Meet Dr. Somnath Salgar
My father was five-years old when my grandfather expired. My grandmother and father had to suffered a lot and were helpless. My father had to quit his primary education to work as a daily-wage farm worker to support the family. After his marriage, my mother had to work along with my father to overcome the family hurdles. I was the eldest in my family so I decided to get educated and become a doctor.
I was a topper throughout my school days. I got 90.85% marks in 10th and 91.33% marks in 12th. I got admission in B.J. Medical College, a premier medical institution in Pune. I decided to become a distinguished doctor and help society. My teachers saw me as a hard-working student, and hence, they stood by me as mentors from the school days and guided me like my parents.
While studying for MBBS, I applied to Sakal India Foundation, Pune for a scholarship. Here Prof. Karekar and Prof. Muley interviewed me and sent my application to Foundation For Excellence. Due to my academic merit and adverse family financial background, I received the FFE scholarship. This relieved me from financial stress and I could concentrate on my studies and goals exclusively. I completed MBBS & MD (Biochemistry) from B.J. Medical College, Pune. My education helped me transform my family situation – I supported my brother, sister and my wife’s education. It makes me feel good to see them settled in their life. My brother is currently associated with Government of Maharashtra, Health Services, Chopda as Physiotherapist, sister is currently a history teacher in Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya, and my wife is an associate professor in Anatomy in PAD, Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Pimpri.
During clinical posting, I examined each patient empathetically, participated in all college extracurricular activities like National Service Scheme. I got prizes in academic quiz and received letters of appreciation from Rotary Club for being a Socially Oriented Doctor. Few of my articles about my journey from a student to a doctor were published by SAKAL. I got many letters of congratulations from all over Maharashtra government as I became a doctor after facing adversities in life. I give credit of my success to all my teachers and Foundation For Excellence for awarding me scholarship. FFE boosted my morale for becoming an all-rounder (multi faceted) doctor.
For the past 16 years, I am working with Medical education. Currently, I am associated with B J Medical College as Assistance Professor in Department of Medical Biochemistry. I also hold responsibility in college administration as a Media Coordinator. I have also published several research papers and have been a panel of examiner of few medical universities. As an alumnus of FFE, I was able to conduct several mentoring sessions for FFE students in B J Medical College, Pune. Hence forward, I would like to contribute my time to build a Medical Alumni network for achieving objectives of FFE and also to mentor an FFE students.