Mentoring a medical student towards applied research in a developing country.

In South Asia, the student-teacher relationship is hierarchical and authoritarian. I and my colleagues spend time and energy teaching students to think, to question and to critically evaluate statements and assumptions. Bishnu Giri was an enthusiastic student willing to think out of the box. Bishnu has been involved in drug utilization studies, investigating factors influencing drug use and in promoting rational use of drugs. He has published a number of articles and has been encouraging other students to participate in research.