Rajkumar hails from Guntur where he was raised up in a home with a strong value system, by his father who was a renowned eye surgeon and his mother who was a teacher who sacrificed her career to be with the children, including one with special needs. Despite his house having a common wall with two churches, it was only in 1998 that he came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. This was after his classmate and friend in AIIMS prayed for nearly 9 years for his salvation.
He studied MBBS and MD Medicine in AIIMS, during which he lost his way in life and studies with his own share of ups and downs, till the Lord Jesus miraculously intervened.
He worked as a physician and critical care specialist over the years in tertiary care corporate hospitals in Hyderabad, facing any challenges including losing his job for being a whistle-blower on unethical practices. He was subsequently selected by the US Embassy to be the Medical Adviser and Panel Physician at Hyderabad. He currently works for the US Consulates in India, High Commissions of Australia, Canada, UK and NZ as the Lead Panel Physician at his medical screening clinic called Centre for Migration Medicine (CMM). He has a team of 70 employees including nearly a dozen Doctors who work with excellence, diligence and integrity. He believes that it is a business gifted by God for the sake of His Kingdom.
He also has an MA in OLM (Organisational Leadership and Management) from Allahabad University and is in the first year of MA in Science & Religion from Talbot School of Theology, LA. He is blessed with a vision-sharing wife Shilpa and three delightful children – Grace, Ankith and Anand.
Breakout session – Justice and Ethics in Urban Healthcare
In an increasingly complex healthcare scenario across the globe, man seems to be making amazing advances. Competencies and skill sets have become more specialised than ever before. Drugs and the pharmaceutical industry have become more opaque under the guise of voluminous documentation and extensive research. There is a moral crisis in medical journals in view of extensive fraudulent practices in publishing a paper. Justice and ethics seem to be casualties which have not caught up with the speed of technological advances in medicine.The speed of information now is the greatest ever in the history of mankind, but has only succeeded in glutting our minds with senseless bytes of data rather than a wise understanding and insight into modern medicine. There is confusion as to what is ethical and what is not, what is just and what is not.
In this scenario, the role of the Christian medical doctor is in standing up as salt and light, preventing decay on the one hand like salt, and becoming repositories of wisdom like light. Another important role is as a voice in the ‘moral desert’, being an advocate for the voiceless and the downtrodden. The costs involved could be immense and personal, but does it count as suffering for the Lord ? How does one negotiate this quagmire with patience, love and hope ? Can we turn all this around for the glory of God in such a way that there would be joy and hope in practice of medicine ? I am confident that this is possible with the concerted efforts of conscientious, obedient and loving disciples of Christ practicing as the Lord would – healing the sick and preaching the good news, in a God-honoring way.