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Traditional and alternative therapies and practices need to be made part of modern medical education
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
October 18 , 2022
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Traditional and alternative therapies and practices need to be made part of modern medical education, or the basics of medical education should contain all the syllabi of modern as well as traditional systems to bring all branches of medical sciences under one umbrella, opines a new school of thought that gradually rises up among medical and paramedical professionals working in the health sector.
They argue that the diagnostic methods of diseases in all treatment systems are almost the same though slight differences are there in allopathy due to scientific analysis and laboratory tests. But the medical practitioners’ primary objective is to cure the disease or find out the causes of diseases and bring back the patients to the condition of good health. So, irrespective of any difference in systems, the students of medical sciences should learn the treatment systems of traditional and of modern together as part of their education, says Adepu Rajendra Prasad, a part of the new school of thought and an Ayurveda drug manufacturer with allopathic background in Andhra Pradesh.
While speaking to Pharmabiz in the backdrop of FSSAI’s clarification on the definition of ‘degree in medicine’ and the consequent responses of Ayurveda doctors, he said a new school of thought is emerging in the field of medical sciences in India and it has originated from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh where a lot of modern and traditional practitioners agree on one point that students of medical science should mandatorily study the basics of both the systems in their graduation level. According to him, the syllabus of the course should mandate the student to select any one stream of the Ayush, such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy, as a subsidiary paper. For specialization in the post-graduation, they can opt for which system they prefer most. Highlighting the new philosophy of medical education, he says that his viewpoint is propped up by several experts in the field of modern and ancient medical sciences. The body of scholars and medical intellectuals will assemble on a common platform to highlight this idea into the national level.
Adepu R Prasad is a post-graduate in pharmaceutical chemistry (M Pharm) and worked in the drug production department at the Sri Srinivasa Ayurveda Pharmacy at Thirupati Devasthanam in AP for more than 30 years. He said he is advocating for Ayurveda medicines for his findings that some good drugs and therapies are there in the traditional system for healing several diseases. But, in the case of critical cases, modern medicine and treatment methods are advisable. If all the two systems are combined into one syllabus, the budding medical professionals will get an idea about the healing method that existed traditionally in the country and the new one that originated in the modern period. Further they will have the option to select one for specialization in their PG level.
“A change in the syllabus pattern will make a change in the attitude of modern doctors towards traditional systems. Compulsory learning of traditional treatment methods will help the students to know more about the therapies prevailed in the country and elsewhere. This will help to bring down the disregard and negligence being showed towards Ayurveda or Siddha systems by the modern doctors, and medical graduates will be one and the same in standards and recognition”, he opines by adding that the thinkers of this philosophy will have a national discussion on the subject very soon.
Welcoming the new school of thought, the general secretary of AMMOI, Dr. D Ramanathan from Kerala said if such a syllabi is framed on the concurrence of all stakeholders it will open up a new age in the history of Indian medical education.
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