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Showing posts from November, 2015

AIIMS announces details for All-India Post-Graduate Dental Entrance Examination

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AIIMS  will conduct The All India Post-Graduate Dental Entrance  Examination  (AIPGDEE) on December 13, 2015. The exam will be conducted online by AIIMS, New Delhi for admission to its post-graduate courses. The eligibility criteria for taking the exam (for the candidates who have applied for the PG course) is completion of the BDS course. Now, they will appear for MDS course under 50 percent all India quota on December 13. The admit cards are yet to be issued and will carry all the important information including details of the examination centre, duration, roll number, and as required. Admit card is mandatory to be carried at the examination centre-only then the candidates will be allowed to appear for the exam. There is already an existing reservation policy to admit qualified candidates to Dental MDS courses. The qualified candidates will be classified in to an all India merit list and state wise merit list- to be prepared on the basis of the percentage of marks obtai

Doctors Unhappy Over 7th Pay Commission

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Doctors allege that their demands have not only been ignored but downgraded too. The objections are widely perceived to stem from the fact that the demands made by them have not been met genuinely.  Government doctors have raised objection as implementation of the 7th Pay Commission is on the cards. The objections are widely perceived to stem from the fact that, as government doctors claim, the demands made by them have not been met genuinely. The prime reason being their fears that they might have to see a fall in comparative salaries instead of the expected increase. Doctors attribute the fall to rising prices in the country. Doctors constitute a sizeable part of the 55 lakh state government and 48 lakh central government employees. Another reason for this is reduction in non-practising allowance (NPA), which has been cut by 5 per cent; brought down from 25 per cent of basic salary in 6th Pay Commission to 20 per cent of the basic salary in 7th Pay Commission. “We

Resident doctors unhappy with pay panel report

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An association of resident doctors in government hospitals today claimed the salary raises proposed by the Seventh Pay Commission are likely to exacerbate the exodus of doctors from government to private healthcare institutions. The Federation of Resident Doctors Association, a body of junior and senior residents in central government hospitals, said the commission's pay recommendations had done little to address the imbalance between the government and the private medical sector. The commission, which submitted its report to the Union government last week, has reduced a component of the pay called the non-practising allowance (NPA) given to government doctors for not engaging in private consultations, the federation said. The commission has proposed a reduction in the allowance to 20 per cent of the basic salary from the current level of 25 per cent, although representatives of doctors had sought a raise to 40 per cent. It has also proposed a drop in house rent a

Bihar health minister asks doctors to be present on duty 24x7

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Health, minor irrigation and environment and forest minister Tej Pratap Yadav on Tuesday asked the health department officials to ensure 24X7 presence of doctors in the emergency wards of all medical college hospitals across the state so that patients get all the facilities even in odd hours. Presiding over a review meeting with health officials at secretariat, Tej Pratap asked the principal secretary (health) Brajesh Mehrotra to also ensure that the government doctors posted in district hospitals and primary health centres (PHCs) reside at their places of posting. The minister announced he would make surprise visits to find loopholes in the functioning of medical colleges and government hospitals and ensure that doctors are on duty. Strict action would be take against those found negligent. Yadav asked Mehrotra to keep the emergency wards of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH), Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences and

Here’s why foreign medical degrees are no longer fancy

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As in most areas of the national capital, the plush and the pocket-friendly exist cheek-by-jowl in Gautam Nagar. If one lane is lined with sprawling commercial spaces, another has tumbling apartment blocks crowding its narrow, winding stretch. But what sets the area apart are the multiple training institutes for medical aspirants that have mushroomed there. Proximity to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) always made Gautam Nagar a hub for young medical professionals. In the last decade or so, the coaching centres here have drawn another league of medical aspirants - Indians who have done their medical graduation from a foreign country and are seeking to clear the mandatory FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduates Examination) that will help them get the Medical Council of India (MCI) registration needed to practice in India. According to data from the National Board of Examinations (NBE) - the organisation charged with the responsibility of conducting the FMGE - 62,93

India's first MRI machine to be out in market by 2018

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The department of IT's R&D laboratory SAMEER will soon bring out India's first MRI machine in the market by 2018. SAMEER is an R&D Laboratory set-up in 1960s for research, design and development of products in the field of RF and microwave systems. In a recent presentation to the Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Director-General SAMEER said the R&D laboratory was already in advance stages of product development of the machine which would enable use of imaging in medical diagnosis. Prasad asked the organisation to revisit the mandate and explore more medical equipment which could be indigenously developed by the lab. "Prasad said that healthcare was a major focus area of the Modi government and encouraged the team to focus more on field," a senior officer said. Prasad also asked the the research institute to work towards potential solutions to cyber security issues. Headquartered in IIT Powai, SAMEER also focuses on interdiscipli

Nivolumab and cabozantinib outperform everolimus in advanced RCC

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Nivolumab and cabozantinib, used separately as monotherapy, offer a survival benefit over everolimus in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after failure of first-line anti-VEGF therapy, according to the results of two late-breaking phase III trials presented at the European Cancer Congress (ECC) 2015 in Vienna, Austria. The CheckMate 025 study randomized 821 patients with advanced RCC, who had failed one or two previous anti-VEGF therapies, to receive nivolumab or everolimus until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. [ ECC 2015, abstract 3LBA ;  N Engl J Med  2015, doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1510665 ] “This is the first phase III study to demonstrate a survival benefit with an immune checkpoint inhibitor vs current standard treatment in previously treated advanced RCC,” said lead investigator Professor Padmanee Sharma of the MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, US. “Importantly, the primary endpoint of overall survival [OS] met the prespecified criterion fo

All-India test opens up for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

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The Telangana government has written to the Centre, seeking approval to join the national pool, and the AP government is set to follow suit soon.   However, since it requires amendment to Article 371(D) in Parliament, it may take time, and both governments expect the national pool to come into force from 2017-18, if not from the ensuing 2016-17.   Besides, the state governments also have the obligation to effect changes in the admission policy only for the fresh batch of Inter students who have taken admissions this year, 2015-16 , and who will complete their two-year course in 2016-17, so that they can apply for the new test in 2017-18.   “Telangana state government is in favour of the national pool, since it will throw up more opportunities for our students in medical colleges across the country. At present, our students are denied a chance to pursue medical courses in some of the best medical colleges of the country due to Article 371(D). We are awaiting a positive

Bihar gets 12th pass as new Health Minister

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A Class 9 “walkout” and an IPL player as Deputy Chief Minister; an automobile fan and a motorcycle-showroom owner as Health Minister. That was how some saw them. Many others in the crowd at Gandhi Maidan saw them as the two faces of the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s future, the Yadav brothers flanked by their parents Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, both former chief ministers but both looming large from the wings. As Tejashwi Yadav, 26, and his elder brother Tej Pratap, 27, bent to touch the feet of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, it marked the beginning of two political journeys that will be watched very closely as Nitish begins his third term. Critics called it a we-told-you-so moment, Lalu has foisted his two sons on Nitish, given one of them the No. 2 job no less. And ministries — PWD to Tejashwi, Health to Tej — that lie at the very heart of his “vikaas mandate”. RJD leaders, however, are sure this marks a break from the past. Tejashwi is projected by his party as an “articulate

Student Death In NIT Durgapur Allegedly Due To Medical Negligence

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Medical Unit-cum-Hospital at NIT Durgapur Editor’s Note:   A fourth year student of Electrical Engineering at NIT Durgapur, Prosenjit Sarkar, died on Wednesday night (18th November, 2015), on campus. Students of NIT Durgapur claim that his death was due to medical negligence. Below is a  statement  brought out by the Students’ Gymkhana of NIT Durgapur : The unfortunate demise of Prosenjit Sarkar has brought to light the pitiable condition of college medical unit and its staff. Prosenjit was feeling severe headache for the past two days. Being unable to complete his semester paper on Wednesday morning, he admitted himself to the medical unit (MU) of NIT Durgapur (which claims to have 24 hours medical service) at 2 PM where the Doctor didn’t arrive till 5 PM. The nurse on duty gave him sleeping and headache pills and three bottles of saline. After repeated pleas from his friends to keep him under medical observation due to his inability to walk properly, a doctor was summoned w

Govt. prioritizes International Health Regulations

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International Health Regulations (IHR) is working upon highlighting the roles played by various sectors that focuses on building capacities at state level, particularly for hospital preparedness, infection control and surge capacity. Signaling strong commitment to IHR, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the WHO Country Office organized a national consultation on strengthening intersectoral coordination for IHR (2005) and Points of Entry in Goa. Anshu Prakash, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health, in his address emphasized that pathogens do not recognize political boundaries and hence move across countries. "IHR are an instrument for the world to have a robust protocol for prevention, reporting, information sharing and preparedness. India is committed to becoming IHR compliant in 2016. The Goa meeting is an important step toward this goal," he added. The government has prioritized the implementation of IHR as it moves towards full comp

AIIMS to develop cheaper cancer drugs with French Foundation

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AIIMS in collaboration with France-based FAM-Medical Academy Foundation and the French Embassy in India have decided to develop cheaper cancer and cardiovascular drugs. Also, an exchange programme for researchers of both the countries to learn from each other in the fields of infection and neurological diseases will be initiated. "France and India share a long tradition of cooperation in sciences and technology based on more than 60 years of history. The exchange research programme will help in finding the possible advanced treatments in the field of cardiovascular and neurological treatment," said Jean Marie, President of FAM, addressing media. "This conclave has given us an opportunity to gain an insight into the medical development and innovations which shall prove to be mutually beneficial," said AIIMS Director M C Mishra. The two countries have jointly developed a new anti-fertility medicine which is likely to be sold at a cheaper rate in

Five majors announce Project ĀSMĀN to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in India

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ASMAN - Alliance for Saving Mothers and Newborns The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MSD in India (through its MSD for Mothers programme), Reliance Foundation, Tata Trusts and USAID join hands to form first-of-its-kind Continuum of Care Health Alliance, which aims to create a model for future private sector engagement with national and sub-national governments by establishing synergies with existing government strategies NEW DELHI: Project ĀSMĀN, a major healthcare initiative aimed at reducing infant, neonatal and maternal mortality in India was launched today by a consortium of leading private and development sector partners. The initiative is an alliance between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , MSD India (through its MSD for Mo thers programme), Reliance Foundation , Tata Trusts and the United States Agency for International Development ( USAID ). Project ĀSMĀN will work towards facilitating the availability of quality healthcare under the five pilla