Ramji giving a TB talk
What leads to what, we often have no clue. Diagnosis of TB for my dad, landed me in the profession of helping TB patients towards cure. Taking my dad through the process of diagnosis and treatment through the REACH DOTS centre at the Sugam hospital in Thiruvotiyur made me realize that this is what I would actually like to do instead of working as a supervisor in a factory, where I experienced no job satisfaction.
Ever since, there has been no looking back for the past five years.
Though being a Chennite from birth, my roots are from the north in UP, which has been an added advantage for me in my work at REACH. My knowledge of Hindi has given me the opportunity to work with all the Hindi speaking patients of REACH. When my colleagues face a communication problem with their Hindi speaking patients, I have always been happy to be at their service by taking up the role of a translator.
The work culture at REACH has been very encouraging from day 1 and the management and my colleagues have been instrumental in helping me grow as an individual and a professional.
My work has exposed me to the worst living conditions and served as an eye opener to reality. My tolerance level was put to test when a patient once vomited on me while swallowing his tablets. That moment taught me that I genuinely cared for my patients.
I have faced many challenges in terms of handling patients with different problems like alcoholism or family problems which hinder their treatment, but learnt to handle each patient according to his or her situation.
From field worker, to field staff, to field officer today I have undergone a tremendous learning process which I hope will continue in the future and enable me to help more people from sickness to cure.
Ramji, Field Officer
REACH Blog Team