Being a doctor is not only about the ability to diagnose and treat illness. Beyond that, a physician is called to have social awareness, strong communication skills, and the courage to bring about change for society. This message came through during the Academic Culture and Student Orientation program (PBAK) for UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's Medicine Study Program, held Thursday, August 20, 2026.

A total of 50 new Medicine Study Program students took part in the session, held on the 4th floor of UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's Faculty of Medicine. The presentation, titled “Physicians as Drivers of Social Change,” was delivered by Vice Rector for Student Affairs and Cooperation Prof. Dr. Abdur Rozaki, with dr. Likuidita Yona, M.Biomed., serving as moderator.

In his presentation, Prof. Abdur Rozaki invited students to view the medical profession from a broader perspective. According to him, the classic model of a physician focused on diagnosis and treatment continues to play an important role. But the challenges facing society today call for physicians capable of going further, becoming agents of social change.

“A physician who can diagnose and treat patients professionally, that's good. But that good needs to be paired with the ability to see the social issues that make people sick in the first place,” he said.

He stressed that health cannot always be resolved simply by bringing in medical personnel. Issues like sanitation, poverty, access to healthcare, health-related behavior, and social inequality all require a far more comprehensive approach.

For that reason, according to Prof. Abdur Rozaki, the physicians of the future need strong social communication skills. A simple greeting, empathy, the ability to listen, and the way a condition is explained to a patient can all become an essential part of the healing process.

“If you want to become a physician who drives change, you're also required to have social communication skills. Sometimes limitations can't be solved just by bringing in a doctor. Changing the way people think and encouraging prevention matter just as much,” he explained.

To reinforce his point, Prof. Abdur Rozaki cited a number of physicians whose lives showed that medicine could be combined with a role in social change.

He pointed to Dr. Soetomo, a graduate of STOVIA (the Dutch East Indies medical school) and founder of Boedi Oetomo. Soetomo's journey shows how medical knowledge can become a foundation for building national consciousness and organizing communities.

Another figure he cited was Dr. Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo, who was involved in the nationalist movement while also working directly to combat a plague outbreak in Malang. Tjipto showed how a commitment to public health could go hand in hand with the struggle against injustice.

He also brought up Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentine physician whose firsthand experience witnessing poverty and inequality across South America helped shape his social consciousness.

Meanwhile, from present-day Indonesia, Prof. Abdur Rozaki pointed to Dr. Lie A. Dharmawan, founder of doctorSHARE, which delivers healthcare services through a floating hospital and medical care for communities in Indonesia's most remote, disadvantaged, and outermost (3T) regions.

These four figures, he said, share one thing in common: medical knowledge can become a force for bringing humanity into a much wider space.

“Being a classic physician isn't enough anymore. We need transformative physicians,” he affirmed.

For UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's Medicine students, this idea serves as a reminder that their professional expertise will one day need to go hand in hand with genuine commitment to society, particularly to groups with limited access to healthcare.

This spirit of becoming physicians who drive social change was then connected to UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's broader student ecosystem. Prof. Abdur Rozaki encouraged students not to focus solely on their coursework, but to actively develop themselves through student organizations and Student Activity Units (UKM).

Student organizations offer a space to build leadership, managerial skills, communication, teamwork, critical reasoning, community service, and the development of talents and interests.

Various student development programs at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, including Kalijaga Change Maker, Kalijaga Prestasi, and OASE, are designed to broaden students' experience beyond the classroom.

“On this campus, you're not just being prepared to be academically smart. You also need to have the ability to lead, communicate, work with others, and show up to make a real contribution,” he said.

This message carries particular weight for medical students, who will one day work directly with people in every kind of condition. Medical competence will remain the primary foundation, but empathy and the ability to understand people are just as essential.

For UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, medical education is not aimed solely at producing clinically competent physicians. Beyond that, the university wants to produce physicians who are both professional and humane, excellent in their field of knowledge, yet remaining attuned to social issues, and able to turn their knowledge and profession into a force for the common good.

“When a physician has both strong competence and strong social communication, their impact can be extraordinary. Because a physician holds knowledge, holds the trust of the community, and holds the opportunity to drive real change,” Prof. Abdur Rozaki said in closing. (humassk)