On entering Dr Georgi Abraham’s office at the Madras Medical Mission Hospital, one is treated to a tour of the timeline of his career — each of the several framed certificates an evidence of a milestone. The latest addition to this collection is the 2017 International PACES Champion Award, bestowed upon him by the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom.
Dr Abraham, a nephrologist at the MMM hospital, has been recognised by the federation for his contribution in helping conduct the post-graduate exams in medicine called Membership of Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom, commonly known as MRCP (UK), in India. PACES is the third part of the exam used to assess a candidate’s clinical skills. The Chennai resident is the first South-Asian to have been given this award. Though evidently proud of his work, he chooses to remain humble. “The award isn’t for me, it’s for all the examiners here who helped me conduct PACES. It’s a team effort.”
It was in 2007 that Dr Abraham introduced PACES to India; the first test conducted at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College in Porur where he taught general medicine from 1996 to 2008. Today, there are centres in Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kochi and New Delhi that attract students from all over India as well as Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Dr Abraham explains the importance of an MRCP (UK) degree, “It is a structured and time-bound exam that helps standardise the quality of medical skills across countries. It is recognised not just in India but all over the world, unlike an MD. With only an MD, people abroad will be reluctant to hire you unless they know where you have trained.”
Dr Abraham himself got his MRCP (UK) degree in London in 1979. However, becoming a doctor was accidental for him, a product of his father’s persuasions. His real passion, he claims, is education. Currently a professor at Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Abraham says, his mission to standardise medical education was not without challenges. A sprightly man of 68, Dr Abraham has no plans to retire any time soon. “I will continue educating young doctors for as long as I live,” he says.
