Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Rural service

The Union Health Ministry’s proposal to make one year of rural service compulsory for students of medicine is welcome. Medicos oppose it because a great majority of them hail from urban areas and are generally reluctant to serve in villages; the extension of the course by another year will make the total period of study six-and-a-half years which is too long; and no modern facilities are available in villages.

Can we not allot a percentage of seats for students hailing from villages (within the framework of existing reservation) and make three years’ rural service compulsory for them after MBBS? They can be provided decent accommodation attached to the primary health centres with all modern facilities.

K.P. Sanal Kumar,

Chennai

The existing system is unable to churn out end products that can confidently treat common ailments. Doctors are therefore afraid of independent practice in rural areas. The purpose of rural service will not be served by posting neophytes to villages. In fact it will be an ordeal for the patients as well as doctors.

The time of medical students will be better spent and the community better served if they are trained as good general practitioners who can confidently handle common problems and can work independently anywhere.

M. Radha Krishna Murty,

Rajahmundry

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