BACKGROUND:
Mumbai is not just the commercial but also political and cultural capital of the state. It consists of two distinct regions: Mumbai City district commonly referred to as the Island City or South Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban district or North Mumbai. The suburbs are spread over an area approximately five times larger than the Island city under the administration of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).
Gynaecological Practice was centred/ concentrated in the Island City. Maternity care was provided by single Doctor owned lying-in hospitals and Nursing homes and most prominent Gynaecologists were attached to major teaching hospitals. At some point in time, they felt a need to form a body where they could exchange views, discuss problems and improve practice – this gave birth to the BOGS in year 1933/34. As the Island City grew, its population spilled to the suburbs – bulk of practice shifted and this led to the growth of many small Nursing Homes in the suburbs. BOGS was a vibrant body, but its activities were centred in the Island City and dominated by Gynaecologists attached to teaching / major hospitals in South Mumbai. The programs reflected the bias toward the hospital-based practice and problems faced by small nursing home were never identified or addressed. With the spread of the city in the northern and the central suburbs, larger number of Gynaecologists practicing in these areas found it difficult to travel to the Island city to attend programs.
Dr S N Daftary in his Presidential year perceived this problem and conducted some programs in the suburbs. This was the first instance when the BOGS took notice of its members in the suburbs. By now, a large portion of health care in the private sector was provided by nursing homes in the suburbs and majority of members were residing / practicing there. Commuting to the Island City was becoming increasingly difficult. Need was felt for a platform closer to home where problems could be shared and academics could be discussed. Dr S N Daftary formed the Suburban Academic Circle to address this need. He was helped by Dr Deepak Dave and Dr Shyam Desai. This was a loose organisation with a simple agenda of nurturing friendship, discussing academics, share problems and find solutions. It worked on personal invitation via post cards and meetings were conducted once a month, initially in one nursing home but later on at Nanavati Hospital. This activity went on for a year or so and fizzled out. In the early 80s, Dr P N Rao formed a group with Dr P P Pawar, Dr Sunil Chaubal and other friends. They decided to meet once or twice a month with families, mixing academics with comradery. This went for many years. However, none of these organisations could sustain themselves because they were driven by individuals.
In the late 90s, practicing in the small nursing homes in suburbs was becoming more challenging with increasing problems of infrastructure, regulations from legislative/ regulatory bodies,issues raised by patients and lack of support from the organisation. Suburban members were not able to attend CME programs/ conferences and the problems they faced were unique and were not addressed by the MOGS.. One thing led to another and a desperate need to form a separate body was felt by many. A platform was needed where members could meet, develop comradery, help each other in times of need and discuss problems created by the legislation/ authorising body/ patients and find solutions for infrastructure and practice.
BIRTH OF AFG
A SEED IS SOWN
Once upon a time, on a sultry evening in Mumbai, Drs. Professor R.M.Saraogi and P.R.Shah, while returning from a conference in town, thought of starting a journal club to update scientific knowledge and promote academic activities in our locality for practicing gynaecologists whose busy routine kept them away from sharpening their skills CMEs. These meetings were held in Dr P R Shah’s nursing home in Malad East. Thus, a humble beginning was made which grew up to be the AFG after Dr Nikhil Datar, Dr Rakesh Pandia, Dr Ramesh Kothari, Dr Mahesh Asher and many others joined Dr. R.M.Saraogi and Dr. P.R.Shah.
As MAJROOH SULTANPURI says:
maiñ akelā hī chalā thā jānib-e-manzil magar
log saath aate ga.e aur kārvāñ bantā gayā
THE SEED GIVES RISE TO A SAPLING...
2000
The name AFG was coined by Dr.R.M.Saraogi and the word ‘Fellow’was chosen to emphasise and foster a feeling of brotherhood. By the end of the year 2000, a formal body in the name of Association of Fellow Gynaecologists (AFG) was registered. Dr Nikhil Datar did all the ground work for Registration with the Charity Commission. Initial meetings were held in Dr Ramesh Kothari’s house with chai, nashta and a lot of bonhomie till the venue was shifted to Suchak Hospital. The meetings involved brainstorming about the subject for the forthcoming CME, finding the best faculty and the venue apart from discussion on a case/ idea/ problem someone faced. All the paperwork and correspondences were done from Dr Sudhir Naik’s nursing home for almost five years. Notices were made on his computer and then cyclostyled to be sent to members. Faculty for the programs was invited personally or on the MTNL lines.
THE SAPLING BLOOMS INTO A TREE
The association started having CMEs regularly for its members. The programs were of practical importance with impeccable scientific content delivered by the best faculty. This set the membership figures soaring higher and higher as the discussions gave every member an opportunity to interact, clarify their doubts which helped them in their day to day practice and were conducted in the vicinity of the area of their own practice and residence.
THE TREE GROWS INTO A FOREST
The programs initially involved lectures followed by an extensive Q&A session. Since this arrangement didn’t give a chance to address all issues and clarify doubts of all members, the format of Panel Discussion was adopted where one topic would be discussed threadbare for 4 hours with the help of expert faculty. This format gave every member a chance to ask specific queries on different aspects of the subject and bring up nuances of the treatment. In fact, we proudly say that every Panel Discussion has not just two, but a hundred and two moderators. These live truly interactive Panel Discussions are the USP of AFG.
2003 Our 1STConference on Emergency Obstetrics2005 1st Live Operative Workshop
2007 AFG Times
2010 National presence with a Conference in collaboration with ISOPARB, National
Faculty 2012 RAN Symposia, workshop on Happiness,
live Operative workshop with MOGS for AICOG
2013 International faculty : Dr Arulkumar
2016 Workshop with Fernandez Hospital, Hands o workshop on Tissue handling, Premises bought
2019 beginning of the paperless era
2020 streamlining administrative processes, virtual presence
LIVE OPERATIVE WORKSHOP
Live, operative workshop is a unique feature of AFG. The first operative workshop was held at Oshiwara Municipal Hospital in August 2005 when Dr.R.M.Saraogi was the HOD and Dr Arun Apte was the President of the AFG. There was a live relay to Patel hall. Later on, it was held at Cooper Hospital, Nanavati Hospital and Wockhardt hospital (Mira road,). In 2013, it was conducted in association with AICOG, Mumbai and was attended by 800 delegates.
RAN Symposium
One of the missions of the AFG is to teach PG Residents and the vision is to create a breed of well-trained Gynaecologists sensitive to the needs of the population they serve. Resident PG trainees in teaching hospitals have a well-defined teaching program but no such program exists for their counterpart in private hospitals. RAN Symposia was designed to take care of this need. It is conducted on the first Sunday of every month since 2012. In its present form, each program involves Case presentation by a PG student with cross-examination and discussion with examiners followed by a presentation by an Expert who sums up the topic. The symposia are designed to give a complete idea about a topic not only from the point of view of the exams but also of clinical practice. In fact, we believe, this is a platform where knowledge and wisdom meet. RAN is an acronym where R stands for R N Cooper Hospital where such programs were carried out by teachers Drs R M Saraogi and Mohan Gadam, A stands for AFG who initiated this program and N stands for Nanavati Hospital where the program was carried out till…… . The venue shifted to the Cooper hospital in …… till they became virtual in the pandemic since 2021. RAN Symposia are attended mainly by students and also some consultants