History of Dr Abid Hossain mollah

Some incidents can be considered as milestones for a doctor as well as the health system of a country. Such incidents occurred in the year 2015 at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. I was the then head of department of neonatology

On the 23rd of July that year, a woman in Magura got shot. She was pregnant then. An emergency caesarian operation was done on her. But her daughter got hit with the bullet as well. The bullet pierced her right shoulder and damaged her right eye too. The child was born with severe jaundice and sepsis. The doctors in Magura didn't expect the child to survive. She was sent to DMCH as last resort. This incident created quite a stir both nationally and internationally.

The child was given a special bed in neonatology ward. Not only the neonatology department but along with paediatrics surgery the whole paediatrics department gave their all to save the child. Two nurses were appointed to monitor the child 24/7. Everyday I would go to the hospital at 6 in the morning. Then took the follow-up for an hour. Before I returned home at night,I used to take another follow-up. I couldn't sleep for a single night as long as I was in charge of the child's treatment. As it caused quite a stir in the society, tv reporters and journalists flocked around her ward day and night. High government officials paid her visits too. A barricade with three feet radius was set around her bed so that no one could come near her. Despite that,there was always a chance for her to develop infection. For two weeks we battled death and eventually the doctors came out victorious. The doctors of DMCH accomplished such a feat that is rare in world history. After almost a month, we returned her to her mother's lap. She was named "Suraiya".

After a month of this incident, I got another memorable case. Near the old airport road, some kids while playing found out that some dogs were pulling a sack among them in a bush. Out of curiosity when they inquired they found a newborn girl in the sack. The dogs had taken bites out of her body in different areas. After she was brought to DMCH she was kept in the same bed in which Suraiya was a month ago. After a number of surgeries we managed to save her life. She was named "Faizah" which meant victorious. She didn't have any parents, so we handed her over to the department of social welfare. Only a week ago Faizah came to meet me with her new parents.

To treat a child is more difficult than an adult in many ways. Children can't describe their problems clearly. Many are afraid to see doctors. For that reason, to treat a child, you have to turn into a child. If a child comes to me, I sit on the floor with it. I play with them, join them in mischief. By doing these, it not only drives away their fear but also helps to build up a friendly relationship with them.

A doctor has two aspects- one of them being a researcher,the other a teacher. During internship I got obsessed with research. After a few days of completing internship, my first paper was published in 'Bangladesh Journal of Child Health'. It was on 'Cat Scratch Disease'. My first international paper was published in 'Royal Kidney Foundation and Transplantation Bulletin' of Saudi Arabia,the topic being peritoneal dialysis. It so happened that if I didn't publish a paper in a duration of some months, it felt uncanny to me. Till now, around 90 of my papers had been published in various journals around the world. I've written five health related books in bangla for the general mass. I've also written two books for medical students. To guide postgraduate students,the number of thesis/dissertation written by me is over fifty. In 2014, I was fortunate to read a paper of mine on neonatal mortality of Bangladesh in Johns Hopkins University.

Another duty of a doctor as a teacher is to shape the future generation of doctors. In Bangladesh, the students who study medicine are meritorious more or less. The problem lies in our cultivation. The knowledge we gain from books is passive knowledge. After learning something from books, we must think about it in our own ways, do brainstorming and it must have application. This is the process for building up- "Formative Learning". Another important duty of teachers is to inspire students to do fundamental research. This aspect is still neglected in our minds. By increasing fundamental research and publication we can create our own data rather than relying on foreign data. The teachers have to dispel the lack of interest the students possess on doing research. We have to create knowledge, not only distribute it. We have to mould our doctors in this way, so they are globally competent.

Professor Dr. Abid Hossain Mollah
DMC K-34
Head of Department, Paediatrics,BIRDEM General Hospital
Former Head Of Department, Paediatrics ,Dhaka Medical College Hospital

Photo Courtesy- Shawon Biswas (DMC K-70)