It has been a decade since I started having that prefix in front of my name...and I am equally proud and excited everytime I see or write my name with that prefix, as I was then.
From a timid and anxious 18 year old who first set foot inside the prestigious Trivandrum Medical College to the buzzing internship days filled with memories, I grew up along with 199 others in my batch.
Now as I stand back and reflect upon the journey from then, including specialisation in the field of Surgery, I understand it was not an easy one albeit gratifying.
I love what I am doing and there are miles to go further.
But of late, just like any other day of significance, Doctors' Day is shrinking to simply a day's remembrance. In a nation where Dr Vandanas are not given a sense of safety and security at their workplaces, it is all the more frustrating as days go by.
So, as another July 1 beckons, all I am hoping for is for the public to understand the toils and sacrifices a doctor makes to be where he or she is.
Let this noble profession continue to heal the sick and inspire them to start dreaming...again!