I recently completed my paediatric fellowship and had the good fortune of working under one of Telangana’s top paediatricians, Dr. Sharmila Pendyala. At first, I often wondered what made her so different from so many others in practice. She had the same OPD hours as her colleagues—sometimes even less. She never promoted her clinic unnecessarily, and despite seeing several celebrity patients, she carried absolutely no air or attitude.
With time, I learned the answer.
Any parent who visits her once continues with her from that very first consultation. Every child who walks into her OPD is genuinely excited to meet and greet her. Parents and kids arrive with pain, anxiety, and fear, but they walk out with satisfaction, peace, and the brightest smiles—something I rarely see elsewhere.
The difference lies in her emotional connection with each and every patient. It allows her to treat with compassion, and it allows them to leave with a calmer mind and a comforted heart. Because to them, their doctor doesn’t just prescribe.
SHE CARES-SHE LISTENS-SHE CONNECTS.
This is so important, especially for pediatric patients. When patients feel the connection and that the can trust you, the treatment process improves with better outcomes. My professor once old me that good doctor is someone who knows treatment methods but a great doctor is someone who knows how to cater the needs of patient and best treatment catered to their needs.
Being compassionate is very important for a doctor, especially a pediatrician. Rather than just focusing on money, genuine care towards the infants and children is what made her one of the top pediatricians.
I am not a doctor but have been treated by Paediatrician, he set a benchmark in my young mind for doctors. He listened carefully, genuinely cared, gave answers to my parents questions. He became a brand name in the whole city. His patients became his brand ambassadors and always appreciated him and marketed his name. Parents from different regions of state came to him refered not by some doctor but by relatives whose child was treated by him, and above all I still meet people asking about him if he still treats patients, and this brings a smile filled with nostalgia on my face. So compassion matters a lot, it helps patients believe in doctor and his/her treatment.
Children are emotional and overwhelming. Treating them requires patience and a different method of dealing with them than normal grown adults. Adapting techniques used in adults may not always be beneficial and requires a modified method of approach for children.
Caring as an aspect that is based on empathy makes the building of trust easy and creates a healing process even before the prescription. It is purest medicine, not the cure of disease, but celebration of the child, the parent and the moment.