New Delhi: Indian Medical Association (IMA) has three problems with the government's plan to create a special cadre of rural doctors through a truncated MBBS course. However, IMA’s objection to the rural MBBS course is being overruled by the health ministry. The health ministry has refused to yield to its pressure and will push ahead on the subject as per their earlier plans. According to a top health ministry official, a seven-member delegation of the IMA met Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and apprised him of their reservations over plans for the rural doctors' course.
The IMA is the top doctors' association in the country. According to a senior health ministry official, IMA has following three problems with the plan - IMA want to call the new medical institutions for rural doctors as 'schools' and not colleges, as planned by the ministry. Second, it is also opposed to naming these four-year courses as degrees. IMA wants these to be called diplomas and not degrees, as a normal MBBS course is of five-year duration. In addition, the doctors' association also wants a separate registration for these rural doctors. However, the health minister has rejected their demands.
According to the official, Mr Azad listened to their problems patiently, but told them that there is no conflict of interest with the regular doctors. The changes as demanded by the IMA will not be incorporated. Azad has often raised the issue of shortage of doctors in India. He mentioned that a whopping 80 percent of the doctors are serving just 20 percent of the population. The doctor-patient ratio is not encouraging and reiterated that there is a need for more doctors in villages. Therefore, it has planned to introduce Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC), popularly called Rural MBBS, which is a four-year course for rural students who will work in health sub-centres and primary health care centres.
