Between Covid ward and study room: This Hyderabad surgeon cracked UPSC, bagged 162nd rank

Hyderabad: The Covid-19 pandemic brought a lot of stress to the medical community. Added to this, the 29-year-old surgeon from Hyderabad, Dr. Syed Mustafa Hashmi, also had the stress of preparing for the civil service examination 2021. Thanks to Covid-19, Dr. Mustafa had some time to prepare for the exams.

"During the pandemic, I had Covid-19 duty at the King Koti hospital. One week I was on duty, the following week, I had to go into quarantine. Every alternate week when I had to go into quarantine, I used the time for my UPSC preparation," says Dr. Mustafa.

He gives credit to his family for supporting him throughout the pandemic. "Covid-19 itself was a catastrophe. I could manage the stress of the hospital duty and exams only because of the support of my family. So, this result is not my victory but the result of the efforts of my entire family," says Dr. Mustafa.

This is his fourth attempt at the civil service examination. He made his first attempt, without much preparation, when he was in his final year of MS (general surgery) at Osmania Medical College. He says this is his second "prepared" attempt and he is satisfied and content with his result.

Just before the prelims, he quit his job to completely focus on preparing for the exam. "I am thankful to all my friends and family for supporting me throughout my journey," he said.

Problems beyond just health

Dr. Mustafa has cracked the UPSC exam but he says it is not like he is completely leaving his job. In fact, he is coming back to the very goals that inspired him to become a doctor in the first place. "To be honest, I have loved serving society since a very young age. That was one reason why I took up medicine. But when I started treating patients, I realised that health was only one of their deprivations. The moment they stepped out of the hospital, they had several other economic and social problems. Now I want to work towards their holistic improvement. I am not really leaving my profession but actually coming back to where it all started – my wish to be of good use to the public," explains Dr. Mustafa.