BSMS students in private Siddha medical colleges in TN not getting sufficient practical knowledge due to lack of patients & medicines
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
January 24 , 2018
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Most of the students who study for the course of BSMS (Bachelor of
Siddha Medicine & Surgery) in the private Siddha medical colleges in
Tamil Nadu complete their medical education without getting sufficient
practical knowledge in the most crucial lessons in medical education,
ie, ‘how to examine patients and what medications to prescribe’. The
major reason for these lacunae is shortage of patients to the OP and IP
wards and paucity of essential medicines in the attached hospitals. In
the case of essential drugs, no campus hospital does have the essential
medicines which are mandated in the Essential Drug List (EDL) issued by
the Union Ayush Ministry. The situation is not different in the two
state owned government medical colleges and also in the National
Institute of Siddha at Tambaram, says the secretary of the Centre for
Traditional Medicines and Research (CTMR) in Chennai. As per the
Minimum Standard Requirements (MSR) of Siddha, a five-bed OP ward is a
prerequisite for a Siddha medical college. But in Tamil Nadu, no
institution fully complies with this rule anywhere in the state. The EDL
of the Ayush ministry comprises 350 drugs which must be available any
time in the hospital as long as the teaching institution works. But this
provision is only in the act and rules, not followed by the colleges,
say Dr. T. Thirunarayanan, secretary of CTMR. He finds two major
flaws on the side of the managements of the medical colleges. First one
is that the institutions are located in remote areas where the
hospitals cannot access even a small number of patients. Secondly, the
hospitals charge prices for medicines they give to the patients, so
people usually are unwilling to approach such institutions. All
categories of medicines are supplied freely in the government medical
colleges, but the problem they face is non-availability. Because of
these two reasons, students scarcely get ample facilities for practical
experience. “Presently, the state has eight private Siddha
medical colleges, one national institute and two in the government
sector. Out of this, only the government institutions are getting a
little number of patients. But, medicines mentioned in the EDL are not
available there also, hence the students do not get medical exposure.
Whereas, in the private sector, most of the institutions are located in
remote areas, so patients-accessibility is poor. Therefore, students in
private colleges do not get either clinical exposure or medical
exposure. Students from these institutions are coming out without any
experience in diagnosis and in management of diseases”, said Dr.
Thirunarayanan. While talking about the impact of this grave
situation, he said the medical graduates often fail in building self
confidence in practicing their own systems. Their experiences during
their studentship were not encouraging. Unless proper training is given
in treatment protocols, no graduate or post graduate is able to diagnose
a patient or prescribe a medicine. They do not know what kind of
treatment is required for particular diseases. Training institutes are
needed to teach how to build confidence among medical graduates of
traditional medicines of all branches. The Ayush ministry should bring
in some measures in this respect and engage panel of experts for this
propose.
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