Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) has made short videos on the life of some of its doctors to challenge mission-minded people to step out in faith and see God work through them. I would like to thank Dr. Ashok Chacko who took the initiative to make this short video in 2014 based on work in the different departments at Makunda and an interview with me and Ann. God continues to do a great work at Makunda and the credit goes to Him and to the large number of highly committed staff who have worked hard inspite of many difficulties over the years.
Tag Archives: Vijay Anand Ismavel
Wisely choosing a life partner for an aspiring medical missionary
22 May
I have had the privilege of interacting with Christian medical students and medical missionaries for about 25 years. The process of looking for and finding a worthy partner in medical missionary service is an important one as it can enrich or mar the work done together. These are some thoughts (my personal thoughts and observations) for the aspiring medical missionary who is still a student.
- The choice of whom to marry should ideally wait till God has given other important directions first – where to go and what to do. Until this data is available, it is not advisable to make this choice (witness the problems that William Carey faced with his first marriage). When a logical decision is made taking into account God’s directions, the choice will be ideal (like the choice made by Jim and Elisabeth Elliott). Since these directions are still not clear during college life, this is not the time to fall in love.
- When Christian medical students fall in love (or in other words ‘get infatuated’), they will not ask God “Is this your choice for me?”. Instead they usually declare “Thank you God for bringing this person into my life!” This cleverly shifts the blame on God. They will then look for suitable Bible verses and songs to justify and support their decision (Romans 8:31 is a popular choice of verse and “Is anything too hard for the Lord” a good song for this purpose). They will seek approval among others who are doing the same thing or from someone who they know will approve of what they are doing.
- If the relationship breaks down, they suffer a spiritual breakdown which is similar to having a hemiplegia. They think “God got me into this relationship (remember the first prayer in the previous point). If I can’t trust God in this matter, does He really exist? Have I been living in a make-believe world? ) They will then need rehabilitation before they can get back to normal life. This often takes time, broken relationships and leaves behind scars.
- The problem with infatuation is that there is no logic in it – decisions are made on emotions alone. It has been shown that the parts of the brain that are involved in logical thinking are not used when someone is infatuated. Gross compromises (like saying that a materialistic person would become a missionary after marriage) are made to ensure that the other person is not lost. Falling in love is good after the right choice has been made (especially after marriage when small non-critical differences between the partners need to be reconciled).
- If the relationship ends in marriage and it had not been made on well-planned lines and taking into account God’s prior guidance, the scales fall off their eyes and they see that they will have to live with major compromises if they are to remain married. It is often the end of any missionary plans.
- When this happens in a Bible study group (especially when the leaders are involved), usually the others comment about it but do nothing to help. They say ‘it is their life – who are we to interfere?” We must remember that these people are unable to think and to them our silence approves their relationship. When the choice is obviously wrong, they have a feeling that something is not right. They just need someone to point this out. After this, if they still go ahead with their relationship, then it is their choice. How can we point it out without offence? When I was involved with student groups in Tamilnadu, we printed out a checklist on Infatuation. This was called “Infatuation or Love”. It has subsequently been edited. If you find that someone who has declared an interest in missions is making the wrong choice, you can give them a copy of this checklist. If they were not infatuated, they will say “that was well written” or something similar. If they are infatuated, they will often say, “I lost the copy” – this is because, it has disturbed them. This is the time to give a second copy! We found this technique very effective in helping people to think. It is also a good idea to have a discussion on the topic with some senior missionaries or local Christians.
- As written in the checklist, infatuation has its costs. Other relationships suffer, studies and the relationship with God also suffers. I call it a ‘time-occupying lesion’! So, if you are in a relationship or contemplating one, this checklist may be something that you could read too.
- An important question to answer “Is marriage for me?”. Being single is neither a disgrace nor a liability. Many great missionaries were single. If you look at the history of medical missions in India, a lot of the pioneering work was done by single women. Some remained single because of choice and others because they could not find suitable husbands or wives. It is not easy to be single. However, for the person who has gone ahead with missionary work and has remained single, God will be their partner. This may be the portion that God has for some of his missionaries.
- As we move ahead, we need to add points to the checklist of things to look for in a prospective partner. If we have too many requirements, it becomes difficult (or impossible) to find a suitable person. We should make a list of imperative requirements and superficial ones. Imperative ones are commitment to God and to missions. Superficial ones are tribe/caste, wealth, physical appearance etc. If we want to marry only a doctor who is pretty, belongs to the same tribe and state and is wealthy as well as committed to God and missions, we may be looking for too much. Just like doing a Medline search, we can increase the numbers by pruning our list of requirements. In communities where parental involvement is essential, it may be necessary to keep talking to them over a period of time about the list so that parents also slowly start to accept and then eventually look for the same requirements.
- When the correct match has been made, the union does not distract from God’s work. It becomes a situation where 1 + 1 > 2. This happens because personality, abilities, knowledge, skills and aptitudes differ between the partners – each partner brings to the marriage a different set of these but committed to the same vision. This will be a God approved match. There will be unity, stability and a feeling of peace in such a relationship. When things go wrong in the mission field, the husband and wife can encourage one another and when they go well, they can rejoice together.
Only God knows us and the person we are thinking about comprehensively (Psalm 139). He knows us fully – not only what we are now but also what we will be in the future. Let us leave this matter into His hands, seek His guidance and listen to His still small voice. We will know we are on the right direction when we have the peace that passeth understanding. There is no hurry – He is in control. He is the source of all wisdom, strength and encouragement. May God be with you.
Dr.Vijay Anand Ismavel MS, M Ch
Medical Superintendent – Makunda Christian Hospital, Assam
Regional Director – Emmanuel Hospital Association, New Delhi
P.S. – you can contact me on ivijayanand@yahoo.in or on Facebook “Vijay Anand Ismavel’. Our hospital is also on Facebook “Makunda Christian Hospital”. Please also look at our websites www.makunda.in and www.eha-health.org
Excellence in studies for an aspiring medical missionary
15 AprI have written this for my student friends – simple strategies that helped me to be a good student:
I am sure we all want to study well. Somehow it does not seem to happen. We open one of the reference books (Gray’s Anatomy or Harrison’s Medicine) and read a page. When we have gone through the first 3 paragraphs, our eyelids start to droop and we find ourselves unable to proceed (an effective cure for insomniacs !). The next day we start off at the same spot, maybe progress onto the next page and then find the same thing happening all over again…
I was not interested in Medicine (I wanted to be an engineer) . When I finally joined for my MBBS (at Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai in 1981), I found it all Greek and Latin! I was also embarrassed by the lack of my knowledge in the first class test in Anatomy (whereI obtained the lowest mark and was humiliated in front of the whole class by the professor). I resolved that I would never be embarrassed again and began to study hard. I had a few other friends who studied hard with me and we did very well and took top positions during the MBBS course (many of these were Bible Study group members). I followed the same strategies during my MS (at Madurai Medical College in 1990) and M.Ch (at Christian Medical College, Vellore in 1997). Even though I joined for my M.Ch after many years, God helped me to gain the first rank in the university in the subject! Let me share some of my thoughts with you in the folllowing 10 points:
- Anyone can do well at studies. This is not reserved for the geniuses. We need to be bookworms. How do we become one? It starts by declaring that we are a bookworm. When you meet friends, talk about the subjects you are studying. You will soon be labelled as a bookworm! Other bookworms will join you and you will soon find yourself firmly established as a member and it ill be difficult to leave the group. Pray – God has promised his help – James 1:5.
- If you have 1 year for the exams in a particular subject, choose a good textbook and read through the entire book in 9 months. This is the first revision. Revise repeatedly till the exams.These succeeding revisions take lesser time.
- If you need to read 50 pages a day, read through these in 15 minutes first. This will extablish in your short term memory what the book says about the topic (for example if you look at diabetes: there is a definitiion, natural history and presentation, acute and chronic complications, investigation, management of the disease and complications and some special points – like the Somogyi effect and insulin resistance). Then read through the text once more and underline the key points to these headings. Write them out on the top and sides of the text in the book (this may disfigure your book, but you will find it easy to have your notes already in the textbook and you need to have only one book for both – reference and notes). This discipline has to become routine (like having a short quiet time of Bible study and prayer in the morning). If you want to take a break for a few days, make sure that you have worked harder on the previous days so that you are still on schedule when you come back after the break.
- You will notice that some of what you learn is logical – that fluid deficit , hyperglcaemia and electrolyte disturbances are corrected in the management of ketoacidosis and treatment is also directed at the cause. However some have no logic – the names of enzyme deficiencies that cause various inborn errors of metabolism. We should underline and write out the points that are not easy to remember.
- We find it reassuring to reread the areas we know well (just to remind ourselves that there are some parts of the syllabus we know well!). However, this is a waste of time. From the first revision onwards, we should concentrate our efforts on the points that we cannot remember. As we learn more and more, we will find that the time taken for each succeeding revision becomes shorter and shorter. At the end, we can look at the chapter, mentally recollect its contents and move on to the next without reading.
- I feel that the brain shifts memories from short to long term by:
ñ Repetition – if we keep repeating something long enough, we can’t forget it – a good strategy for the illogical points.
ñ Reward – if learning is associated with a good feeling (like winning a prize or commendation from someone or even showing yourself that you know the subject better than others) we tend to remember what we learn. This does not happen when we just go through the subject for the sake of doing it.
ñ Association – if what we are learning can be associated with something already known (already in long-term memory), it is easier to add it (the ‘flesh to bones’ technique).
- Discuss with your friends. You will find that as you discuss, what you studied becomes more clearer to you as you learn from another person’s perspective.
- Teach students who are poor at studies. This is not just social service! You will find that when you have explained the reasons for the various components of auscultatory findings in mitral stenosis to someone who is finding it difficult (for the tenth time!) you will not be able to forget it anymore (you have used two strategies – repetition and reward)
- Write all the prize exams (if you are eligible). There is nothing to lose. Since these are held before the main exam, they are like a dress rehearsal and you will find yoursef much calmer when you go for the main exam. You may even win the prize! (the reason why some people keep winning prizes – they write the exams!)
10.Reward yourself when you have completed a target – you could read your favorite book or spend some time on the internet looking at Facebook. Remember that God has put you in medical college so that you will be an excellent doctor – one day the difference between life and death for a patient in a remote area may be because you remembered something you studied years ago. You can (and should) get involved in other healthy activities at college but you should not forget that studies take a high priority. When you are confident with your studies, you are better able to enjoy the other activities.
This discipline will ensure that you do well in studies throughout your life. You will pass all your exams with ease. You will get into good postgraduate courses without a struggle and you will be excellent doctors. You will also find that when you are a busy postgraduate student or a busy doctor later, even small amounts of free time are enough to keep up with studies. They will be a joy and a satisfaction to you. May God be with you.
Dr.Vijay Anand Ismavel MS, M Ch
Medical Superintendent – Makunda Christian Hospital, Assam
P.S. – you can contact me on ivijayanand@yahoo.in or on Facebook “Vijay Anand Ismavel’. Our hospital is also on Facebook “Makunda Christian Hospital” with some interesting case discussions. Please also look at our websites www.makunda.in and www.eha-health.org
