Adding another fillip to Kerala’s public healthcare, a centre for training serving doctors to appear for the prestigious MRCP examinations has been set up in the Government Medical College here as an alumni initiative.
According to office-bearers of Trivandrum Medical College Alumni Association (TMCAA), this is the first ever training centre for MRCP examination outside the U.K, though the Royal Colleges of Physicians allows candidates to write exams outside Britain.
The programme had received recognition from the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians and for the time being, would be conducted without charging any fees from candidates, TMCAA president Dr G Vijayaraghavan told a press meet here.
“This has been envisaged as a continuing education programme for serving doctors without upsetting their existing work,” Mr. Vijayaraghavan, a leading cardiologist, said.
Under the 18-month course, candidates will be offered classes for four hours a week to appear for Part-1 and 2 of MRCP examination. For practicals, arrangements had been made with an inistitution in Chennai, Dr Krishna Kumar, regional advisor for MRCP said.
They said that senior doctors, mostly alumni of Thiruvananthapuram Medical college had offered their services for the conduct of the programme.
Though MRCP was derecognised in India some time back, the Medical Council of India was now seriously thinking of restoring the recognition to the diploma awarded by Royal Colleges of Physicians, Dr Vijayaraghavan said.