Advisor:
Dr Arjun Rajagopalan (b. 1951) was the Best Outgoing Student (Johnstone Medal – 1974) from the Madras Medical College: one of India’s oldest and most prestigious medical schools. He did his residency training in General Surgery in the US (1975-1981) at the Loyola University Medical Centre, Chicago, where he was the Best Outgoing Senior Resident (1980). He obtained certification from the American Board of Surgery. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. Returning to India, he conceived, set up and ran the Sundaram Medical Foundation, Chennai, since its inception in 1994 by Dr S Rangarajan. SMF is a 200-bed, modern, full-service, not-for-profit, teaching hospital that provides postgraduate training for certification in 10 disciplines of the National Board of Examinations. He has behind him a lifelong record of thinking, teaching and talking about Evidence-based Medical Practice. He is an equally ardent believer in the value of information systems in enhancing the quality and efficiency of modern medical practice.
After a 22-year stint as Trustee, Medical Director and Head, Department of Surgery at Sundaram Medical Foundation, he has now handed over the reins of the hospital but continues to provide advice and insights as Advisor and Trustee.
Reflecting on his career with regards to competencies that could now be redirected to a larger audience, three items pop up.
- Thinking critically.
- Teaching young minds how to think critically.
- Communicating – speaking, writing, engaging in forums – critically assessed information to interested audiences in the spirit of Richard Saul Wurman’s phrase, “Information architect”.
He now embarked on a wider mission of forming a community of people, from all spheres of activity, who are interested in these three areas: thinking, teaching and talking.
A detailed profile is available at: https://in.linkedin.com/in/arjunrajagopalan