Meet Dr. Tarun, Cardiologist

"My scar has since then been my strength. After medical school I took a gap year and prepared for my postgrad. My gap year consisted of me studying for PG-NEET through the day and the results spoke for themselves – I managed to get myself a seat at the prestigious KEM, Mumbai."

November, 2021

“It was a particularly rainy night. A pothole and my negligence in wearing a helmet landed me in a fatal road accident that led me to have two plastic surgeries on my face. It was my final year of MBBS.

After high-school, for me it was pursuing medicine or pursuing medicine. I was an average student with big dreams. A few months before my graduation from medical school, I was left in the hospital for two weeks. My parents were taunted for my condition which wrenched my heart and soon those ill words became my push to pursue my education. My scar has since then been my strength. After medical school I took a gap year and prepared for my postgrad. My gap year consisted of me studying for PG-NEET through the day and the results spoke for themselves- – I managed to get myself a seat at the prestigious KEM, Mumbai. That one year of hardwork has since been my reference point for the tough days and a reminder that my dedication would take me places.

I took up cardiac surgery as my specialty and my interest lies in keyhole surgery and my goal has recently been to combine both of them and treat my patients more efficiently. My biggest inspiration has been DR. Devi Prasad Shetty, fortunately I have had a chance to meet him and his aura has truly motivated me to be better as a surgeon. His hospital and his drive to make medical facilities a commodity for all classes of citizens has guided me in my journey of providing above the board care to my patients.

Another important lesson I learnt in my early days as a doctor has been to put the person in the patient and uphold the perspective of the patient and their relatives. The ability to humanise the patient and view them not as a canvas to cut open and sew and not just as symptoms and a diagnosis has undeniably helped me counsel the patient better not only through surgery but also their life after discharge.

The moral of my story is that sometimes hard work beats talent and you don’t have to be smart to achieve your dreams but be passionate and give your all to it."