"I began my internship at Chittagong Medical College in 1983. Back then, the relationship between the professors and the students was not as friendly or open as it is today. Nowadays, the teachers are quite friendly, but at that time, we used to be afraid of our teachers. That's why, we used to learn most of the things from the RS. They could be approached easily and we used to tail them throughout the day."
"Internship is the best time for career planning, because this is the time when you start realising what you like and dislike. I realized I loved surgery and so took my decision to be a surgeon. After completing my internship, I moved to Dhaka where I started working under Dr. Chowdhury Humayun Kabir Sir. From there, I got posted to the Upazilla. Interestingly, about my posting, when I was a student, I used to stay in Room 22/A of the boy's hostel, and my roommate was the then VP of the CMC Student's Union, Sakhawat bhai. Coincidentally, after receiving my posting, I met him there again. During that time, he helped me a lot. To be honest, in such times of your life, the help of your seniors is very important. Because of that, my preparation for my F.C.P.S became easier."
"I grew up in Rajbari of greater Faridpur district, and went to school at the Faridpur District High School. My grandfather was the headmaster of the school, and so was my father after him. Maybe because I had always seen them as headmasters and teachers from a young age is why I was always more eager to be a good teacher to my students than a doctor. Even now, I try to become a better teacher than I am with the help of YouTube. Nobody ever taught me how to take a class or lecture, but I believe that there is a lot to learn about this from my very own students, and I am doing so every moment. I try to learn how to take better classes, how to share my ideas with the students, how my body language should be. These are all vital for students. I believe that if we can perfect the way we talk, we can eliminate the distance between teachers and students, and between doctors and patients. As doctors, we must improve on our communication, because now we are no longer only Bangladeshi; we are global citizens. The ability and aptitude of our doctors can rival those of doctors in any corner of the world. Our only lacking is our inability to fully express ourselves.
"In my medical life, I did once get a Supply - that was in my final Prof in Gynae. That day, I became really upset. But my confidence did not break. That me came back to Chittagong Medical College after completing my F.C.P.S as the Head of the Department of Surgery. Both success and failure have equally vital roles in our lives, and both are equally necessary. You do not need to have any special God-given talent to be a good doctor. What you need is persistence in your subject, concentration towards your responsibilities and love for humanity."
"Trainees nowadays have a misconception that the number of appendicectomy or cholecystectomies they have performed is the most crucial. But in my view, the case is totally different. The most crucial thing is to grasp the principle of surgery. Should you operate or not? If you should, should you operate now or later? If now, why now? And the operation itself is an art. With time, you have to create your own technique, your own art. The path which I have taken, I have always tried to incorporate those values in my students. I hope I can leave behind a successor who will be a better surgeon than I and a much better human being."
"To be happy as a doctor, you must remember that you are in fact a doctor; not a businessman. That's why there isn't much point in worrying about success. After all the give and takes, there should be satisfaction. Success is inevitable."
"I have performed many surgeries in my life, but I never had to face any serious danger. I think that for any patient, the doctor holds the next spot after the Creator, and similarly, for any doctor, his patient will hold the next spot after the Creator. That is why I never conceal anything from my patients, no matter how difficult it may be. I believe in luck, and that the outcome of any surgery is none other than God's will. Whatever the Creator has predestined for the patient, I am nothing but the tool who so execute that destiny. A lot of times, operations go quite smoothly with everything in control, in control, in control to all of a sudden, everything beyond control. This is when I understand that God has not given us the ability to comprehend his methods. We cannot predict this, we cannot explain this. That is when I pray that my hands move with the Creator's hands, that my breaths fall with the Creator's breaths; and in every second, God's will be executed."
