TIRUCHY: A pin-drop silence permeated the air, resembling the ‘cacophony’ of an operation theatre. The group of students bustled to find out if there was any tool that would help them incise a tricky question that Dr K Sarayu had placed before them.
“Don’t hesitate, you all know this. Use your mind. I will give a clue,” the retired physiology professor’s instruction was the antidote they were looking for. An exuberant answer in Tamil came out of the blue, adjoined by Sarayu’s beaming smile. “Jaeger Chart is related to the near vision test,” said a girl.
When the Tamil Nadu government introduced 7.5% horizontal reservation for medical aspirants from government schools, ‘Tamilini Thunaivan’ was just a WhatsApp group, connecting doctors, teachers, and literature enthusiasts.
During Covid-19, it helped disseminate information related to the pandemic to the public. Cut to 2022, over 450 students under the 7.5% quota make use of the online platform, which holds practical revision classes completely in Tamil for better understanding.
The team consists of 45 doctors, including from China and Dubai among other countries, who take sessions and physiological counselling. The planning team is headed by Dr M Thiruvenkadam, who curates the programme for maximum efficiency. The brainchild of the initiative, an assistant professor and senior health officer from the public health department Dr V C Subash Gandhi said the idea took shape from his personal struggle with medical terminology in English.
“I studied in a Tamil medium school and scored 200/200 in Biology. However, MBBS was a struggle and it was only because of my friends that I managed to overcome the challenges it posed. I wanted to create an atmosphere where students feel at home with professors. Like-minded people with the social commitment made the programme what it is today,” he stated, equating the entry of a student into the medical field with being blindfolded in a forest.
The team has taken 104 classes so far for first-year students. Anatomy, physiology and biochemistry are the major subjects covered. Subject experts are roped in for the sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the evenings for an hour. The occasional day-long psychological classes help students navigate general problems in life and encounter the blaring sirens of life.
“Our approach is not exam-oriented. We want to give them high exposure to take their aspirations up by a notch and provide them with an ecosystem of support. Students from the previous year’s batch are selected to help the freshers. Apart from this, we have requested senior medical experts to offer assistance on the various methods to study every Saturday,” added Subash Gandhi.
S Selvaraj, a first-year student at a private medical college, attributed his good performance in the second internal exam to the sessions offered by the online portal. “It always helps a Tamil medium student when eminent speakers deliver lectures in their mother tongue,” he said.
M Varalakshmi, studying at ESIC medical college in Chennai, said the method of teaching helps her revise the syllabus. “Presentations with concise points and visual presentations act as a catalyst in the learning curve,” she added.
With the first-year students getting ready for their practical exam, Tamilini Thunaivan has decided to teach the same batch for their second year, in addition to the new batch this year. Sarayu, continuing her beaming smile, assured her she will ensure the gates of possibilities remain open to students at any time of the day.