Monday, November 10, 2008
At a very modest function last month at Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, Health Minister MRK Panneerselvam handed over admission letters to 15 candidates taking up three M.Sc. basic medical sciences courses — microbiolgy, anatomy and physiology.

The event turned out to be a significant milestone in medical education in the State, and possibly even the country. A key concern for medical educationists in the country has been the dearth of faculty in basic medical, non-clinical sciences such as microbiology, anatomy and physiology.


In both the government and private sector, teachers with such qualifications are hard to come by. In the government sector, where salaries are not comparable with the private sector, the burden is heavier.

“There is a scarcity of teachers for these basic medical sciences all over the country. It is the same in Tamil Nadu as well. But we are trying all methods to address the issue by increasing the number of trained people in these areas,” V.K. Subburaj, Health Secretary, said.

Recently the government recruited 61 people trained in these subjects at Dr. A.L.Mudaliar Post-Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences as faculty for its medical colleges.

The government has also wooed retired professors to re-join for duty on a consolidated pay model, in order to overcome the intense shortage, Mr. Subburaj said. Dr. ALMPGIBMS, which is affiliated to the University of Madras, used to conduct courses for basic medical sciences until recently when the university took over the task.

Meer Mustafa Hussain, vice-chancellor, says the former Chief Secretary L.K.Tripathy has conducted a meeting to discuss the serious shortage of staff and advised the university to take steps to increase the number of trained staff capable of teaching.

The university also decided to start three-year M.Sc programmes in Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry and allot five seats each for the three courses. Candidates with a basic degree in any of the life sciences, dentistry and physiotherapy can apply.

“After graduation, these students have a great well-paying career lined up ahead of them. Some of them can even earn more than those on the clinical side,” Dr. Hussain added. It is important for medical graduates to have a strong grounding in the basic medical sciences, he said.

Mr. Subburaj said the intention is to increase the number of seats in these courses over a period of time in order to turn out more trained people capable of handling basic medical sciences in the MBBS degree courses.