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Rapid Responses: Rapid Responses published:
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More unemployed doctors will only add to a further brain drain
- Durgesh Raje (3 June 2006)
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Reservation at what cost ?
- Rajesh S Phatak (5 June 2006)
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Medical education and employment opportunities
- MK V Sathyamoorthy (6 June 2006)
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Durgesh Raje, Research Fellow Whittington Hospital N19 5NF
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I have closely followed the recent developments in India regarding the anti-reservation protests and the indifferent role adopted by the Indian government. I was shocked to see the kind of treatment meted out to young doctors in India.Believe me when I say, this is the lot who work very hard day in and day out catering to a large population of patients on a daily basis. I am not against reservations upto a certain extent since considering the difficult financial backgrounds some group of students come from, it is only fair to give them some form of help as the competition is not entirely fair for them.There are deserving students who are unable to afford the same educational support like expensive well catered guidance which other candidates get benefit from. However what I am against is the fact that this support is only offered on the basis of caste which is no longer a criteria for being economically deprived.Also the increase in percentage is completely unjustified because it will only extend the benefit to people on the basis of caste and deserving poorer candidates will continue to lose out only because they do not belong to the appropriate caste to be eligible for any benefit.Increasing the number of seats to appease the striking doctors may be a short term solution by the government to avert the crisis it brought on to itself but in the longer perspective one has to understand that it only leads to more unemployed doctors who will be frustrated at the end of their training and will only want to migrate out of the country. Since only the most deserving will get a chance to do that, it will only mean the loss of the most deserving doctors of our country!! Something our politicians and people of India seriously should think about. Competing interests: None declared |
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Rajesh S Phatak, SpR Paediatrics Yorkshire Deanery
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It is indeed unfortunate that Politicians will so willingly play with the lives and careers of so many deserving candidates. Imagine scoring much better grades than a certain individual from your class who has availed the same facilities as yourself at Medical school,but having to forsake a career purely because you were not born into a certain caste ! There has to be some sense to this madness, but it is difficult to see it.Why would i want to have myself treated by any doctor once i realise that he/she has become one only because he/she had the distinct "caste advantage" ? The whole concept of reservation should be applicable only till undergraduate level, if at all and should certainly be means tested i.e. one cannot claim the benifits of being from a "reserved category" if the family income is above a certain level. What we had feared is becoming true...if this trend continues..our future generations will be able to claim reservation under the "nomadic tribe" category coz candidates like myself, who do not have any such reservation quota backing (buying seats in private medical colleges is a worse disgrace and unviable option) are increasingly driven to greener pastures for short or long term gains. Competing interests: Indian Medical Graduate competing in the Open Category |
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MK V Sathyamoorthy, SHO Anaesthetics Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, B71 4HJ
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Reservation is a necessary evil peculiar to the Indian subcontinet because of the age old caste system. But it is high time to rethink about the system of medical education as practised in India. There are plenty of Government run, aided and private medical colleges of all hues with varied facilities catering to the diverse needs of the huge population groups. Revamp of the whole medical education system is the need of the hour so as to have medics who are robust, modern and with appropriate ethical and moral chores. Patient care should deserve the priority over individual candidates. Doctors and students who go on strike endangering patient interests need to be dealt with appropriately as per the law of the land. For a country like India, it would be appropriate if they can spend a proportion of GDP for the healthcare. Post graduate and undergraduate curriculum needs to be rehauled so as to meet the national requirements. Medical education market needs to be liberalised so that India can become the temple of learning for those from the Africa and the West. Facilities and infrastructure needs to be upgraded so as to reflect the new century. Perhaps these things can help reverse the brain drain. There is a greater need to rehaul the Macaulay's educational plan for India. The whole system from primary schooling to post graduate medical education needs a thorough revamp. The stress on the rote memory based testing systems should be replaced with the modern systems so as to identify the best candidate as had been practised in UK etc., Emphasis should be based on practical aspects of training including research and development rather than the rote memory of questionable benefit. Perhaps if these things can be implemented then there is every scope that Indian healthcare system will benefit from the high calibre students. These measures will lead to imrpoved career satisfaction and more opportunities for medical professionals. Competing interests: None declared |
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