Naresh Trehan: Chairman and managing director, Medanta The Medicity

Frank Spencer, MD, my professor at New York University, has been a source of inspiration for many years. He said something when I was planning to shift back to India from the U.S. I was invited by many hospitals in India at that time but there were none that could actually translate into reality what I wanted to bring to India—the highest standards of cardiac care, including research and teaching. So, when Escorts and I decided to build it from ground up, I went to Spencer and asked him what he thought about the idea. Something he said has stayed with me all these years. ‘There is nothing in your background that suggests that you will be able to do this. You have never done something like this before. On any given day, there will be many stumbling blocks, which you have never encountered, trying to stop you. The only thing that can make it happen is you remaining focussed and determined.’ He also said how important it was to be grounded, ‘Your patients and their families will make you feel like God. It will serve you well if you don’t believe it.’ A lot of doctors fall into that trap. I think it is important to remember this, especially when a few practices in this profession are being questioned.”