2 years on, rural course yet to take off

Aug 15, 2012 - TEENA THACKER |

Age Correspondent

New Delhi

While the Medical Council of India (MCI) claims to be giving final touches to the curriculum of bachelor of rural health care course (BRHCC) that was envisaged two years ago, the major bone of contention between the regulatory body and the health ministry — officials say — is its regulation.
In their recent meeting with the health ministry, the regulatory body had proposed the government to either create a new regulatory council for notifying the course or link it with the health science universities.
The experts working on the curriculum of the course have also suggested changing the name of the course to B.Sc community health, with a recommendation that the new cadre be trained to provide only “ambulatory care”, which means training to be imparted in OPD care and no in-patient healthcare. Citing that the course will no more remain a doctorate course the MCI has washed off it hands from notifying the course already.
“Amendments will be required in the Indian Medical Council Act in case the MCI is asked to notify the course. While, various options have been given to the government, they are likely to a decision in this context soon as even the Delhi court has given six weeks to finalise the curriculum of the course The major content of the course has already been approved by the government, only some minor alterations which are to be incorporated in the curriculum,” said a senior official.
The committee had also suggested that states should have a major say adopting the course with the newly-proposed cadre trained in public health, vaccination, therapeutic medicine. The duration of the course remains to be same as decided earlier, which was 3.5 years.
Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had earlier also accused the MCI for not clearing the unified syllabus for the rural MBBS course mooted by his ministry to tackle doctors scarcity in villages across the country. The course would create professionals above the level of paramedics and below the level of MBBS doctors.

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