5 days ago
Telangana-JUDA raises concern over integration of MBBS, BAMS courses
HYDERABAD: Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) has expressed concerns over the central government's initiative to introduce a new integrated medical course combining MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) and BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry.
The integrated course, which was announced by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and AYUSH (Independent Charge), Prataprao Jadhav on January 29, aims to integrate Allopathy and Ayurveda in medical education. The formulation of the integrated syllabus is underway.
The T-JUDA members called the move regressive and unscientific and termed it as 'Mixopathy'. The association president J Isaac Newton said that this decision would undermine patients' rights by stripping them of their freedom to choose their preferred system of care and would increase the risk of producing inadequately trained, hybrid qualified quacks, who will lack expertise in either discipline.
The doctors stated that similar attempts to blend modern medicine with traditional medicine had failed in countries like China and that India should not follow the flawed model, as the country already has its own robust healthcare framework.
The members further added that there is no scientific rationale or benefit for public health and that the decision would impair both modern medicine and Ayurveda.
The association urged for immediate withdrawal of the proposal and to maintain the autonomy of each discipline. They also stressed that the government must engage transparently with the medical fraternity as well as the public before implementing any major transformative change in the healthcare system.