Neerja Tillu

Topic: Importance of Information therapy and its inclusion in the medical curriculum

As a student I’ve seen a lack of the right use of information therapy to help patients help make the right decisions. In addition to coping with the anxiety of suffering from an ailment, the patient is often faced with tough decisions that he/she has to make regarding his/her treatment. As future doctors, it is essential that we learn how convey the information in the most jargon-free, lucid manner weighing the pros and cons of each decision, taking care that we make the patient take medical as well as personal factors into consideration for making a custom-made medical plan for himself/herself. This will not only reduce the patients’ stress levels but will also make them as realistic and open minded as possible. In the long run, this may help curb patient dissatisfaction and make the role of doctors in improving patients’ lives easier!

Neerja is a final year student at Seth GS Medical College and K.E.M Hospital. She was a delegate in Global Health Conference on Public Health held in Australia in July 2010. She’s a member of the Red Cross Society, India. She has participated in the Training Workshop on Emergency Medicine and Disaster Preparedness conducted by FlyingDoc Incorporation, USA . She would like to be a part of “Doctors without Borders” in the future. She participated in the World Youth Festival at Stuttgart, Germany and has been on a students’ exchange program in Denmark in the 2007. She was the reading room and debating secretary at Seth G.S. Medical College for the year 09-10. Besides curricular activities, Neerja likes reading, travelling and debating.