CHAPTER XXVII Epilogue (ii) MY SUGGESTED MODEL OF MEDICAL EDUCATION

CHAPTER XXVII

Epilogue (ii)

My Suggested Model of

Medical Education

                For achieving Health For All, I feel, medical education of the country be remodeled as follows *:

10+2 School examination

First competitive examination

                         STAGE - I

                         LMP in Medical Schools

                         (Three years+ six months of rural posting)

Second competitive examination

                         STAGE - II

                         MBBS, BAMS, BHMS, etc.

                         (Two years+ one year of Internship)

                         STAGE - III

                         Specialist Certificate Residency º

                         P.G. Diploma of present day

                         (Two years at Medical Schools / Colleges + one year of District Hospital posting)

Third competitive examination

                         STAGE - IV

                         P.G. (MD/MS in all ‘pathy’) courses  (two years)

Fourth competitive examination

                         STAGE - V

                         Post- P.G. (DM/MCh/PhD) courses (Three years).

N.B.: No two courses should be taught in one institution (i.e. LMP / MBBS / P.G. / Post-P.G. should have separate institutions) to avoid bias in selecting students and to give emphasis on their part of medical education.

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* Suggested first as an editorial in the Aayurvigyan pragati, 1991; 7; 34 and later in the 1st Dr. B. N. Das Gupta oration at the IX National conference of the NMO at Udaipur on 9.4.1994.   

Duration of Each Stage (in Years)

Stage     Course                 Proposed     Present

I                 LMP                                  3.5                       -

II                MBBS, BAMS,                  3                      5.5

                   BHMS, etc.

III              Specialist Certificate
                   Residency                        2+1*                    2

IV              MD / MS                             2                        3

V                DM / MCh / PhD                3                        3

                   Total                                 14.5                   13.5

* is in fact, in full service and, hence, the duration is equal.

            LMPs will be our basic doctors, not the MBBS, etc. who like to stay in towns after prolonged study which not only makes their mentality town-oriented but also it is difficult to provide adequate infrastructure for their proper working in remote health centers in the villages. LMPs can also compete with quacks/ paramedical staff, which is nowadays delivering every short of health care illegally.

            Every district hospital should have intensive training programme for paramedical staff, which country needs in good number.

            MBBS / BAMS / BHMS, etc., should be posted only in referral hospitals and they be attached to local schools for imparting health education.

            Specialist Certificate Residency should be recognized as specialists for treatment for all practical purposes.

            P.G. institutions should be limited to only 10-15 in number in the country, which should be meant to provide teaching oriented teachers only for our medical institutions. P.G. departments in Ayurved and Homeopathy, etc. should also be there.

            Super-specialization and research centers should be developed in every region of the country up to the international standards.

            Indian languages should be promoted as a medium of instruction taking common Sanskrit words in all languages as reference.

            No more medical and dental colleges in the country should come up till 2025 AD rather existing institutions should be equipped and most of the medical colleges should be converted into medical schools for the LMP course.

            Those institutions, which do not compare well with the requisite standards should be closed down and be converted merely into treating hospitals.

            The IMS (Indian Medical Service) should be restarted to serve as administrative heads in medical institutions.

            Reservations should be scraped totally from medical institutions and hospitals because nothing can be more scientific than saving lives. Even Hon’ble Supreme Court has barred in principle the scientific institutions from the sectors of reservations.

            Each State should have one Medical / Health University and at Central level the Medical Grants Commission should start functioning quickly.

            At least 10 percent of the budget at every level should be devoted to health. The pharmaceutical houses should spend at least two percent in research and development activities.

            All Govt./Private hospitals should be accredited for teaching any of the courses as per facilities available there.

            There will be no need of the separate Dental Council of India as well as the Council for Indian Medicine as per this suggested model, which will achieve Health For All as well as integration among all ‘pathy’ through a scientific method.

Jai Dhanwantari ! Jai Vishwanath !!

(Presented as a free paper in the 58th Joint Conference of the Association of Physicians of India__APICON, Varanasi, on 14.1.2003, published in the JAPI, Vol. 50, December 2002; 1584 as Abstract No.184 and the APICON-2003 News, 15.1.2003).