32nd ISEN Annual Meet, San Francisco, USA
Dr Mohammed Arshad, MBBS (AIIMS New Delhi), MD (NIMHANS) is a gold medalist in Psychiatry.
Presenting my research paper at the most esteemed venue in the world was my dream during MD days. My MD dissertation topic was ‘Cardiac safety of ECT in patients on clozapine: an electrocardiography based comparative study’. In 2019, I happened to meet Dr Mustafa Husain, Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, USA when he visited NIMHANS Bengaluru. He appreciated my then ongoing research work and told me about the annual meeting of the International Society of ECT and Neurostimulation (ISEN).
Three years later, it was a dream come true moment when my paper got selected for the lightning talk series at the 32nd annual meeting of ISEN in San Francisco, USA. Mixed with excitement, there were emotions of anxiety and despair because of the difficulties in travel and unaffordable expenses involved. I contemplated presenting it online as the event organisers made it a hybrid event (both online and offline). But then my colleagues and well-wishers encouraged me to present it in person. So finally, I applied for a visa to the United States just three months prior to the date of the conference, being well aware of the fact that the average waiting time for a visa interview was more than a year. But the Almighty had His plans and I had my interview within a month of my application. The visa application was approved without many hurdles. Wow! But the perturbing travel expenses was yet to be met! The organisers waived the registration fee, but I had to meet the travel and other expenses. I applied for travel grants from multiple sources. Just about a month before the conference, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) granted me an international travel award, and confirmed partial financial support for my travel.
The annual conference of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) was also happening around the same period in the same city, nearly one mile from the ISEN venue. I registered for the APA conference as well!
Travelling to the US was a fantastic experience. People were welcoming, the landscape was beautiful and the infrastructure was magnificent. I met a lot of people who were open to have friendly conversations at the conference venue, in the hotel where I stayed, at tourist spots, as well as in the streets.
My presentation at the conference went well. All the participants, including the stalwarts in the field like Dr Georgios Petrides, Dr Daniel Maixner, Dr Irving Reti and Dr Mustafa Husain appreciated my work. I had excellent discussions about the topic with resident doctors, consultants and the program directors. I could meet in person many of the researchers whom I had quoted in my thesis dissertation.
In essence, all my hard work and effort paid off. I acknowledge the support I received from my chief guide, my co-guides and all others who extended a helping hand and spared their time and effort for this work. Ultimately, it was all the blessings and tests of the Almighty, to whom we belong and to whom we shall return!
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