Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 |
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Bangalore
By Our Staff Reporter
BANGALORE, JAN. 25. Your friendly local family physician could one day be forced to close down his clinic. The reason: he may not find another "family doctor" to take over the practice. In a world where a doctor is known by his or her "specialisation," medical graduates today prefer to give the non-glamorous job of family physician the go by. Besides, the ones who do opt for the job do so only reportedly because they do not get seats in any other medical speciality. This trend has worried the Federation of Family Physicians' Association of India (FFPAI) so much that it has decided to fight and so, save what it believes is the noblest tradition of all.
Awareness
For starters, the association believes awareness is key. "People must realise that 90 per cent of all illnesses and diseases can be cured by the general physician. That, if such patients go to a hospital for treatment, they will be charged four times as much," the doctors say. Another approach is through education. As of now, FFPAI has 42 branches across the country and 15,000 members, of which over 600 come from Bangalore. Today, those wanting to become family physicians go through a three-year DNB diploma from the National Board of Examinations but the association believes the course has to be shortened and innovatively taught.
Discussions
The Karnataka branch of FFPAI is holding talks with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences for a two-year Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Family Medicine programme. "The University is now processing our suggested syllabus," says Srinath Herur, a past president of the Family Planning Association (FPA)-Bangalore. The association also plans a postgraduate diploma in family medicine from the Indira Gandhi Open University as it already runs PG correspondence courses in Hospital Administration and Mother and Child Health.
Conference
To tell people about these innovations, a three-day national convention of family physicians is being held at the Jnana Jyothi Convention Centre, Central College, from January 28. The FPA-Bangalore, which is hosting the event, expects 1,500 delegates to attend, including some from abroad. On the inaugural day, there will be a free health check-up camp at the venue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. And from 5 p.m., there will be free lectures on tuberculosis, AIDS, heart disease and other subjects.
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