c m y b

c m y b

All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhiwww.aiims.edu

Course: MBBS

Seats: 75

USP: India’s top-ranked medicalinstitute operates autonomouslyunder the Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare.

Dayanand Medical College & Hospital Ludhianawww.dmch.edu.in

Seats: 70

USP: The college includes some of thenotable Intensive Care Units andsurgical facilities.

Christian Medical CollegeLudhianawww.cmcludhiana. org

Seats: 50

Course: MBBS

USP: Since 1894, the college hasmaintained its reputation

Govt Medical College and HospitalChandigarhwww.gmch.gov.in

Course: MBBS

Seats: 50

USP: State-of- the-art medicalinstitution attached to a 686-bedhospital

Government Medical CollegeAmritsarwww.gmc.edu.in

Courses: MBBS

Seats: MBBS: 150

USP: One of the oldest in the region.

Government Medical CollegePatialawww.gmcpatiala.com

Seats: MBBS 100

USP: Attached with it, Rajindrahospital + 161 beds TB hospital isone of the largest health institutionsin the region

DENTAL COLLEGESH S Judge Institute of Dental Sciences & HospitalPU, Chandigarhdentalsciences.puchd.ac.in

Course: BDS

Seats: 100

USP: Expansive 5-acre campus

Government Dental CollegeAmritsarwww.mapsofindia.com Amritsar

Seats: 40

USP: The 55 year-old college has maximum number of OPDs in comparison to other privatecolleges.

Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Dental Science and ResearchAmritsarwww.sgrddental.org

Seats: 60

(Based on selected lists from India Today, Outlook and other surveys)

Medicalcolleges

TOP

Dr Paramvir Singh Mangat

WITH over 35,000 students passingout each year from over 300 col-leges, the gap between the num-ber of MBBS doctors requiredand available is widening each

year. Each year thousands of bright stu-dents take the medical entrance test withthe dreams of becoming a doctor. Many par-ents, too, would love to achieve this careerambition for their children. Even thoughthe students nurse an ambition to become adoctor and work towards it from Class Xonwards, it has been observed that most ofthem have a very vague idea of the practicalside of this profession. The sad part is thatparents, too, have little idea of the profes-sion. Unless they themselves are doctors, orhave someone from the profession in thefamily, the information they have is verysketchy. For many parents it is a proxy ful-filling of ambitions. So, in a majority of cas-es this career is chosen between confusedkids and parents with their own agendas.For most, it is an achievement, and a reaffir-mation of their intelligence and talent —like scaling a mountain. However, what theydo not understand is that they cannot get offthis peak, as it is a path to which they haveto stay committed for the rest of their lives.

What you give…It is important to go into any professionwith one’s eyes open — one should knowwhat the profession demands, and what itgives. The medical profession involves along gestation period, with a basic MBBScourse which is five-and-a-half years long.The course is information intensive, andacademically demanding, and that is whymost medical students do not have the lux-ury of enjoying breaks and free time, whichis part of many other professional courses.

In today’s world most medical graduatesneed a post graduation degree or specialisa-tion to survive. This comes in after thebasic course, with another highly competi-tive entrance exam. It takes three years todo a speciality course, after which one caneither do private practice or join an academ-ic institution. Getting super specialisation,for example in cardiology, means anotherentrance test, and another three years. Sofirst qualification: be ready to study for longyears, and settle late in life.

The knowledge in the medical field isgrowing by leaps and bounds, and no one inthis profession can survive without readingto keep up with the latest in the area ofinterest. So that brings us to the seconddemand — a lifelong affair with books, jour-nals and research papers.

Many youngsters hear about top surgeonsand other doctors making pots of money,and this becomes a goal. If money is onesambition, there are many other professionswhere one can earn it much more easily,and much less guiltily. In fact, money willbe the worst motive for anyone to join thisprofession, as it may erode ethics, which isthe foundation of the profession.

What you get...A doctor is respected by people in all walks oflife. Even in today’s money-minded scenario,the public image of a medical man as some-one who saves lives is unsullied. A doctor’sknowledge and sincerity does make a hugedifference to the lives of his patients andbrings in tremendous job satisfaction to him.There are many occasions to rejoice, whenpatients go home happy and eternallygrateful. The patient trusts the doctorwith his most valuable possession —himself. This is a humbling privilege, notexperienced in any other profession.

Approval for 10,000 more MBBS seats from 2014 will not only bridge the gap inthe doctor-patient ratio, but will also give a chance to more students to make theirdream of entering this profession a reality

What the Doctor Orders

THE PERFECT PRESCRIPTION: SAVING LIVES AND CONSTANTLY UPGRADING KNOWLEDGE IS WHAT MAKES A DOCTOR’S TASK CHALLENGING

FRIDAY | APRIL 18 | 2014 13THE TRIBUNE GUIDE TO BEST COLLEGES Medical

In need of the healing touchIronically, while the country has thelargest number of medical colleges in theworld and is blinking brightly on theradar of medical tourism destination allover the world, the doctor:patient ratio isa dismal 1:2000. The number of doctorspassing out each year is not enough to ful-fill the healthcare needs of the teemingmillions in our country and the education-al institutions need to gear up to increaseintake. Recently the Cabinet Committeeon Economic Affairs gave approval for10,000 more MBBS seats in collegesacross the country which is likely tobridge the gap to some extent in the nextfew years. The key challenges of medicaleducation are a poor accreditationprocess, lack of skilled faculty, curriculumwith inconsequential detail, complicatednature of the selection process, etc. Lack

of proper induction for first yearstudents as well as lack of practical

exposure are some of the challengesthat students can expect in their jour-ney of becoming “healers” .

Institute watchThe choice of the right institute is para-mount and a large number of students grap-ple with this after getting through theentrance exams. Choosing between a gov-ernment or a private institute is a major issuefor medical aspirants. Government collegeshave experienced faculty and an establishedreputation. Besides the fee is also very less ascompared to that in the private colleges. Gov-ernment institutes have standard equip-ment and a well-established method ofteaching and as students are admitted onmerit basis, one has a healthy competitiveenvironment there. Along with this the gov-ernment institutes also score a point in pro-viding more practical experience to the stu-dents as the number of patients visiting theattached hospitals is much more than thosein private hospitals. And this is a well estab-lished fact that students graduating fromgovernment set ups score better when itcomes to job placements or specialised train-ing (MD/MS) within or outside the country.

As for the private colleges they strivefor improvement and introduce new fea-

tures to gain reputation. So students getexposure to the latest equipment andtreatment methods there. The facultydepends on the college and can vary sig-nificantly from one institute to another.Several private colleges have establisheda name for themselves by providingstate-of-the-art infrastructure, better stu-dent-teacher ratio, and experienced fac-ulty besides having state-of-the-art cam-pus and hostel facilities.

Medicine is not a course but a calling. Andif one goes into it, with the right attitude,and a mind to serve, one can lead a very use-ful and personally satisfying life. So thoseyoung people, who have these ambitions inmind, are most welcome to join the club!

— The writer is Registrar/ Senior Resident, Department of General Surgery, PGIMER, Chandigarh and Vice-President,

Association of Resident doctors

Dental scienceIndia is a hot destination to get that perfectsmile at a fraction of cost compared tomany other parts of the world. Dentistry isone of the most desirable professionstoday. This career offers high wages and aflexible work schedule. You also get theopportunity to be your own boss if youchoose to start your own practice

This profession deals with the inspectionand treatment of teeth, gums and otherparts of the oral cavity. A dentist takes careof problems affecting the teeth. Commonprocedures are removal, correction andreplacement of decayed, damaged or lostteeth. However, this career profile ischanging rapidly, creating manyopportunities and challenges for students.

Dentistry as a profession has become moredemanding and because of its promisingnature, a lot of young aspirants are enteringthis profession. Government colleges areusually a preferred destination for studying,though the number of seats available thereis limited, as is the number of colleges in

comparison to private institutions.

The Bachelor of Dental Science (BDS)degree programme is a five-year coursethat is divided into four parts each of one-year duration followed by a year ofinternship. The Dental Council of Indiaregisters those who have completed theBDS to practice dentistry. After completionof this degree, many graduates choose tojoin a government hospital to get hands-onexperience.

A BDS degree alone is not consideredenough to succeed in this profession so

you will have to go for a Master of Dental

Science (MDS). Continuous education is an

integral and an essential part of this profile.

You have to keep participating in education

programmes based on your specialisation

throughout your career. You simply can’t

escape this aspect no matter whether you

are a new entrant or have spent 40 years in

practice.

Upgrading of knowledge is required, even in

order to renew your licence to practice on an

annual basis. It's is also important to be

aware of the developments in the medical

field and pharmaceuticals.

You can also pursue various certificate and

diploma courses to upgrade and update

your knowledge in this field.

Some upcoming specialisation are:

Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial

Pathology, Oral Surgery, Orthodontics,

Pedodontics, Periodontics and

Prosthodontics.

A REASON TO SMILE

REGION’S STATISTICSWhen it comes to health education in Punjab, thestate has a separate university for health andmedical related education — Baba Farid University ofHealth Sciences. All institutions for medicaleducation in Punjab are affiliated to this university.Punjab has 10 MBBS colleges. Three of thesecolleges are offering education under the control ofGovernment of Punjab and the remaining sevencolleges are functioning under the ownership ofdifferent trusts in Punjab. The total intake capacity ofthe 10 MBBS colleges functioning in Punjab is 1,145seats of which 350 seats are in the governmentcolleges. Dayanand Medical College and Hospital,Ludhiana, Government Medical College, Patiala,Christian Medical College, Ludhiana and GovernmentMedical College, Amritsar are among the top collegesin the state. Haryana has five colleges for MBBSdegree and total number of seats is around 550 withPt. B.D. Sharma, PGIMS, Rohtak, Bhagat Phool SinghGovt. Medical College for Women, Khanpur Kalan,Sonepat and M.M. Medical College, Mullana Ambalabeing the top choices for medical aspirants in thestate. There are two MBBS colleges in HimachalPradesh and these two colleges are running underthe control of the state government. These are Dr.Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tandaand Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. Each ofthese colleges are approved with an intake capacityof 100 students per year for the MBBS courseaccording to the norms of the Medical Council ofIndia. Chandigarh has one college with an intake of100 students each year.

P_13.qxd 4/15/2014 11:41 PM Page 1