Dr. H.S. Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, Manipal University, Karnataka, on Friday said the Medical Council of India is planning to roll out an MD course in family medicine shortly.
Delivering the 9th Graduation Day address at the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Dr. Ballal pointed out that while in the past there used to be family physician concept where the family doctor not only was taking care of medical problems but used to be like a senior family member helping the family in other areas like matrimonial and other problems of the family, that trend had disappeared.
It was in this scenario that the MCI was planning to introduce MD in family medicine.
Dr. Ballal called for greater emphasis on prevention of disease which was cheaper with protected water supply, immunisation and clean surroundings. Though a lot of advances were taking place in medical field with newer generation of equipment both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, the important thing that we have to recognise is that these facilities should be accessible to the poorest of the poor across the country at a reasonable cost — almost 70 per cent of people live in rural areas and 65 per cent of the population is below poverty line.
Stating that educational institutions “are more sacred than places of worship”, Dr. Ballal felt that sub standard institutions were flourishing only because there was less supply of medical colleges compared to the demand. “If we match the supply and demand, naturally substandard institutions will perish,” he said. There were 426 medical colleges in the country producing more than 50,000 MBBS students but the number of postgraduate seats available especially in clinical subjects was less than a third of the total MBBS graduates, he said.
Some of the States were making rural services compulsory to be eligible for post graduate admission. “The reason why the doctors are not going to rural areas are lack of infrastructure, no supporting staff, no drugs, no equipment and poor facilities regarding accommodation and schools,” Dr. Ballal said.
Higher education should focus on expansion, equity, excellence and employability alongside imparting values and skill development. “If we incorporate all these above mentioned factors we can produce good doctors,” he said.
Dr. Ballal reminded doctors that the medical profession was considered a noble profession. “In the past doctors used to be treated like demi-gods but today our reputation is rapidly going down because of some unethical practices,” he said.
To the young doctors he had a word of advice: “Don’t be mercenaries, money will automatically come with the hard work and dedication to the profession.”
Dr. Renu G Boy Varghese, PIMS Director-Principal, presented a report.
In all, 106 MBBS students graduated and 43 post graduates were awarded their degrees. Six MBBS students received ICMR short term student fellowships while PIMS short term student fellowship was given to nine students.
Dr. Siddhant J Thampi got the Gold Medal for the Best Outgoing Student for 2015. The Aban Memorial Gold Medal for the All Rounder of the Year 2015 was awarded to Dr. Aravind S. and the Dr. Ramachandran A Memorial Best Sports Person for 2015 to Dr. Shrieaswari S.Dr. Ashok Kumar R was declared the Best Intern for 2015 and awarded a Gold Medal. The JT Kuruvila Award for 2015 Best Intern in OBG was awarded to Dr. Divya R.
