Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor T. Ravi Raju on Saturday said there was a huge mismatch between the growing number of psychiatric problems and the availability of psychiatrists in the country and called for equipping undergraduate medical students to some extent to deal with the problem.
Participating as chief guest in the inaugural of a two-day mid-term CME of the Indian Psychiatric Society, which got under way here, Dr. Ravi Raju said efforts were being made by the university to change the curriculum to incorporate a course on psychiatry at the MBBS-level. He said that it was unfortunate that many medical colleges do not even have a psychiatry ward.
Referring to fall in the standards of medical education in the country due to the mushrooming of medical colleges in the private sector, the Vice- Chancellor attributed it to the lack of qualified teachers and poor infrastructure. The university has taken up the training of medical teachers to overcome the problem.
“This year 100 faculty will be trained by teachers from the Harvard Medical School through live interactive sessions and video conference facilities. Flip classroom methods would be introduced to divide the students into small groups and teach them to improve concentration and span of attention,” he said. Dr. Ravi Raju said that the university was encouraging CME (Continuous Medical Education) programmes. Credit points were being given for attendance at CMEs. These credit points would be mandatory for doctors to get their degrees re-registered in future.
Surgeon Vice Admiral A.A. Pawar, Director-General of Medical Services (Navy), was felicitated by Brig M.S.V.K. Raju, president of Indian Psychiatric Society, who is also the teacher of Vice Admiral Pawar at the Armed Forces Medical College. Secretary general of the World Psychiatric Association Roy Abraham Kallivayalil said that the proposal to introduce psychiatry as a compulsory subject at MBBS-level was awaiting MCI clearance.
