PG Times

The BJP government has begun work on a major overhaul of the Medical Council of India as it looks to create more medical colleges and produce more doctors to cater to growing healthcare needs. Sources said during a review meeting of the health sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the health ministry had discussed the option of even scrapping the country's apex medical education regulator which has been shrouded in controversy in recent years. Although sources ruled out such a drastic meas- ure, the government has set up a three-member committee to prepare a blueprint to revamp the current setup. The high-powered committee has Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya, PM's additional principal secretary P K Mishra and Niti Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant as members. Sources said that at the meeting it was pointed out that the MCI is one of the major stumbling blocks towards a faster expansion, especially when it comes to ensuring quality educa...

The government plans to offer more choices for contraceptives, even as it asserted that the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in most states have come down. When asked about the government’s measures to ensure balanced population growth in the country, health minister JP Nadda told the Rajya Sabha: “The government is now expanding the basket of choice for contraceptives to cater to the unmet need for contraception prevailing in the country.” During the Question Hour, Nadda said India was a signatory to the ICPD Declaration of 1994 which advocates target-free approach and honouring of reproductive rights of couples to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children. Nadda also said the TFR in 24 states has reached around the 2.1 level where the population stabilises, but in states like UP and Bihar it was still over 3. He said the decadal growth rate of population has declined significantly from 21.54% between 1991-2001 to 17.64% during 2001-11. Nadda s...

Guest article by Dr. Savinay Kapur Hello folks. When I was preparing for Post Graduate exams, I felt the need for some proper guidance as to how to go about reading, what to read, from where to read and so on and so forth. I would constantly bug my seniors, teachers at my coaching institutes and practically anyone else I could get my hands on for the same! I have repeatedly been asked the same ever since I cleared the November 2012 PG entrances. My personal belief is that everybody reads, but the difference between those who get selected and those who don’t is that the former know what to read and how to read it. So this is my attempt at making things a little simpler for those who are preparing for Post Graduate entrances. First, a small little introduction is in order- I’m Dr. Savinay Kapur and my ranks in the November 2012 entrances were 41st in AIIMS and 5th in PGI. I am currently pursuing M.D. Radiodiagnosis at PGIMER, Chandigarh. I graduated from AIIMS and completed my ...

Guest article by Dr. Sumit Seth Introduction: This book ("Review of Forensic Medicine") has been written to inculcate students with a robust study technique called Retro-Analysis. Retro-Analysis ensures active learning and builds up “cognitive muscles” that help students separate confuzers (incorrect choices that resemble the correct answers) from correct answers, thereby providing the fundamental skills required for taking any multiple choice exam successfully. The One-Two-One Sandwich Regime: The best way to study this book, or any subject, is to follow this highly rewarding study regime, where Retro-Analysis plays a central role. A student should study each topic, chapter, or module in three stages, creating a “sandwich” formation in terms of assigned time, where the ratio presents the sequence 1:2:1 for steps I, II and III, as described below: I. First Stage– Anterograde Reading, a first sequential reading of the text. II. Second Stage– Retrograde Analysi...

The scathing indictment of Medical Council of India (MCI) which regulates medical education and professional practice, by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Health, was long overdue. Health matters to everybody and no matter how much money government spends on this sector, much of it will be wasted if we have too few doctors, huge regional imbalances in their distribution and serious question marks on the quality of their medical education. Blaming MCI for “total system failure” in the medical education system, the 31-member parliamentary committee, in its 92nd report, has rightly called for restructuring it altogether by junking the “outdated” 1956 legislation that governs it, and asking for a new law “at the earliest”. The report’s findings are alarming. First, India has far fewer doctors than the WHO recommended minimum doctor population ratio of 1:1000. Second, six states with 31% of the population account for 58% of MBBS seats, while eight states with 46% of Indians have jus...

Guest article by Dr. Devesh Mishra ( NOTE:- May -AIIMS will be expected to have more image based MCQs ,so keep your focus on “Image Based MCQs” and related concepts. ) ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ● First of all try to observe latest 5 years MCQs of AIIMS. (Just for observation and planning before you start, so that you can understand their pattern and while studying you can focus on those TOPICS/concepts.) ■ Try to focus on ALL INDIA/AIIMS/PGI EXAM 10 yrs. MCQ with explanation and revise it regularly for 3 to 5 times (best method of preparation). ■ More detail study of recent 5 years MCQ will be better approach. (CAUTION:- It is preferable to prepare like this and read MCQ references from your text books also ( NOTE--- read only that particular topic and heading not entire chapter) ■ Read/ search controversial points from standard text books only. ■ This method will keep your focus on important topics and you will not be distracted ). ■ Don’t get panic about AIIMS- exam pattern. ...

Doctors who have gained admission in postgraduate and post-doctoral courses in West Bengal through all-India quota have threatened to move court against the 3-years bond in West Bengal. Currently candidates have to sign a bond of working for at least three years in superspeciality hospitals in West Bengal after passing their exams, failing which they have to pay rupees thirty lakhs as penalty. Doctors have termed this bond as discriminatory and have questioned its validity. আদালত দেখাচ্ছেন ডাক্তারেরা, প্রমাদ গুনছে প্রশাসন সেবার শপথ নেওয়ার পাশাপাশি কিছু শর্ত মেনে বন্ড বা মুচলেকাও দিতে হয় ডাক্তারি পড়ুয়াদের। স্নাতকোত্তর মেডিক্যালের পড়ুয়াদের সেই বন্ডের বাঁধন আরও আঁটোসাঁটো করায় শুরু হয়েছে শোরগোল। আর সেই শোরগোলেরও পিছনে আছে সুপার স্পেশ্যালিটি হাসপাতাল। আরও নির্দিষ্ট করে বললে এর কারণ আসলে পরিকাঠামো না-গড়েই জেলায় জেলায় সুপার স্পেশ্যালিটি হাসপাতাল চালু করতে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের শশব্যস্ততা। পরিকাঠামোর অভাব বলতে ডাক্তারের ঘাটতিটাই বড় হয়ে উঠছে। মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর প...