Success for me is like not stopping even after your failure- Dr Anil Suryabanshi Interview

 Dr. Anil Suryabanshi is a proud graduate of Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Institute Of Medicine. He passed out MBBS with 2 gold medals in Medicine and Surgery in 2019. Currently he is working as Medical Officer in Kapilvastu Hospital. Today we welcome him to share his valuable experiences through his student life and now as a doctor. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to interview you and its pleasure to have you here despite your busy schedule.

1.      How are you doing these days? How is life as a Medical Officer?

  Hello!!! this is a beautiful idea and let me thank you for this opportunity to share my experience. It's been couple of months since I have been posted in Kapilvastu Hospital as a Medical officer and everything is going good. Being a medical officer- it’s totally a new experience. You are at a new place, among new people, with new teams and with new duties. And I remember my first day in this hospital- I was in OPD and I barely understood their local language (AWADI). I was so unprepared on my first day. 

Usually my day at the hospital starts at 9 am with the indoor round and then I go to OPD everyday except on the Emergency duty day. It's totally an amazing experience, a new chapter of life where you are learning, growing and serving humanity with your knowledge and I'm really enjoying it.

That’s interesting to know brother. A new chapter indeed. I am glad to know you are enjoying your new life as a doctor. If our readers don't know, we will be posted as Medical Officers just after our completion of MBBS and internship before we pursue our Master degree. Moving on to question number 2

 Being a doctor is a highly respected novel profession and it takes a lot of hard work, patience and skills to earn the title. You are already a doctor now. Your dream has become a reality. So I would like to ask,

2.       How did you feel the first time when you finally earned the title? Since when have you dreamt of being a doctor? What thoughts made you pursue this field?

When I knew I passed the MBBS,I was on cloud nine. This whole 5 years, you are in the process of making yourself a whole new person. Those busy classes, sleepless nights during exams, scary vivas and when you finally pull yourself through all of them... It's awesome. I'm short of words to express that feeling.

I remember when I was young, my father sometimes used to ask  me what you wanted to be when you grew up and I used to say doctor just for saying. Never meant from the heart. When I finished school my family members were expecting me to join the army but I was more interested in science and persuaded to study plus2 in Bhairahawa.  And I was in full proof plan to pursue a master in science and become a teacher. I think the moment that turned my path was when a team from Vibrant institute came to our college for the advertisement because it was newly opened. In that interaction session I came to know that you can have preparation, take an entrance exam and if you get through it then you can study MBBS and become a doctor. That “doctor” word really made me rethink my full proof plan of becoming a teacher. All the images of the doctor that I have watched so far in the movie started floating in my mind and gave me goosebumps. Then the rest is history

Yes indeed. From there on, a history was made. It is beautiful how years of hard work come together to create that beautiful title of being a 'doctor'. It is also fascinating how motivation encourages us to find a path that could change our life drastically. Now moving on,

4. You have achieved a great height in your student life and we want to hear about your experiences. As morning shows the day, many of us are interested in knowing about you from your school life to college life and finally to your university life. Could you tell us more about your school life? 

School... I think it's the golden period of everyone's life.  You don't have any stress about study, no responsibility and at the same time you can have all the fun.  I was first enrolled in government school in nursery class. That was the time when private boarding schools were booming and few of my friends were sent to boarding school. I don't remember but my mother still says to me that I asked her to send me to boarding so later I too was enrolled. I was an average student till grade 3, after that I started getting ranks in class. But what's interesting is that I just used to study during exam times, and the rest of the time I used to hang out with friends, play games.  But I had one good quality that is I used to do all my homeworks regularly. As I went to higher classes I changed my learning habits and started studying on a daily basis. I was a favorite student of almost all teachers. I was good in extracurricular activities too and got a chance to be the school leader for 2 years in a row (9&10).

It is interesting to know. It reminded me of my own school years. How there is no stress as compared to now. Extracurriculars really make school life fun. We can now rightfully say morning did show the day in your case as you were hardworking from a very young age. Moving on,

5.       College life is quite free compared to school life. And I'm sure we have made tons of memories by ourselves during college life. Could you tell us more about your college life?

I was sure to pursue science in plus 2 even before I passed SLC. When I passed SLC in the first division, I started looking for college. I had initially considered Palpa and Butwal city for college as my family couldn't afford to send me to Kathmandu, the capital city. But later one of our relatives agreed to keep me in their house in Bhairahawa, so I went there. I joined Sai Global Academy but it was difficult for me to adjust to the new environment. The hot and humid climate. Most of the students were from the terai community,I found myself difficult with their language and that was the first time I had been far away from home. I suffered homesickness within a few days. After 20 days since college admission I returned back to home without informing my local guardian. I was in a state of quitting science and studying whatever was available in my hometown. But with family support I managed to overcome that phase and returned to college with determination to complete the study. After that I started talking and making new friends, they too loved my company. Slowly I returned back to my study too. I remember I got good marks in one class test of physics and the teacher was shocked because I hardly attained 10-15 days of classes. Later I got a rank in the first terminal exam and everybody started noticing me in the class. Rest of college life was awesome.

I think many of our readers can relate to your college days. Homesickness, new environment can be very overwhelming but with support you overcame it and here you are. I hope our readers also find strength in this phase and keep going. Moving to Question 6,

6.       After college, here comes the main obstacle of getting through the entrance examination for being enrolled to university. It is a very tough time speaking personally from my own experience. Could you tell us more about those days?

It's an interesting story. Few of us had made plans to go to Kathmandu for preparation during college time. Session got started, most of the friends arrived in Kathmandu but I was still at my home, I was still not clear in my mind where to stay, how to find rooms? I didn't know that we could stay at the hostel too. 1 month later one friend called me on the phone and said he managed one hostel through one of his old school friends. After that we immediately went to Kathmandu and that same old school friend made our admission in Vibrant. That was the first time i stepped in Kathmandu. I had no idea how to prepare, what books to buy and i was 1 month back in academic session. So that was bit frustrating. Then I regularly attended the classes and started reading notes and books made available by institute. At the starting my marks were average on weekly exams but around 1 month later I started securing quite good marks equivalent to those students who had done pre med preparation. Unfortunately I couldn't make it on my first try. Maybe I was unlucky at that time but one thing is sure I had been misguided in selecting books. But that failure didn't affect me much. Many friends then started the Dharan session but my target was only the IOM entrance.  So with good books that I purchased later, I returned home and started preparing at my home for the next IOM session and finally  I made it through in top 10.  The night when the results get published, I remember I couldn't sleep for the whole night.

Wow. Your persistence and dedication really made it to the top brother. Again Kathmandu was an unfamiliar place to you before and despite not succeeding through the first attempt you didn't give in to adversity. It is especially heartwarming to know you didn’t know about hostels and how knowing about it you came at once to pursue your dream. I am sure our readers could relate to this phase. I myself learnt so much from your experience and got inspired. I am sure our readers are too. Moving on,

7.      Many of our readers are in that pre med phase, what would you like to say to them as suggestions and motivation?

Many of us need motivation somewhere in the journey of our life but self motivation is the best and I was more of a self motivated type of person. Because  frankly speaking - I don't belong to a well paid off family,  nobody in my family made this far in education and most of my childhood friends hardly passed SLC. So I would like to say that I have built myself from the scratch this far. Whenever I had to go through hard times I used to motivate myself and remember " The more you rub the sword against stone , the sharper it becomes". And this would give me loads of energy to study more.

To motivate someone is a big thing and I might need another whole interview hahaha but in short what I can say to my juniors who are preparing entrance is that firstly choose the right book to which you feel connected i.e. you feel comfortable with its way of  presenting content. And revise the same book multiple times rather than going through all the books available in the market because some books are to taste and some are to chew and digest. And secondly study smart, make your own schedule and follow it tightly because self discipline is the best and you can achieve when you keep yourself in discipline. And lastly, believe in yourself and study hard because Elon Musk also believes that if you invest your time in something you want more than others do then the odds of your success increases drastically. So make your PRACTICE (preparation) hard so that the WAR (entrance) becomes easy.

Very wise words brother. We are our own biggest motivator. We first should cultivate that within ourselves. I am sure our readers would want to hear more from you about motivation in the coming days too. Your words are very good and true. Moving on,

8.      After that phase, the long awaited university life unfolded. How was your first day in Maharajgunj Medical Campus?

Here i want to quote " DER SE AAYE PAR DURUST AAYE ( Came late but came stronger)". I don't know whether it was just a coincidence or something else. I was a month late in getting admission in plus 2, same in the entrance preparation institute and 4 days late in University class. I missed the initial orientation part. Friends had already created a Facebook group after the result was out but admin couldn't find me in Facebook because at that time my ID name had double Aa (Aanil) in my name and my actual name in the merit list was Anil. They were familiar by the time because they had physically seen each other in class. I was the only one who was like literally a fresh University student. I didn't know where my class room was and it took me 15 minutes to find out, that means I was as always late on my first lecture of my first class. After the class was over the group admin recognized me as a new face in class and he made that first day easy. That was in gross how I remember my first day.

 How interesting it is. You did come stronger even though you came later in the scene. Your first year experience It reminds me of my own first year, the nervousness and the terror. Moving on,

9.      What was university life like? What was your most memorable experience?

These 6 years in University are very difficult to contain in a few paragraphs but what I can say is that it's the most crucial time of my life where I defined myself.  The whole journey was full of ups and down and you get to make many memorable moments. In first year when i was enrolled in MBBS I only knew its full form. And by the time I started the class many friends were clear about which books to buy for each subject but I didn't even know how many subjects there were in Basic Science because I missed introductory classes of many subjects. Few friends helped me with that.  After that the fun time started with interaction with the senior, the sunbath in front of basic science, sports in MULTIPLEX. I know you all can relate the energy that we have in the first year.  Within a few months Govinda kc sir started movement and you all know how the first year student gets mobilized. I feel lucky that I'm one of the students of the 34th batch because we were so united. We literally changed the way of doing peaceful protest by creating drama, writing parody songs, performing Gajhals. I wrote a parody song and sang it. Then came the first year community field which were the days worthy to remember.  Soon the final exam came and that was the time when i first realized that MBBS was tough. Then came the second year full of internal exams and the stressful final exam. I don't remember much of the second year ... Haha 

I think 3rd was the quickest year to pass, few subjects to study and a week long exam. 4th year was my favorite because we get a chance to explore Nepal in terms of studying health systems and tourism too. After that the final year which was really tough but not that much as my senior explained to me. So i want to suggest my junior, don't let fear engulf you.  

And during the internship I enjoyed a lot doing clinical things. There are certain things that you get to perform if you are lucky enough during internship and I was that lucky one. To mention a few in medicine I got a chance to perform Femoral catheterization, in surgery i performed appendectomy as a main surgeon, in Gynecology i got chance to perform all OPD procedure including non scalpel vasectomy and in emergency I inserted chest tube. 

 To summarize, in these 6 years I became a whole new person with a whole new way of seeing the world and life.  And to all the juniors who will be reading this interview, everybody is here to study but please don't forget to live this beautiful 6 years.

I could myself relate to so much of your words and your experience will guide me to my own journey too. Thank you for sharing your experiences brother. Moving on,

10.  As your junior, I have always seen you calm and happy. How did you manage yourself to keep yourself calm in the midst of hectic university life?

 I think calmness is an important tool to shape oneself. In today's world, people are becoming attracted to the physical world, that's important too but you can't ignore the spiritual part of you. What I believe is that you need to be rich spiritually to be calm and I had applied this to myself.  In first year I was just going with the flow - no high aims, no plan and in second year I truly found the purpose why i was in this field.  Later I discovered that you need to be like a water bottle rather than a soda bottle because when both bottles are shook , only soda comes out of the bottle, water remains as calm as it was before. That has helped me to make myself a well composed man.  And please allocate a few hours of each day for yourself. It might sound ridiculous but please talk to yourself often and the best way to do it is walk alone on the road and ask questions to yourself. And one more thing I want to add is be happy throughout the journey because happiness is a process not the aim.

Very beautiful words. I agree with what you say. We should focus on spirituality too instead of focusing on the physical world only. Moving on,

11.   Our readers may not know but Dr. Anil is very talented in dancing and singing. Apart from studying, he finds time for exercise and also keeps himself healthy by exercising.  As a medical student myself, I find it hard to find time for other things. So, I would like to ask how do you find time for other things? What benefits have you experienced yourself by exercising? Would you recommend it to others too?

It would be appropriate to say that I love dancing, singing and doing gym than saying I'm talented in these stuffs. Like I said earlier, I wanted to be an army personnel, so me including many friends started doing basic army training stuff during our childhood. But destiny brought me to this field. But still what I love about army personnel is their discipline, their hard work and how they keep themselves fit. So I imbibed these qualities  in me and kept practicing which has helped me in all round personality development. Regarding time management, I used to wake up early (5am) and straightly used to go for running and gym for almost 2 hrs every single day.

We all have heard that '' Sound mind rest in sound body",so it's necessary to keep oneself fit. I am glad that I was that person who restarted that old dumped gym hall in IOM and started the trend of hitting gym. It doesn't mean that everybody should hit the gym, but do the exercises that best suit your body type and your daily routine.

Self discipline is the key to success. And by looking at how you started your day, I am sure our readers are motivated including me. Moving on,

As I previously mentioned in the introduction, Dr. Anil has two gold medals in Medicine and Surgery. It is a very huge achievement and I sincerely congratulate you brother.

12. Can you describe your experience of that day while receiving gold medals? 

In life what really matters is the recognition. Whoever, wherever and whatever they are doing right now, they are struggling to build an identity and when someone recognizes you because of what you did, that gives an immense pleasure. Medals/awards are also the recognition given to respect your hard work. When I was nominated for Surgery and Medicine I was on top of the world. I had called my family for that ceremony and that doubled my happiness. There were so many colleagues from other colleges who received more gold medals in number, I congratulate them but what makes me feel special is that I was awarded for those subjects which were considered the toughest subject in the whole MBBS Course and to crack them was like to get blood out of a stone. Also I was like the representative of Government College because in the last 4 years, our college hadn't bagged gold medals and if you go through history Government College students hardly make it in the list and you all know the reason behind this.

That was a really proud moment for us iomites. I would like to sincerely congratulate you again brother. It is really motivational for not only iomites but all of us medical students because no matter where we study we share the same passion and same goal of being a doctor.  

13.  It isn't an easy feat of having such an achievement. Many look up to you and would like to know more from you. What advice would you like to give as a senior?

I am an ambitious person, I don't settle for average but at the same time I don't really focus much on results. I had a target of passing out MBBS with good grades but had not imagined that I would go this far. I think it's all due to the hard work that i did. A little advice to all the juniors : 1) Be ambitious- there is no harm in being ambitious. Poet Devkota wrote in his poem, aim high to reach the moon. 2) Don't be an exam and result oriented student, study so that you can help someone in future with your knowledge. 3) Concepts matter more than the mugging up information in the Medical field, so go for it. Study practically imaging that you are actually dealing with patients. Believe me this actually helps in grabbing the concept.

Very wise words. I also believe in words Success doesn't happen by accident. It shows us what we have to focus on and your valuable advice will guide each of us in our own student life. Thank you very much for that. Moving on,

14.  Who is your support system? Do you feel the support system plays an impact in life?

Thank you for this beautiful question. Our government or culture has made us parasites, meaning that we solely depend upon our family for everything till the age we pass out bachelor but the western culture is different. They get the freedom of being independent in early age because their government supports them. 

I mentioned earlier that there are 2 sides of life: physicality and spirituality and you need the support for both. I must mention those persons who have been the greatest support system of my life. Firstly my parents both are farmers and I proudly say it. Though they didn't give me rich pockets but they gave me rich culture about values of life and education. This makes me pursue education rather than going abroad for fast money because almost all of my friends are in gulf countries now. How can i forget my sisters who did all the household chores and field works so that i could study full time during my school times. We all know how costly medical education is in our country. My parents could never be able to pay for my medical education that's why scholarship was the only way left. But in IOM when I was enrolled you would only get heavily subsidized in fees that means you still need to pay a good amount of money. My maternal uncle and my parents supported me with money. They never let me feel that I am sort of money. I feel the luckiest to have such a loving and supportive family. And my friends who motivated me, made me happy when I was in problem and made this 6 years wonderful journey.

It is very touching and sweet to know about your support system. I feel like we should thank not only you for sharing such a beautiful experience of your life but to your family as well for providing you support throughout your journey. With support, we can excel any biggest height. I can feel love in your words. Indeed you are very lucky. Moving on,

15.  Having dealt with competition since early age, how do you perceive competition? Competition does have a good aspect. It motivates us to work harder, we feel proud of our work but somewhere we also find ourselves getting demotivated, beating ourselves because of competition. What is your take on this matter?

In today's world, the competition is fierce in every field and this is going to increase in years to come especially in medical field. Because so many doctors are being produced annually and we don't have that mechanism to mobilize efficiently.  Competition itself isn't bad but how we take it determines its effect in one’s life. I believe in healthy competition because that helps both parties in positive way. It helps to boost the confidence of the winning party as well as the losing party can learn so many things. But the biggest competition one can have is with himself. If someone is better than yesterday then that's the true achievement for them. I have seen so many people ruined their career because they couldn't handle the pressure due to competition. So please it’s my humble request, never compare yourself with others and always remember you are the greatest competitor of yourself.

I loved your words. There is always going to be competition now wherever we go but as you said "you are the greatest competitor of yourself" very wise words. Moving on,

16.  You touched on a very beautiful topic: spirituality. I would want you to describe in your words what is it and why is it important?

 I think I'm not the right person to talk on this topic. But to my knowledge, spirituality means realization: seeing everything the way it is rather imagining it the other way. It changes your perception towards the existence of self and the world around you. You have body, mind and emotions. This is a whole big thing to talk about but the basic thing that we must understand is that there must be a precise balance among them.  Unless you see something the way it is, you cannot understand it which brings imbalance in your mind and emotions. Being a student it is important to have everything in harmony otherwise it will affect your performance. Atleast Learn how to handle negative thoughts and emotions. It's crucial to have knowledge about spirituality in today's world where everybody is hustling without knowing the true purpose.

Thank you so much brother for explaining the meaning of spirituality so beautifully. I also got to know more in depth by your words. Yes, we can make spirituality part of our life if we are conscious enough that the things that we are chasing may not exactly be things that make us happy. This points me to the question,

17.  What is your life philosophy? Has it changed? If it has what do you follow now?

Life is the greatest creation ever made.  But today when you ask someone what life is they say that my job is my life, my business is my life, my bike is my life etc. No, these are just the accessories that makes life easier but in fact life is within oneself. It has to be lived mindfully, enjoyed to the utmost. 

 I think life is not lived on few fixed philosophies. Yeah it's true that for some period of time you live with a certain philosophy but soon that phase passes off you follow another philosophy. You cannot live sticking to that same previous philosophy. Someone has beautifully said that life is a process. You have to move on with the time. Life is just an experience and trying to make it a pleasant experience. Live happily, stop being dead serious, loosen up yourself and interact with people around you and do simple things too. Don't search for happiness just in big and important things.

Your words are very true. Whatever philosophy we are following changes with time like a process as you said. There is so much wisdom in your words and I am very sure our readers have been enlightened by your words too.

Now that we are coming towards end of the interview I would like to ask you one thing

18.   What success really is and what according to you can we strive for living a happy and fulfilled life?

Today people are deciding their future depending upon what they will get out of it. That's not the right way! Some say that you need to choose the field which satisfies your heart. This is partially true but believe me when I got admitted I had no idea about MBBS- what it would be like, how will they train us. This is true to so many students of our country because we don't have a facility like career counseling in our school and plus 2.  So this has changed my perspective towards success. Give your 100 and10% in whatever field you choose, have a fire in a belly, be honest- make it your religion and most important believe in yourself that you can do anything . Because most people you meet in your life will try to shake you and rate you but how strong you stand determines your future. Sooner or later your hardwork will ultimately pay off you the success you always wanted.  

There is nothing standard as a "happy and fulfilled life". Many people compare happiness with wealth but even the richest people are unhappy and the poorest people are happy. Happiness is the cheapest thing in the world, it costs nothing to be happy. So do not make a "happy life" your ultimate goal rather live happily throughout the journey. Be satisfied with what you have and be always thankful to god for every next day he gives to you. Spread love as much as you can and help each other.

It is very insightful hearing from someone who has achieved great success in his field as well someone who is a very happy person already. Thank you so much for sharing. We can utilize this wisdom effectively in our own life.

And coming to present

19.   What is your most memorable experience working as a medical officer?

In life, every new thing makes us anxious and uncomfortable. Same thing happened to me when I was deployed as a medical officer. Sooner with the great working team I was comforted in the new working environment. The most shocking experience I had was the language barrier- I had not even imagined it. 

Next one that I want to share has a beautiful story. One day in OPD, a 3 month child came with deformed foot and diagnosis of clubfoot was made. Then I was about to refer that child to a higher center, and the patient party said that they would not be able to afford that. I was lucky to see 1 case of clubfoot managed during my internship and the professor had told the basic principles about the management. So I decided to treat that child and applied cast with standard Ponsetti technique and that child is improving now which is so much a rewarding experience.

Soon I started involving with a surgical team and within 1 month of posting I got a chance to perform Lower segment cesarean section (CS). That case was operated upon due to previous CS with oligohydramnios and intraoperatively the bicornuate uterus was also diagnosed. The entire procedure went smoothly without any complications. Later my seniors praised me a lot for operating such a complex case in my first attempt. That was like the most beautiful experience I wanted to share. I hope there are still many more experiences awaiting in the way.

Success for me is like not stopping even after your failure. At the end it doesn't matter how many times you failed, what matters is how hard you tried to get up. So you need to ceaselessly follow your dreams. 

Wow. I deeply appreciate your hard work and your dedication. It was a beautiful experience which warmed our hearts too. Thank you again for sharing your beautiful experience. Let’s talk about the future now.

20.   What are your future aspirations? What would you like to pursue? In 10 years where would you see yourself?

I have a desire to get a postgraduate degree from a renowned institute that can be either in Nepal or from abroad. I have more inclination towards surgery but let's see where destiny takes me. In the next 10 years I will be serving for the betterment of the health sector of Nepal either inside or from outside the country. 

We wish to see you as a good surgeon and wish you all the best. I am sure wherever you go; you can excel with your capabilities. Now we are at the end of the interview. I would like to conclude this interview with this question.

21.  You have given so much wisdom and shared such beautiful valuable experiences to our readers. Anything you would like to say in the end?

The beautiful thing about today's generation is that they are way smarter than our generation. They have better facilities, better new way of learning, better opportunities but at the same time bigger competition. So utilize the resources, grab the opportunities and be a better person first and then a good doctor.

Thank you so much brother. You have been very kind and generous to share such beautiful experience and wisdom with us. We would look to hear again more from you in the coming days and wish you all the best for your future endeavors.

This concludes the interview and thank you for reading. You can follow Dr Anil Suryabanshi at his Instagram. This was the first interview for inspirational interviews series here in my blog and thank you again for reading till the end. I just started this series and will be regularly updating to this series of inspirational interviews where I interview people whom we take as our source of inspiration. I believe inspiration will give us rays of light in our own journey of life. I also will be regularly writing my own articles and keep inspiring you.  You can keep in touch with the update at my Facebook Page, Instagram and Pinterest. I would love to hear your feedback regarding the interview and you can write it in the comments below. Thank you again and see you next time.