discrimination , everyone is given an equal chance to be able to hone into their potential. This is helped by a top notch Anti ragging committee that allows every student in the campus to be comfortable and safe.
Mental health especially among medical students being a delicate subject is being dealt with finesse by a Mental health club which was started by students in association with the Psychiatry department. Various ventures like the above have been taken in music and sports making our college , one that appreciates humanity and all that it has to offer. It has never tamped down on anyone’s new idea always offering a place for it to grow and flourish.
Our college also organizes a fest called Rivayath filled with trivias, jengas and dance, providing a space to dust off the stress of medicine. There is a vast array of research going on at any moment in time, equally interested to involve students in the process of research and innovation. College is said to be the place that finishes sculpting you into the best version of your self, ready to tackle whatever comes next.
Kamineni Academy of Medical Sciences and Research Centre certainly has done that for me. Filled with equal parts academia and fun, There is never a dull moment.
By Sheryl Deva