Thanking Engineers

Prof. Viyatprajna Acharya, MD, PhD
Dept. of Biochemistry, KIMS, Bhubaneswar

When the whole world applauds the healthcare fraternity, I take an opportunity to thank all my engineer brothers and sisters across the globe. I feel indebted to them for whatever they are doing or have done for all of us for a smooth and stable run.

1. As a healthcare expert and a diagnostician, I realise and thank the engineers from core of my heart. Every machine that we use are made and maintained by them…be it fully automated analyzers, ventilators, different monitors, laboratory equipments, computers….the list is endless.

2. In the lockdown period all of us survived by being connected via social media like never before. The terminologies like virtual, e-, online became common in everybody’s lives. Studies, work, celebrations, meetings everything started becoming virtual. Against all apprehensions, many sectors in fact did much well during the COVID era.

3. IT has revolutionized the entire world…every work sector. For this very revolution we were able to take up meetings maintaining social distance, online lectures for students and still different offices running efficiently through them.

4. Coming to online transactions….sitting at home I’ve made all payments to my aides, kids’ tutors, EMIs and what not. When danger is lurking through currency notes we are able to transact through different apps. It’s very pleasing to see that even street vendors have these apps and grin at us and show a QR code to scan and pay.

5. Door step delivery of groceries and vegetables is yet another example.

6. Online trackers, news bulletins, apps to monitor different health aspects are just amazing!

7. The newer yet most impactful field is AI which will ensue many innovations and global order changes.
Probably this is a very small list but these are the salient ones that we the common people at least use maximum. Again, I thank all Engineers across the globe. Credit should be given where it is due and I felt they had quite a substantial contribution during COVID era apart from their routine ones to maintain a global balance.