PG Times

  In a bid to check the depleting number of specialists in the Provincial Medical and Health Services (PMHS), the UP has made it mandatory for government doctors seeking the NOC to pursue post-graduate courses to serve in the cadre for at least 10 years. Those who don't do so will have to pay back Rs 1 crore as penalty to the government. "As per the rule, the in-service doctors who undertake PG courses will have to give in writing that they would return to the primary cadre upon completion of their programme and serve for a minimum period of 10 years. In case they fail, they will have to pay a fine of Rs 1 crore to the state exchequer,” said additional chief secretary Amit Mohan Prasad. Rules in this regard had been framed through an order issued by the Yogi Adityanath government in April 2017. Prasad issued a fresh order on Thursday to enforce this order strictly. The same order also stated that in-service doctors who leave the PG course mid-way will be debarred from taki...

Ayurveda practitioners are seeking equivalence with allopathic doctors in doing certain surgeries, but there seems to be a vast difference in the amount of training received in the two systems. Everything from the minimum number of beds in teaching hospitals to bed occupancy and the outpatient attendance required in a medical college to be allowed to do undergraduate and postgraduate training is much less for ayurveda colleges than for allopathic ones. Barely a quarter of the 414 ayurveda colleges have 100 seats. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of UG ayurveda seats are in colleges with 60 seats or less, which need to have just a 60-bedded teaching hospital with 40% occupancy, or about 24 beds occupied. Of the 60 beds, beds that must be kept aside for shalakya tantra and shalya tantra (surgeries) are just 25. In comparison, almost all MBBS colleges have at least 100 MBBS seats and for that they need a 500-bed teaching hospital with 75% occupancy (375 beds) and 120 beds kept aside for general ...

It is impossible for Ayurveda to incorporate surgical techniques while ignoring the other domains of modern medicine The basic requirement of medical practice is the safety of the patient. Surgery is a branch of medicine in which poor training can have dramatic and disastrous results. This is the strongest argument against the ill-advised move of the government of India to allow graduates in Ayurveda to practise surgery. Apprenticeship is key Surgery in the present era is an interdisciplinary endeavour. A well-trained anaesthesiologist keeps the patient free of pain. Other specialist doctors address any other illnesses that the patient has before surgery can be safely performed. The well-trained surgeon must have a good knowledge of the structure of the human body in health and disease. This is one branch of medicine where knowledge can only be acquired through apprenticeship — that is, the learner needs to be guided by an expert. It takes many years and much exposure before a gr...