Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Medicine in IITs: Health ministry to brainstorm

Will Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) soon start producing doctors? The health ministry is meeting on Tuesday to decide.

Health secretary K Sujatha Rao has called a meeting of top ministry honchos, directors of medical institutes and chairmen of medical councils on Tuesday to ascertain whether allowing institutes like IITs to teach medicine will "help medical education or dilute its quality".

This will be the first major meeting to discuss the issue.

Those called to attend include directors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, PGI (Chandigarh), Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute (Lucknow), JIPMER, NIMHANS, National Institute of Communicable Diseases, National Institute of Paramedical Sciences and principal of CMC Vellore.

Chairmen of the Medical Council and the Nursing Council of India will also attend the meeting along with eminent doctors like Dr Ranjit Roychoudhury, Dr Devi Shetty, Dr Anupam Sibal and cardiologist Dr K Srinath Reddy, who is also chairman of the National Board of Examinations.

The all important meeting will discuss three major issues: whether IITs be allowed to start MBBS course, how to create the National Council for Human Resource in Health (NCHRH) — the overarching regulatory body that would replace the existing Medical, Dental, Nursing and Pharma Councils of India — and how to reduce shortage of medical personnel in India.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/TNN15iittimCleared-by-Suchit-2040-----------/articleshow/5577220.cms

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