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‘Medicos should pay attention to clinic sessions’

For the young medicos who just joined the five-and-a- half-year professional MBBS degree course a month ago, it is just the beginning of a long and tedious journey. A journey that calls for a professional approach, lots of hard work and dedication, p atience and loads of attitude to reach the final destination.

The basic MBBS degree is divided into four-and-a-half-year of study and one-year of internship. The study part is further segmented into 1st MBBS (one year duration), 2nd MBBS (18 months) and final MBBS (two years). The Principal of Andhra Medical College C.V. Rao says that during the study years, the students are exposed to the basic subjects of medical courses and in the one-year internship they are made to apply the theoretical knowledge on patients and observe the response of the treatment. “During the internship period, the students observe the patients from close quarters under the guidance of a senior faculty member,” says he.

Giving details on the basic subjects, the Principal of AMC informed that during the initial two-and-a-half years the students are taught the basic subjects like human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, microbiology and pathology. During the final MBBS period, the students are made to learn a few basic clinical subjects like ENT, general surgery, orthopaedic, gynaecology and preventive medicine.

Today, even a common man goes to a specialist for a general treatment. In such a scenario, it is difficult to survive with a mere MBBS degree. Dr. Rao says that the preparation for the PG courses should start from the day one in the undergraduate level. “During the first year itself, a student develops a taste or fondness for a speciality area and by the time they reach the internship stage they should make up their mind.”

There are 32 medical colleges in AP, out which 11 are under the government. The PG courses are available only in 8 government colleges and a few private colleges. This crunches the seat matrix to a few only. Over 3,000 attempt the exams for about 1,000 odd PG seats. “So to get the desired branch in PG, one has tune oneself from the very beginning. One has to be very strong in the basic subjects as the PG entrance examination that is conducted by the NTR University of Health Sciences gives a lot of emphasis on the basics. The last six months during the internship should be dedicated for reviewing and revising the basic subjects,” opined he.

The medicine branch radio diagnosis leads the order of preference in the PG level followed by general medicine, paediatrics and gynaecology. Orthopaedics leads in the surgical area.

Unlike other professional courses like engineering, the journey in medicine is a long one. Now the demand is for super speciality after PG. And by the time one completes a super speciality at one go, the time frame extends to 11-and-a-half years. The total number of super specialty seats in AP is around 30. The courses are offered only by a few colleges like Osmania Medical College, AMC, Gandhi Medical College, NIMS and SVIMS. The super specialty areas under medicine are cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, endocrinology, neurology and medical oncology, while neuro-surgery, urology, paediatric surgery, plastic surgery, cardio thoracic surgery and surgical oncology under the surgical area.

“To be a successful medical professional, the plans for PG have to start from the first day during MBBS and the idea for super specialty has to be sown on the day one after taking up the PG course. That’s the order of the day,” says Dr. Rao.

The pattern of study for medical professional differs from any other course. Integrated teaching methodology and frequent seminars are part and parcel of the teaching schedule. “Application of subject knowledge to the disease process is very important. Being a bookworm would not serve the purpose. Students should pay a lot of attention to the clinic sessions. This is the most important part of medicine study. The stronger you are in clinical learning the better would be your professional life. As far as attitude is concerned, have empathy and sympathy towards your patients and build a professional relationship,” advises Dr. Rao.

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