Homeopathy Education

Specific Proposals for AYUSH Education in the 12th Plan

2011-10-13T00:06:00.000-07:00

1. Training of Trainers (ToT) for AYUSH Faculty

2. Training for Principals of AYUSH Institutions in Educational Management

3. Training of AYUSH Hospital Superintendents in Clinical Leadership

i. What is the context of proposed programs/schemes? (Mention gaps, magnitude of the problem, issues that need to be focused upon, challenges, potential solutions and their limitations related to programs/schemes)

Training of Trainers (ToT) for AYUSH Faculty

Teachers of AYUSH Sector are selected from a pool of postgraduates in the relevant discipline. This ensures that the selected teachers have some degree of authority in their subject speciality. This procedure, however doesn’t guarantee that those who are selected have proficiency in teaching; because educational techniques are not a customary component of postgraduate syllabus in any of the AYUSH sector. Therefore, these ‘teachers’ may not be sensitised to the various basic norms of teaching and student evaluation.

To rectify this gap, it is necessary to institutionalise the process of training teachers in the field of Educational Science and Technology. This can be achieved by dedicating a certain percentage of syllabus in postgraduate education for imparting knowledge and skills of teaching and evaluation. For those teachers who are already in service, there has to be a program of training in the relevant skills that are benchmarked as necessary for proficiency in teaching and evaluation of higher education.

This proposal is in tune with the experience of medical education in India. In the 1970s, the Government of India initiated an ambitious project to impart the principles of higher education to the medical teachers and align their practices to be compatible to the global standards of medical teaching. As part of this initiative, Centres for Medical Education were established. The National Teachers Training Centre at JIPMER, Puduchery and K. L. Wig Centre for Medical Education at AIIMS, New Delhi are examples of this organisation building.

Much of the reforms in medical curriculum in India emerged as a result of this ingenuity. The faculty who were the beneficiaries of this project are in the forefront of the educational reforms that are driving the Indian medical professionals as major players in the global healthcare delivery.

AYUSH education is passing through a phase, from which it has to emerge stronger and firmer in the mainstream of both national and global healthcare management. Therefore, a project that takes care of Training of Trainers for AYUSH Faculty is necessary and justified.

Training for Principals of AYUSH Institutions in Educational Management

The pace of educational change has been accelerating in the past few years. The forces of economic liberalisation and social awareness have coupled and aligned to create consumer consciousness for rights in the field of health and education services. This wave of consumer rights has heightened the demand for strong links between education and perceived needs of healthcare services of the community. Medical institutions are increasingly required to deliver students prepared to contribute to the healthcare of the society.

The documents of National Policy on Education, National Policy on Medical Education and National Policy on ISM & H, among others represent a trend towards quality in education and institutional responsibility that are hypothecated on the assumption that decisions should be made by those who best understand the needs of the students and the society. The outcomes of such initiatives include Internal Quality Assurance Cells in various universities and the constituting of National Assessment and Accreditation Council under the aegis of University Grants Commission.

AYUSH institutions serve a multidimensional role of providing educational activities and experiences for the students, healthcare services to the patients and research and development potential for the doctor and teachers. Thus, the responsibilities imposed on Principal or the academic leader of AYUSH institution place a premium on high quality management. Management of patient care or financial planning require skills that are distinct from those needed to plan and deliver the curriculum. Principals of AYUSH colleges have qualifications in AYUSH with little or no formal qualification in management discipline. They usually grow into the job over the years and some do remarkably well, while others falter along the way. The situation can be remedied to a large extent if the educational leaders are provided with awareness of theoretical concepts and their practical application in a systematic manner.

Training is a vital component in the acquisition of managerial competence as is a clear understanding of how to ensure successful implementation of change. Thus, there is a need to enhance the capacity of principals as good administrators / managers as well as instructional leaders, so that the future generations of AYUSH practitioners are imbued with confidence and competence to be torch bearers of AYUSH practice. This could be achieved by instituting a program for training principals in the principles and practice of education management.

Training of AYUSH Hospital Superintendents in Clinical Leadership

The global healthcare market is now appreciating the contemporary relevance of AYUSH. Health seeking behaviour studies suggest that a new regime of ‘Medical Pluralism’ based on inputs provided by various health care systems of the world, will govern healthcare delivery systems in modern societies.

Given the shift in consumer trends, towards pluralism and growing acceptance of AYUSH, opportunities in mainstream healthcare market for AYUSH systems are expanding. They include preventive, curative and wellness services. This new regime is creating demand for highly skilled AYUSH clinician leaders who can rub shoulders with specialists of conventional medicine in both corporate and community healthcare situations. The superintendents of the hospitals that are attached to the AYUSH institutions need to be aware of the principles that drive effective hospital management in the areas of clinical training for the students and healthcare services for the patients. Therefore, an organised program for capacity building the managerial and leadership abilities of these human resources managers is justified.

Recommendation to 12th Plan for AYUSH Sector

2011-10-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sub-Committee on Education & International Cooperation

Reply to the Terms of Reference

1. What kind of schemes are needed in 12^th FYP to strengthen and streamline UG and PG education (for eg; are more PG seats needed to be created, supported by fellowships in order to meet the shortfall of teachers?)

The AYUSH education, in the current state, is to a significant extent influenced by the medical model of curriculum. This has stunted the blooming of AYUSH academics in its natural state. Therefore, the most important step to revitalize AYUSH education is to have a rethink on the content and process of both UG and PG education.

The duration and focus of the educational programs may be approached with the performance profiling of the AYUSH doctors, who would be required to provide evidence-based healthcare in an environment that is getting increasingly complicated by many socio-economic factors and yet preserve the ideals of the individual AYUSH components.

The current structure of UG and PG education may be retained to a significant extent for the purpose of uniformity in a pluralistic educational environment, while accepting the reality for individual growth and sustenance of these disciplines.

It is estimated that the current human resource volumes of AYUSH doctors is around seven lakh in India, which is comparable to the numbers of conventional medical doctors. The numbers that would be needed to address to the future needs have to be calculated on the basis of population projections for the next fifty years and the roles that the AYUSH doctors are expected to perform during this period. Perhaps the numbers would be available with the relevant documents of Planning Commission.

In case of the undergraduate education, the number of basic AYUSH doctors that is needed can be a benchmark for deciding on the number of colleges, the admission capacity and their geographic locations. Further, the profile of Basic AYUSH Doctor can decide on the duration, content and thrust of the course.

In case of postgraduate education, the inherent strengths of each of the AYUSH system can be objectively assessed and the clinical focus areas for each may be determined. It does not matter if any of the focus areas have more than one system claiming effective performance. Whichever system has effective strength, in spite of the overlapping with another system, may be given equitable presence in those clinical focus areas.

The PG courses for each AYUSH system may be determined on the basis of their clinical focus area. The numbers of PG seats and colleges may be based on the human resource projections for each of the clinical focus areas and matching them with the community requirements.

Considering the volumes of AYUSH doctors needed for the fifty year projection, there has to be a matching upscaling of infrastructure, teachers, paramedical professionals and financial outlay. Regarding the increase of numbers of teachers, there could be some innovative strategies to harmonise the quality with quantity. For teachers of non-clinical subjects, there could be teaching based fellowship programs like MSc in Anatomy or Physiology or Biochemistry or Forensic Medicine or Community Medicine ( or equivalent disciplines to suit the inherent nature of each of the AYUSH system).

This program may provide knowledge and skills to equip teaching the undergraduate course. The teachers who hold these qualifications acquired after the basic AYUSH graduation may be treated on par with the teachers holding MD / MS of the clinical or non-clinical subjects for all purposes like recruitment, promotion, financial parity, etc.

2. Is it justified to provide one time grant in aid support by Government of India, to model UG and PG colleges? These should be colleges with track-record of high (above the average) performance. They may be government or not for profit non-govt. educational institutions in the country. Must they full-fill certain quality parameters of educational service? What should these quality parameters be (enrolment, fee structure, pass-percentage, percentage of students getting over 60%, basic clinical infrastructure, evidence of some specific innovative practice)?

If the committee believes a scheme of grant-in aid to model colleges is justified, what specific kind of infrastructure needs (eg IT infrastructure) and what specific types of non-recurring expenses (eg; visiting faculty, student fellowships) should be supported? What should be the quantum of support per institution, should this depend on student enrolment?

As a first measure, the colleges have to be classified in to something like three categories – high performing, moderately performing but with good potential and low performing.

The classification may be made on the parameters accepted and practiced by organizations like National Assessment and Accreditation Council of India or even the Educational Institutional Standards proposed by the Deming’s Institute.

The high performing institutes may be provided with rewards apart from the extra financial grants to motivate a continued high performance level. The moderately performing institutions that are having potential to improve may be provided with mentoring and incentives to perform better and reach the top bracket. The low performing institutes may be offered remedial services to move up the ladder and in case they are not showing signs of improvement against the accepted benchmarks, may be closed down.

Each college must be mandated to constitute and operationalise Internal Quality Assurance Cell to monitor the progress of learners and teachers and also the administrative, clinical, research and extension activities of the institution.

The future of education is in the technology. The stakeholders of education must have a significant literacy level in educational technology. This medium has provides the option of resource sharing even at geographic distances.

Providing appropriate technology infrastructure and linking the institutions enables not just resource sharing, but also harnessing the best practices. For example, the application of videoconferencing can provide realtime learning for the students from the best of faculty across the country. There could be a dedicated timing when interactive virtual classroom can get the assembly of a renowned teacher presenting his / her lecture for a widely distributed audience. This will also economise on time and money.

These facilities may initially start with all the National Institutes and later trickle down to the Model Colleges. In the later phase, these could extend to cover all the recognised colleges.

3. Given the need for well trained para-medics in AYUSH sector, should there be a provision in 12^th FYP to support ‘not for profit’ initiatives of new institutions be supported for designing and implementing paramedical courses? Should a necessary requirement be that such institution be affiliated to universities and the curriculum of such para-medical courses be required to be approved by the university, board of studies?

Paramedical human resources form the backbone of any healthcare service. The paramedical training as vocational course is conducted by the paramedical boards of various states. The university level qualifications in paramedical sciences like nursing, physiotherapy, operation theatre technology, perfusion technology, radiation technology, optometry, etc are conducted by both general and health universities across India. Except for the Rehabilitation Council of India, which regulates some of the paramedical courses like occupational therapy, there are no apex bodies as there are MCI, CCIM, CCH, etc. Therefore each university has evolved its own standards for these courses.

The paramedics play an equally important role in AYUSH healthcare. But there is no systematisation of their educational courses. Very often the organization that needs paramedical staff evolves its own standards, designs the course as per its requirement and conducts it in-house. Most of the times these are on-the-job-training. Thus there is no universally standardised paramedical course in AYUSH systems.

The emergence of National Rural Health Mission as a mass movement has brought into sharp focus the need for either sensitising the existing paramedics for AYUSH specialities or evolving a separate cadre of AYUSH paramedics.

It is advisable to keep the NRHM needs also in the loop while designing the AYUSH paramedic courses. There can be a separate Board that would manage these courses. This board may be under the Directorate of AYUSH of the respective states and a separate register of these paramedics may be maintained for legal purposes. As of now there seems to be no requirement and justification for the AYUSH paramedical courses at university level.

4. Should AYUSH dept. in 12^th FYP launch a new scheme to support a certain number of doctoral and post doctoral fellowships programs on the financial basis of JRFs and SRFs and Post Doctoral fellows in reputed AYUSH institution and Centres of Excellence?

Research is one of the important ‘triads of education’ along with teaching and extension services. However, this is not given the importance that it merits in the mainstream of AYUSH establishment.

Schemes to support potential research scholars in the areas of finance, infrastructure and legally have to be evolved. These schemes could be in the form of provisions made by organisations like CSIR for JRF / SRF.

Those who successfully clear the entrance tests of JRF / SRF qualifying exams may be given preference for appointments to the research projects run by or funded by the respective research councils.

Post doctoral fellowships may be awarded for exploring frontier areas of clinically relevant issues in AYUSH streams.

The scheme initiated by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to promote high quality research scholars and retain them can also be looked at as a prototype to build our own model.

5. Should the 12^th FYP support a new flexible scheme for in service ‘teacher-training in AYUSH Institutions to upgrade their knowledge and skills? Should selected teacher training centers in colleges be designated as Centers of Excellence for teachers training in specific subjects? Should the Vaidya-Scientist program (a teacher-training initative) be up-scaled?

Training of trainers in the domain of educational science and technology is a concept that has to be made more accessible and acceptable to all the teachers in AYUSH. Teaching is a highly delicate activity that has to be nurtured sufficiently so as to enable the teachers not only to have mastery in the subject that they teach, but also in the Softskills of teaching.

These Softskills include the overall view of education in the context of society, the responsibility of teachers towards students and the institution, ability to define and articulate the objectives for teaching, identifying appropriate teaching – learning method and media to realise the stated objectives, assigning appropriate evaluation methods and instruments to assess the learner competency to realise the intended learning objectives.

The teachers also need to have an understanding of educational planning process, so that they can suggest appropriate and suitable modifications to the existing courses of study. They should also be aware of the skills to motivate learners, manage discipline related issues like conflicts in the academic domains, provide leadership to their students and the other junior faculty.

Therefore, a National Campaign for Faculty Development in AYUSH Sector is an immediate necessity. In fact a proposal was sent to the AYUSH Department and the RAV in the year 2010 for a comprehensive restructuring of the RoTP in AYUSH. This included development of a national pool of master trainers who would in turn train subject specific resource persons at zonal level who would in turn train all the teachers in the subject-specific RoTPs. One of the outcomes that was envisaged was the preparation of standard and uniform training methodology, so that there are National Benchmarks of Education against which the standards of learning can be mapped. (schedule for this training that was presented to the Department is also attached with this mail).

These training shall be conducted or moderated by a specially designated institute such as the existing National Teachers’ Training Centre at JIPMER, Puduchery for medical teachers, or the National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Chandigarh.

UGC has the scheme of National Eligibility Test to identify teachers who are eligible to apply for university level teaching jobs. Various states also have State Level Eligibility Tests. These tests ensure a minimum standard in teaching content. Further, the Academic Staff Colleges conduct Continuing Professional Development to the faculty. Attendance of a minimum number of programs is built into the eligibility criteria for promotions to the next higher cadres.

This model can be suitably modified to provide a dedicated pool of teachers in each of the AYUSH system. There would be better professionalism among these teachers and they would also transfer a greater sense of confidence because of their ability to objectivise teaching. They would also be better prepared to convert the implicit knowledge of many of the AYUSH systems into transferable knowledge, ensuring easy comprehension.

Unique Identification Number may be assigned to each teacher to track their career growth and also to prevent the possible duplication of faculty in different institutions.

Postgraduate education is a growing area in AYUSH streams. Many specialities are covered under these programs. For the areas that are not represented in the PG programs, there could be provision to start Fellowship courses. These could be started in interdisciplinary areas like Sports Medicine with Panchakarma.

6. Should Govt. of India move CCIM to support the recognition of autonomous UG and PG colleges of AYUSH on principles similar to recognition by the UGC to colleges in other disciplines? If so, what should be the criteria to select such autonomous colleges?

The committee may also advise on what autonomy should include for example freedom to make curricular changes keeping a core-curriculum intact and only freedom to change the sequence of subjects taught in year 1, 2, 3 and 4? And or freedom to innovate in teaching and evaluation methods? And or freedom to introduce clinical experience from year 1? And or freedom to involve visiting faculty and send students to earn credits for specific courses from empanelled Guru’s outside the Institution?

Autonomy to institutions having excellent academic track record is a good practice to improve innovation in education. Such institutions are usually identified by the university that affiliates them for granting autonomy to develop their own curriculum, academic schedule and conduct examinations. However, the degree is awarded by the university.

To implement this in the AYUSH stream, there has to be modifications in the relevant acts like the CCIM and CCH, so that the provision for deviating from the syllabus is provided and the degrees conferred under such arrangement are also listed in the schedule 2 of the relevant acts and these degree holders also enjoy such professional and legal benefits as enjoyed by the degree holders of the mainstream courses.

Credit based courses are gaining popularity in many domains of higher education. This system provides flexibility to choose a mix of subjects as per the desire and aptitude of the learners. This could mean a drastic shift of present paradigm. However, there could be provision for electives at the final year, so that some degree of specialisation can be achieved within the undergraduate course.

Additionally, there could be a provision for undergraduate students from third year onwards to enrol of professionally relevant course from the existing distance education providers like IGNOU, which offers some health related course for those who have completed 10+2. Further, there could be MoU with the Distance Education Council to design Diploma / PG Diploma courses that are relevant for the AYUSH graduates.

7. Should AYUSH dept. support a new scheme for E-learning initiatives related to CME and teachers training with a flexible framework of support that allows scope for creativity and innovation?

The E learning scheme may be aligned with the Faculty Development campaign as explained under item no. 5 above.

8. Should the Dept. of AYUSH encourage the creation of institutes of national importance in both Govt. and non-govt. sector under schedule VII of the constitution in order to promote innovation in the AYUSH sector? What should be criteria and modus-operandi for selection of institutions who aspire for such recognition?

There is a need for Institutes of National Importance to explore the intricacies of various AYUSH systems and clarify these issues on a realistic platform. There can be a national debate to identify the areas of innovation and institutions with potential to be productive may be awarded these projects.

The potential institutes may be identified on the parameters of proven experience in the field, the infrastructure capacity, human resources availability, etc.

9. What should be the statutory role of CCIM in 12^th FYP in regulating AYUSH education?

The role of CCIM, CCH may be continued in the present format.

10. Should govt. of India move CCIM to recognize Rashtriya Ayurved Vidyapeeth (RAV) as a post-graduate centre implementing PG diploma and degree courses via the guru-kul methodology.

There can be additional streams of formal and non-formal education in the AYUSH sector. The formal could be in the form of constituting a body like the National Board of Examinations in modern medicine that awards DNB qualifications that are recognised on par with the MD / MS courses by Medical Council of India. In the non-formal sector, Gurukul system may be explored.

11. In respect of international cooperation, the 12^th plan needs to advise firstly on policy goals for international cooperation and accordingly devise strategy to appraise, select and support well designed and coordinated programs in education, clinical services, pharmaceutics, basic research, advocacy, trade and commerce on size and scale that are in line with policy goals and can impact the international community.

The thrust areas for international cooperation in education could be short term internships in AYUSH systems for the medical graduates, interdisciplinary modules for the graduates / postgraduates of medical humanities like Medical Philosophy, History of Medicine, Medical Anthropology, Health Economics, etc.

Alternatives in homeopathy education

2011-01-27T01:21:00.000-08:00

The purpose of sectoral education is to create avenues for the continuity of that sector. Homeopathy education is no different in this respect. The current system of homeopathy education was modelled after the Medical Council of India’s undergraduate education. This system has maintained status quo for the past many years. However, there is no record of any serious study to assess the impact of this course over the years.

An anecdotal review would reveal the current status of homeopathic practitioners for practicing homeopathic system of medicine. It is accepted fact that a sizeable number of homeopathy graduates gravitate away from homeopathic practice; something that is more notable in certain geographic locations in India. there are many lamentations in the professional circles, but little concrete measures to tackle this trend.

One of the factors that emerges from discussions with newly qualifying graduates is that there is sufficient knowledge of homeopathy and allied medical disciplines, appreciable level of clinical skills, but a rather low confidence to practice homeopathy among the young professionals from the geographic areas referred to earlier.

It is a serious identity crisis for any sector that finds its brand suffering low self esteem among its stakeholders. The solution to this crisis is preparing and implementing a major rebranding strategy. In this exercise, the strengths of the product / service has to be highlighted in the light of its relevance to society and the awareness of its simplicity in application should be created among its practitioners. Further, newer methods of presenting the product / service to its beneficiaries should be evolved.

Considering the above strategy, we need to look at homeopathy in its original form, devoid of the expectations that were heaped on over the centuries. An objective SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat) analysis of homeopathic practice would bring out the areas that we need to be focussing on, without being apologetic about anything. The frontier areas of healthcare services where homeopathy has strong and decisive role to play should for the core of training in homeopathic discipline.

We have a firmly established education system at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. To shake it up drastically might prove disastrous for the continuity of education system. Instead, it is better to experiment with an alternative in controlled environs and mainstream it gradually. I propose two suggestions for the experiment. These can be debated for further refinement.

1. To start ‘Finishing Schools’, that would cater to honing the skills and attitude of newly qualified homeopathic graduates to provide the much needed confidence to practice homeopathy. The curriculum can build upon the strengths that are already acquired during their BHMS course. The content of this course could include communication skills, marketing skills, improving analytical skills for clinical decision making, etc. This course could be in the duration of three to six months. The participants in this course will have some didactic learning in new areas like business development, social leadership, etc. There could be clinical case discussions – both in the clinic / ward / community and in the discussion room. This can improve the clinical decision making skills. It is also a good idea to run it along with the internship, without affecting the requirements of Central Council of Homoeopathy / University for completion of the internship program.

2. This is an elaborate system, which can provide an alternative to the existing PG programs. We can model it after the DNB program in modern medicine. The Centres of Excellence identified by Government of India, Regional Research Institutes of the CCRH, reputed homeopathic hospitals, recognised homeopathic colleges that have superfluous capacity (beyond the minimum required by the statutory bodies) can be the nodes for conducting this program. There need not be a fixed syllabus for teaching, rather a set of clearly defined learning objectives in cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains of educational taxonomy. There could be courses of study in the core homeopathic areas and also in the frontier areas of clinical disciplines (as trandisciplinary stuies)

Entrance for this course may be through a national entrance test. During the two or three years of rigorous training there shall be continuous monitoring by way of portfolio comprising of case records, group discussions, seminars, symposia, journal clubs, articles in peer reviewed journals, etc. At the end of the course, the participant is evaluated for the attainment of the learning objectives that are listed for the course. There shall be a 360⁰ evaluation – theoretical, clinical, attitudinal – by internal faculty, external board comprising of homeopathic professionals (and other professionals too in case of a transdisciplinary course of study), self evaluation, peer evaluation and evaluation by the stakeholders (i.e., patients).

Certification for the course may be given in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Open University, which is pioneering innovative education. There need not be any stand off with regulatory authorities as these courses in their experimental form are not tipped to vest registration to practice (in fact there is no scope for confrontation, as those enrolling for the course already have their registration).

There is a scope for ushering in innovation in homeopathic education. But there has to be guarded optimism while planning this. The success of this program will depend on framing of the courses, selection of hubs for training, selection of the internal and external faculty. If guidelines are framed for transparency of actions and if they are implemented impartially and rigorously, there is likelihood of this program succeeding.

Curriculum Reforms – suggestions to re-engineer future of homeopathy

2011-01-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

Homeopathy is gaining significant patronage across the globe as a result of rational therapeutic practices that it ensures. This trend is likely to intensify in spite of the biased negative propaganda that it is attracting from the cartels. India has established as the leader of mainstream homeopathy education in the world. In this situation, it is worth reviewing the need to effect reforms in the existing curriculum, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Education is the vector that carries strands of influence to modulate practices. This is no different for the relationship between of health education and healthcare delivery. The ultimate objective of healthcare education is to address the health related issues of population. Therefore, anchoring education with the intent of ensuring desired healthcare is an essential element in policy planning.

Healthcare needs of the population as projected by World Health Organisation’s health report centre around infectious diseases and lifestyle dependent chronic diseases. The report states, “of more than 50 million deaths worldwide in 1997, about one-third were due to infectious and parasitic diseases such as acute lower respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS and malaria; about 30% were due to circulatory diseases such as coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases, and about 12% were due to cancers. … the increased life expectancy recorded in recent decades, together with changes in lifestyle stemming from socioeconomic development, have paradoxically favoured non-communicable diseases, especially circulatory disorders, cancer, and some forms of mental illness” (http://www.who.int/whr/1998/media_centre/executive_summary3/en/index2.html)

The survival of homeopathy is linked to the robust and future ready education that we can offer. It is needed to have coordinated efforts to interweave emerging explosion of biomedical knowledge and new technologies on the scaffold of homeopathic principles. This would involve adapting proven experiences in skills training like integrating learning content, problem based learning strategies among other innovative initiatives.

This initiative has to be a wide network of academicians who are sensitive and open to adapt instruments of change and revival. As a foundation for this debate, I am presenting a roadmap for the future of homeopathy education. Let there be constructive debate on this, so that a final draft can emerge on the basis of consensus.

Roadmap for BHMS Curriculum Review

1. Draft the vision statement for homoeopathic healthcare in the national health policy

2. List competencies that are expected of the basic homoeopathic doctor

3. Assign competences in departments / trans departmental streams

4. State the departmental objectives of each of the departments and the inter / trans departmental objectives

5. Generate the specific instructional objectives for each of the discipline / subject and the instructional objectives for the inter / trans departmental areas

6. Categorise each of these objectives into ‘must know’ and ‘desirable to know’ areas

7. Identify the content for realising each of the listed instructional objectives

8. Suggest the appropriate Teaching / Learning methods and media

9. Indicate the feasible evaluation methods to assess the learners for the achievement or otherwise of the intended learning objectives

10. Train the teachers of the homoeopathic institutions in the principles of educational science and technology

11. Conduct the course and the examinations as per the reviewed curriculum

12. Obtain regular feedback and rectify the errors on a priority basis

13. Provide transparency for all the stakeholders like students, teachers, administrators and parents in the educational process

14. Evaluate the effectiveness of this program as an experiment against the control group of the existing curriculum

15. Rectify the gaps and improve upon the program

Proposals for investment for homeopathy education sector at the Global Investors' Meet, Bangalore, 2010

2010-05-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

The following are possible domains for investment in homeopathy sector –

· Establishment of homeopathy undergraduate course with global healthcare thrust in the ‘Special Education Zone’

· Starting Finishing School for providing clinical softskills and clinical decision skills for homeopathy graduates

· Providing opportunities for the scholars of MD Family Medicine from US universities to undertake their internship in homeopathy as Integrative Medicine

Homeopathy graduate course

Prelude

Homeopathy is accepted as credible healing system across the globe. Statistics provided by World Health Organisation place homeopathy as the most preferred among Complementary and Alternative Systems of Medicine. Currently homeopathy education is strewn into a varied mosaic of courses across the globe. This has created a chaotic and inconsistent state on a global scale. The mounting demand for homeopathy healthcare services place on the stakeholders of homeopathy to construct a globally acceptable brand of homeopathy education.

Situational analysis:

Epidemiological studies reveal that there is diversity in morbidity prevalence across the globe. Health cultures prevalent across the globe have a heterogeneous composition. Further, the geopolitical values of population dictate a medley of healthcare preferences. The constraint for uniform education brand might also stem from variations in each nation’s education system and differing thrust / focus on national healthcare policies.

However, uniformity for homeopathy education on a global scale is plausible, considering the all embracing need to realise Millennium Development Goals, of which healthcare is a major component, common baseline that is evolved for heath indicators of the entire population and unvarying nature of homeopathy principles. Further, English as the globally accepted medium of communication add the edge for homeopathy education as the significant majority of homeopathy educational resources are available in English language.

Proposal:

Therefore, it is proposed to start a globally acceptable and applicable homeopathy graduate course. This course may be operated under the provisions of ‘Special Educational Zone’, thus enabling the service providers with the leverage to design a universally compatible curriculum. This would also ensure that the globally accepted standards are factored in without the interference of bureaucratic hassles.

Such a course would find ready acceptance not only among the Indian population who have a basic medical qualification, but are interested to practice homeopathy, but also the NRI sector and the foreign nationals having interest to align with homeopathy bandwagon.

--------

Finishing school for homeopathy graduates

Prelude

Formal education in homeopathy sector, as in any other higher education spectrum is heavily laden with knowledge component. Even though there is huge popular patronisation for homeopathy, the average homeopathy graduates are very often falling short of excellence in their performance. Many of the practitioners are aware of this inadequacy, but are at a loss to bridge the gap on their own, or to identify the resource that can help them overcome this challenge.

Situational analysis:

Many studies have revealed that the outcomes of higher education are not industry compatible. Studies in the western countries have brought to light that the communication proficiency of health professionals has to be improved on a priority basis. These observations hold true for homeopathic graduates also. In fact the lack of clinical softskills is a major hurdle for many brilliant homeopaths to survive and thrive in private practice.

With 184 homeopathy colleges and around 3000 homeopathic graduates passing out each year, there is a huge market potential to capitalise on.

Proposal:

Therefore, there is a significant space in the homeopathy education sector to establish a ‘Finishing School’ that would impart clinical softskills and clinical decision making skills.

------------

Internship in homeopathy for scholars of MD Family Medicine

Prelude

Family Medicine is a speciality of conventional medicine in the US health education system. This has a component of Integrative Medicine in some of the universities like University of Arizona, University of Wisconsin, etc. Further, there is increasing interest among western medical graduates to learn firsthand about the tropical diseases.

Situational analysis:

The increasing insistence by western population for rational drug therapy is driving conventional medical practitioners to seek feasible alternatives. Homeopathy ranks favourably in the list of complementary therapies among the practitioners. Karnataka has strong credentials for homeopathy clinical training in both government and private sectors

Proposal:

Therefore, it makes a logical sense to invest in the establishment of training facility to provide resources on homeopathy in community health and also the role of homeopathy in topical medicine.

Designing Global Brand of Homeopathy Education

2010-03-08T04:36:00.000-08:00

Abstract of the paper to be presented at

International Seminar on Recent Advances in Homeopathy, Kolkata

Designing Global Brand of Homeopathy Education

Key words: homeopathy education, global brand, curriculum design,

Prelude:

Homeopathy is accepted as credible healing system across the globe. Statistics provided by World Health Organisation place homeopathy as the most preferred among Complementary and Alternative Systems of Medicine. Currently homeopathy education is strewn into a varied mosaic of courses across the globe. This has created a chaotic and inconsistent state on a global scale. To advance homeopathy practice, it is essential that the stakeholders of homeopathy construct a globally acceptable brand of homeopathy education.

Situational analysis:

However, uniformity for homeopathy education on a global scale is imperative considering the all embracing need to realise Millennium Development Goals, of which healthcare is a major component, common baseline that is evolved for heath indicators of the entire population and unvarying nature of homeopathy principles.

Proposal:

Therefore, a globally acceptable and applicable curriculum design is proposed. This structure can be classified into four phases: the first three phases leading to award of qualification as basic homeopathic practitioner and the fourth phase providing an opportunity to upgrade to a specialisation. The phases may be structured as follows –

Phase 1 of one year duration – clinical foundations, consisting of study of Human Biology including genetics, Homeopathy principles, Human Psychology, Logic, Medical Sociology, among others

Phase 2 of one year duration – clinical relations, consisting of study of Pathodynamics, Homeopathometrics, Homeopathic materia medica, Homeopathic methodology including repertorisation, Legal issues in medical practice, Community health orientation, Medical diagnostics, practice of NLP, etc.

Phase 3 of two year duration – clinical experiences, consisting of postings in wards, clinics, community health centre and field work, so that the integration of clinical decisions and homeopathic principles can be demonstrated in action.

At the end of phase – 3, the student qualifies as basic homeopathic practitioner. He / she will have to attend a CME of 60 hour duration once in atleast two years subsequently for the updating of knowledge and skills.

Phase 4: three year duration – specialisation, which could be either in clinical, research or academic domains. They will have to attend CME of 60 hours duration at least once every year.

Expected Outcomes:

Sensitising the stakeholders of homeopathy to evolve a uniform curriculum
Preparing a zero draft of homeopathy education document for discussion on various homeopathy forums

As I could not attend the seminar due to some unavoidable issues. I am presenting the details that I wanted to present at Kolkata in the International Seminar -

Homeopathy is in the news for many reasons in the recent past. Some of them not very comforting for the followers of homeopathy. There are cartoons heaping ridicule on homeopathy and its effect. They provoke us to think, ‘why so much animosity’ and ‘how can that be neutralised’. One of the major solutions is creating an environment of mutual trust and respect among the healthcare practitioners.

Clinical foundations

Understanding the human functioning is prerequisite for its therapeutic management. As we step into the futuristic healthcare management, the understanding of human functioning too has to shift from the present compartmentalised learning of anatomy, physiology and biochemistry to an interdisciplinary outlook of human biology with relevance for homeopathic ideology. As homeopathy transcends beyond scientific domain into the realms of human – social axis, the capacity of homeopathic practitioner has to be reinforced with aptitude for balanced decision making and forging positive interpersonal relationships. Thus, medically relevant applications from psychology, sociology, logic and cybernetics need to be included. It needs to have strong foundations in homeopathic ideology with a contemporary outlook. This includes a brief learning of history of homeopathic evolution, its relevance for contemporary society and the core ideological principles of homeopathy.

Clinical relations

This phase clarifies and strengthens the media that connect basics of preclinical learning to clinical decision making. Continuing with the tradition of interdisciplinary learning, homeopathometrics introduces the understanding of pathogenesis with homeopathic background. This learning also provides a contrast of Wellbeing Vs Morbidity, so that a comparative and comprehensive view of therapeutic decision making can be made.

The study of homeopathic pharmacology is introduced with the intent of evaluating therapeutic tools. The learner is provide with an opportunity to understand legal and ethical dimensions in the diverse practice situations like ambulatory or outpatient care, hospital or in-patient care and community based care.

The learner is also introduced to principles and practice of medical history taking and homeopathic methodology including repertory use.

Clinical experiences

This phase consolidates the learning of the first two phases and enables their application in real life situations. Continuing with the tradition of interdisciplinary learning, the focus of application is the symptom / expression based build up, rather than a segment oriented approach of medicine / surgery / obstetrics / gynaecology and their sub specialities.

The differential diagnosis of the most commonly encountered clinical expressions and their evaluation, cutting across the disciplines is made and applied in the practice situations like ambulatory / hospital / community.

In their applications, the learners are provided with softskills like human values, professionalism, ethical decision making, health communication, health economics, etc,.

Evaluation

For phases 1 and 2, evaluation is for all the domains of learning – knowledge, skills and aptitude with the stress like K 50%, S 20% and A 30%. For phase 3, it could be K 20%, S 50% and A 30%.

The mode of assessment for 1 and 2 could be project based assessment of mastery learning in formative style. This could be monitored by the degree awarding agency. However, the assessment for phase 3 shall be jointly done by the degree awarding agency and the registering / professional monitoring body. It shall be as a balance of exit and entry evaluation – exit, for the award of qualification by the degree awarding agency and entry for getting included as legitimate practitioner, by the registering / monitoring body. The subsequent renewal of registration shall be managed by the registration / monitoring body.

Specialisation

Specialisation is the process that provides avenues and opportunities for the growth and development of any profession. Four areas are important for the sustenance and growth of homeopathy as a professional entity – clinical specialisation to provide specialised tertiary care n focused healthcare areas; public health to mainstream the strengths of homeopathy in preventive and promotive healthcare and also in the primary and secondary healthcare; research to converge the benefits from allied disciplines, to generate compelling evidences for the health policy makers to position homeopathy in the core areas of its competence; and academic domain to build competent human resources to carry the baton of homeopathic education.

Conclusion

The presentation that I have made is at conceptual level. This opens a debate for the need and feasibility of a common schedule of homeopathy training n global scale. The details of legal and logistical issues may be referred to a taskforce involving international educational planners and homeopathic stakeholders. The curriculum designing including content development and evaluation strategy may be entrusted to a team of curriculum / instruction designers who are sensitised for the nature and needs of homeopathic practice.

Repurcussions of New Education Agenda

2009-07-27T19:56:00.001-07:00

The report given by Prof. Yashpal Committee has been taken by the Ministry of HRD on war footing along with the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission as part of the 100 day agenda of change. It would be wise to go along with the tide and see how it can be leveraged to the strategic advantage of CCH in the shifting sands of educational reforms. The proposed legislation on Special Educational Zones that is under consideration by the Ministry of Commerce and Trade also has to be watched with concern and interest to see what elements of surprise it has in store.

Overall, a situation that is unsettling for the old guard and the Status quoists and a huge vista of opportunity for those who are driving for a positive change

Curriculum Re-engineering for BHMS Course

2009-07-05T10:03:00.001-07:00

Roadmap for Curriculum Re-engineering
 Draft the vision statement for a basic homoeopathic doctor
 Discuss with peer group and finalise the Vision statement of a basic homoeopathic doctor
 Brainstorm for the knowledge, attitude, communication and skills that are expected of the basic homoeopathic doctor
 Arrange these educational components into ‘disciplines’.
 Evolve the weightage for each of the ‘discipline specific’ components
 State the departmental objectives of each of the departments and the interdepartmental objectives for a BHMS course
 Generate the specific instructional objectives for each of the discipline / subject and the instructional objectives for the interdepartmental areas
 Categorise each of these objectives into the four domains of medical education
 Identify the content for achieving each of the instructional objectives
 Suggest the appropriate Teaching / Learning methods and media
 Indicate the feasible evaluation methods to assess the learners for the achievement or otherwise of the intended learning objectives
 Identify a University, which has about three to four homoeopathic institutions imparting BHMS course within a radius of 25 to 30 kilometers to test run the course from the first year onwards.
 Assure academic parity for the students who enroll for the BHMS course of that University
 Impress upon the University academic bodies and the institutions to implement the new curriculum
 Train the teachers of the homoeopathic institutions of that University and the possible external examiners in the principles of educational science and technology
 Conduct the course and the examinations as per the re-engineered curriculum
 Obtain regular feedback and rectify the errors on a priority basis
 Provide transparency for all the stakeholders like students, teachers, administrators and parents in the educational process
 Evaluate the effectiveness of this program as an experiment against the control group of the existing curriculum
 Rectify the loopholes and improve upon the program
 Extend the program across the board
Vision statement of BHMS Course
The purpose of BHMS Course is to evolve a Basic Homeopathic Doctor. The education of Basic Homeopathic Doctor shall be to integrate the principles of homeopathic philosophy with the understanding of basic and applied clinical disciplines, so as to provide sufficient and relevant knowledge, skills and aptitude for the practice of homeopathy in the Community / Hospital Health Care Situations.
Qualities of a Basic Homeopathic Doctor
1. Understanding of the concept of health / disease / healing from the homeopathic view point
2. Understanding of functional aspect of human health as per the basic medical sciences
3. Understanding of disruption of human health dynamics through horizontal integration of the para-clinical disciplines like Pathology and Microbiology with the principles of homeopathy
4. Understanding of diagnostic methods by vertical and horizontal integration of homeopathic principles with clinical disciplines like Practice of Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and their allied specialities
5. Understanding of the outcomes of Homeopathic Pathogenetic Trials’ and their clinical verifications as ‘Data Base’ for prescriptions
6. Understanding the basic pharmaceutical procedures in homeopathy - preparation of medicine, potency scales, dosage forms
7. Understanding of the multidimensional learning of Drug Action
8. Understanding of the various Strategies of Prescription and demonstration of their application in practice
9. Understanding of the legal and ethical issues involved in the medical practice
10. Understanding of the scope and limitations of homeopathy for the doctors’ own patients or community in which they work
11. Competence to practice preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative medicine in respect to the priority health issues
12. Understanding of the socio-psychological, cultural, economic and environmental factors affecting health and develop humane attitude towards discharging one’s professional responsibilities
Learning objectives classified into –
1. Anatomy including Embryology
2. Physiology including Biophysics and Biochemistry
3. Homeopathic Pharmaceutics
4. Homeopathic Materia Medica
5. Homeopathic Philosophy including Foundation Course
6. Homeopathic Repertory
7. Pathology including Microbiology and Parasitology
8. Forensic Medicine including Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology
9. Community Medicine
10. Principles and Practice of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
11. Principles and Practice of Surgery including its allied specialities
12. Principles and Practice of Medicine including its allied specialities
Phases of BHMS Course
Phase I: (12 Months)
No. Subject Teaching Hours
Theory Practical
1 Anatomy including Embryology 200 100
2 Physiology including Biophysics and Biochemistry 200 100
3 Homoeopathic Pharmacology & Pharmaceutics 200 100
4 Principles of homoeopathy 200 -
5 Foundation Course consisting of - Logic, Philosophy, Psychology, Biostatistics * 200 -
* No term end examinations. Assessment in the form of Assignments, Project work, Seminars, etc.

Phase II: (18 Months)
No. Subject Teaching Hours
Theory Practical
1 Pathology including Microbiology 200 100
2 Forensic Medicine including Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology 100 50
3 Homoeopathic Materia Medica 200 100
4 Organon and Homoeopathic Philosophy 200 100
5 Community Medicine * 100 100
6 Obstetrics and Gynaecology * 100 100
7 Principles of Surgery * 150 50
8 Practice of Medicine * 100 50
* University Examinations not to be conducted during this phase

Phase III: (12 Months)
No. Subject Teaching Hours
Theory Practical
1 Community Medicine 100 100
2 Obstetrics and Gynaecology 100 100
3 Principles of Surgery 100 100
4 Practice of Medicine * 100 50
5 Homoeopathic Materia Medica 100 100
6 Organon and Homoeopathic Philosophy 100 100
7 Homoeopathic Repertory * 50 -
* University Examinations not to be conducted during this phase

Phase IV: (12 Months)
No. Subject Teaching Hours
Theory Practical
1 Homoeopathic Materia Medica 200 100
2 Theory of Chronic Diseases and Homoeopathic Philosophy 100 100
3 Homoeopathic Repertory 100 200
4 Practice of Medicine 200 200

Phase V: (12 Months) – Internship
Apart from the hospital / clinic / community based medical service, this shall include seminars, project work, assignment, etc to develop
 Communication skills, Personality development, Managerial skills
Examination Scheme
For every 100 marks of theory paper,
 Practicals – 40 + 10 (internal assessment)
 Viva – 30 + 20 (internal assessment)
Internal assessment shall be calculated as 20% of Continuous Assessment Test score in the Practicals and 40% of the Continuous Assessment Test score in the Theory exams. There shall be at least three Continuous Assessment Tests in each Academic Phase.
Eligibility to appear for Phase 1 exam
 80% attendance in the subject(s) concerned
 Appearance in at least two-thirds of the Continuous Assessment Tests
 Minimum score of 50% in the CAT
 Successful completion of the Project / Assignment for the Foundation Course
* The candidate may not be promoted to the next higher class unless he / she has successfully completed ALL the subjects
Eligibility to appear for further exams
 80% attendance in the subject(s) concerned
 Appearance in at least two-thirds of the Continuous Assessment Tests
 Minimum score of 50% in the CAT
 The candidate may be promoted to the next higher class even if he / she has not successfully completed all the subjects till Phase 4 of the course
 The candidate shall be allowed to carry over the papers till Phase 4. This facility is made to provide continuity for the clinical postings
 However the candidate shall be permitted to appear for Phase 3 exam, only after successfully completing all the Phase 2 papers, and phase 4 exam only after successfully completing all the Phase 3 papers
Examination pattern
 Examinations shall be conducted as Theory, Practical / Clinical and Viva.
 Practical / clinical examinations for the subject Principles of Homoeopathy in Phase 1 of the examinations need not be conducted.
 Theory exam for every 100 marks shall have 2 long essays of 10 marks each, 12 short essays of 5 marks each and 10 short answers of 2 marks each.
 The practical / clinical examinations shall be patterned on Objective Structured Practical / Clinical Examination
 The Viva shall be patterned on Structured Oral Examination

Restructuring homeopathic postgraduate curriculum

2009-07-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

Vision of MD Homeopathy Course
To generate human resources who can align with the objectives of national health programs and improve the contribution of homeopathy as clinicians, researchers and teachers.

Objectives
The postgraduate in homeopathy shall –
o acquire a high degree of proficiency in theoretical and practical aspects of homeopathy
o recognise the need of physical, mental, spiritual and social health concerns of the sick
o be aware of appropriate investigation procedures to diagnose and manage the sick
o adapt scientific disposition while acquiring knowledge and skills relevant to homeopathy
o obtain adequate competency in providing comprehensive health care
o develop communication and interpersonal skills for interacting with the sick and members of health care teams
o develop ethical outlook in relation to clinical practice, research and teaching

Course Structure

MD Part I
It shall be for the duration of one academic year. It shall consist of the following subjects –
o Human Biology – comprising of horizontal integration of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, psychology and having a homoeopathic orientation.
o Homoeopathic Concept of Disease – comprising of horizontal integration of pathology, microbiology, community medicine with homoeopathic principles and vertical integration of homoeopathic philosophy with clinical subjects like medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology.
o Research Methodology and Biostatistics – research procedure, research design, sample design, significance of biostatistics in research studies, statistical tests of significance, essence of biomedical ethics, biomedical ethics in relation to homeopathic research, etc.
o History of Medicine – events and personalities who have influenced the course of medical practice with special reference to homoeopathic practice.

Note – Resources for the integrated teaching / learning of the subjects Human Biology and Homoeopathic Concept of Disease have not been developed. Thus, there is a need to co-operatively generate such resources, so that there is objectivity both in teaching and evaluation. Central Council of Homeopathy may constitute a one-man committee to prepare a framework of curriculum for these subjects. Subsequently, subject experts in the constituent disciplines may be invited for a workshop, which can finalise content both for theory and practical teaching.

Activities
o House job with special focus on wards and clinics of the specialty subject to which admission is taken
o Lectures and practicals on Research Methodology and Biostatistics
o Lectures and practicals on Human Biology and Homoeopathic Concept of Disease
o Submission of synopsis to the university within six months of admission to the course
o Seminars, symposia, group discussions, assignments, project, journal reviews and poster presentation on the topics of MD Part I subjects.
o Teaching sessions for the undergraduate students in both classroom and wards for the specialty subject to which admission is taken

MD Part II
It shall be for the duration of two academic years. It shall consist of the speciality subject only. Examination shall be held at the end of two academic years.
Activities
o Lectures and clinical / practicals on Specialty subject
o Seminars, symposia, group discussions, assignments, project, journal reviews and poster presentation on the specialty subject.
o Teaching sessions for the undergraduate students in both classroom and wards for the specialty subject
o Planning and conducting of the research study under the supervision of Guide
o Submission of dissertation to the university six months before Part II examination

Papers for Examination
Examination for History of Medicine shall consist of
o one theory paper of 100 marks on 9th month of academic year
o one project on a topic of history relevant to homeopathy mutually decided by the student and guide for 75 marks
o one poster presentation on a topic of history relevant to homeopathy mutually decided by the student and guide for 25 marks
o one seminar on a topic of history relevant to homeopathy mutually decided by the student and guide for 50 marks

Evaluation criteria for certification
Evaluation Maximum marks Total marks Minimum marks
Theory exam 100 100 50
Project 75
150
75
Poster presentation 25
Seminar 50

MD Part I

Subject Theory Int. Assessment Viva Total
Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min
Human Biology 100 50 50 25 50 25 200 100
Homoeopathic Concept of Disease 100 50 50 25 50 25 200 100
Research Methodology & Biostatistics 100 50 50 25 50 25 200 100

Internal Assessment shall be as follows –
Human Biology – 2 theory paper for 100 marks each on 6th and 9th month of academic year.
Homoeopathic Concept of Disease – 2 theory paper for 100 marks each on 6th and 9th month of academic year
Research Methodology and Biostatistics – 2 theory paper for 100 marks each on 6th and 9th month of academic year

MD Part II

Specialty Subject Theory Clin / Pract Viva Total
Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min
Paper 1 100

200

100

50

100

50

600

300
Paper 2 100
Paper 3 100
Paper 4 100

Dissertation
o Shall be submitted to the university six months before Part II examination
o Two copies shall be submitted to the university along with a CD
o Dissertation shall be valued by two examiners – one internal and one external by persons who are eligible to be guide in that subject
o Approval from both the examiners is necessary for the candidate to appear for Part II exam
o In case one of the examiners does not approve the dissertation, it may be sent to another examiner – external if the external examiner has disapproved and internal if the internal has disapproved the dissertation.
o In case both the examiners have disapproved the dissertation in the first instance or if the third examiner also disapproves the dissertation, it may be returned to the candidate with the remarks of examiners, so that the candidate may resubmit it after making suitable amends within six months.
o The candidate shall be permitted to appear for Part II exam only after the dissertation is approved

Examination
Part I exam shall be conducted after completing one academic year
o To be eligible for part I exam, the candidate shall have
 at least 80% attendance
 successfully completed the log book comprising of 10 cases, 6 seminars and 6 journal reviews to the satisfaction of the Guide
 completed 20 hours of teaching undergraduate classes
 obtained at least 50% in the assessment of History of Medicine
 obtained at least 50% in the internal assessment of Human Biology, Homoeopathic Concept of Disease and Research Methodology & Biostatistics
o To be successful, the candidate shall obtain at least 50% separately in theory and viva in each of the three subjects
o Two examiners – one internal and one external – shall conduct viva, with each awarding marks out of 25. Total of these marks shall decide the result
o In case the candidate in unsuccessful in any of the subject he / she has to appear for the theory and viva of that subject only

Part II exam shall be conducted after completing two academic years
o To be eligible for Part II exam, the candidate shall have
 at least 80% attendance
 successfully completed Part I exam at least two years before Part II exam
 completed the log book comprising of 60 cases – 30 chronic and 30 acute, 12 seminars and 12 journal reviews to the satisfaction of the Guide
 completed 50 hours of teaching undergraduate classes obtained approval of the examiners for dissertation
o To be successful, the candidate shall obtain at least 50% separately in theory, clinical / practical and viva
o Four examiners – two internals and two externals – shall conduct viva. Guide of the candidate shall be one of the internals, Each examiner shall award marks out of 25. Total of these marks shall decide the result.
o Clinical examination shall consist of a chronic case and an acute case. Chronic case shall be evaluated for 70 marks and acute for 30. Evaluation shall be conducted jointly by the examiners, each of who shall award marks out of 70 for chronic and 30 for acute case. Average of these marks shall be calculated for declaring the result.
o In case of Practical examination in Homoeopathic Pharmacy, the examination shall consist of a major procedure and a minor procedure. Major procedure shall be evaluated for 70 marks and the minor for 30. The examiners shall conduct evaluation jointly, each of who shall award marks out of 70 for major and 30 for minor procedure. Average of these marks shall be calculated for declaring the result.
o In case the candidate in unsuccessful in any part of the paper, he / she has to appear for the entire paper consisting of theory, clinical / practical and viva

Examiners
Part I examiner shall be selected as follows
 Human Biology from the faculty of Materia Medica, who shall co-ordinate the PG Department of Human Biology
 Homoeopathic Concept of Disease from the faculty of Homoeopathic Philosophy, who shall co-ordinate the PG Department of Homoeopathic Concept of Disease
 Research Methodology and Biostatistics, from the faculty of Repertory, who shall co-ordinate the PG Department of Research Methodology and Biostatistics
o Evaluation and PG Department of History of Medicine shall be co-ordinated by the faculty of Homoeopathic Philosophy
o The examiner so selected shall
 have MD Hom in the relevant subject, i.e., Materia Medica, Homoeopathic Philosophy or Repertory as the case may be
 hold at least the rank of Assistant Professor
 have at least ten years of teaching experience in an institution recognised by Central Council of Homeopathy
 be in the relevant PG Department

Part II examiner shall
 have MD Hom in the specialty subject
 hold at least the rank of Assistant Professor
 have at least ten years of teaching experience in the subject concerned in an institution recognised by Central Council of Homeopathy

Restrucruring homeopathic postgraduate education - an outline

2009-07-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

Postgraduate Curriculum for Homeopathy
Course duration – 3 years
Phase I – 18 months
Phase II – 18 months
Phase I Highlights
 Postings in hospital, peripheral OP, Mobile Clinics, Health Camps
 Assignments to integrate National Health programs, Priority Health Problems and Homeopathic Philosophy
 Teaching / Learning situations – Case presentations, Group discussions, Ward rounds, Seminars, Journal club, etc
 Identification of research subject, Synopsis presentation
 Formative evaluation of the assignments, Case presentation, Group discussions, Ward rounds, Seminars, Journal club, etc
 Certifying evaluation for theory paper in Research methodology and Biostatistics for 100 marks and viva for 50 marks.
 Internal assessment of 50 marks for the assignments and case presentations
Phase II Highlights
 Postings in hospital, peripheral OP, Mobile Clinics, Health Camps
 Assignments to integrate National Health programs, Priority Health Problems and Homeopathic Philosophy
 Teaching / Learning situations – Case presentations, Group discussions, Ward rounds, Seminars, Journal club, etc
 Research program and Dissertation
 Certifying examination as follows
• Theory papers : 200 marks
• Clinical exam : 100 marks
• Viva on Dissertation : 100 marks

Need for postgraduate education in homeopathy

2009-07-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

Every growing branch of knowledge needs both vertical and horizontal growth. Horizontal growth denotes extensive learning at every level. Vertical growth denotes an in-depth study involving subject specialisation. This vertical growth symbolises the postgraduate education. Homeopathy too as a branch of knowledge has to organise education at postgraduate level.

Postgraduate education in general aims at generating human resources who can be counted as experts in the field, advanced knowledge that could improve significance of the discipline and skills that could enhance practical use of the discipline. Thus the major need for any postgraduate study is awareness that there is a scope for improvement in that discipline. This knowledge improvement could be in the understanding the basics of the discipline or in improving the applicability of the discipline. Such an improvement is brought about by a procedure of enquiry, observation and interpretation, which are collectively called as research. Thus, research is a systematic process based on logical principles, of evolving new knowledge and skills to solve problems or improve the existing problem solving skills. Postgraduate education in homeopathy is a relatively recent phenomenon that is aimed at improving the state and status of homeopathic practice and education. As in any course, the purpose of postgraduate education in homeopathy should aim at elevating the basic and applied knowledge and skills of homeopathy.

Need for postgraduate education in homeopathy is two-fold –

î To advance knowledge and skills for professional performance, and

î To produce human resources who can support academic structure.

Need and modus operandii of research for advancement of professional knowledge and skills is explained under the heading Relevance of research in homeopathy, later in the same chapter. The need to have competent human resources to support academic homeopathic structure has to be objectively discussed to organise the postgraduate education.

Subjects for study in homeopathic undergraduate course can be conveniently classified as –

î Pre-clinical

î Para-clinical

î Clinical

> General clinical

> Applied homeopathic

î Homeopathic.

Pre-clinical subjects include Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. Para-clinical subjects include Pathology, Microbiology, Community Medicine and Forensic Medicine. Clinical subjects include Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology. These clinical subjects have a purely clinical component that helps in learning the evolution, presentation, assessment and management of clinical conditions and a parallel homeopathic component for understanding evolution, assessment and management of the same conditions from homeopathic perspective. This point of view is drawn from homeopathic disciplines like its Philosophy and Materia Medica. The purely homeopathic subjects include Homeopathic Pharmacy, Homeopathic Philosophy including Organon of Medicine & theory of Chronic Diseases, Homeopathic Materia Medica and Homeopathic Repertory.

Pre-clinical subjects help the learner to know about normal parameters of health, i.e., how a human body is structured and how does it function. It is advantageous to include Psychology to know how normal human body behaves. Para-clinical subjects help the learner to understand how human body shifts to disease state, what are the possible causes for the shift, how to plan health promotion and disease prevention schedule and what are the legal and ethical implications of homeopathic practice. Such knowledge has to be gained from homeopathic perspective.

Thus, there is a need to develop human resources who can facilitate learning of human health and disease from homeopathic orientation. This is where postgraduate courses for homeopathic teachers in these subjects assume importance. The Homoeopathy Central Council (Minimum Standards of Education) Amendment 2002 makes it mandatory for all homeopathically qualified teachers to have postgraduate qualification i. e. MD (Hom), both for entry level and promotions. Postgraduate courses in homeopathic and some clinical disciplines are now available to supply this requirement. However, teachers in pre- and para-clinical subjects will suffer professionally unless remedial measures are provided for their academic and professional advancement.

One option is to allow any homeopathic postgraduate qualification like MD (Hom) either in Materia Medica, Homeopathic Philosophy, Repertory, Medicine, Paediatrics, Psychiatry or Pharmacy as an accepted qualification to gain entry and promotions for any pre- para-clinical subject. Thus we may have the bizarre instance of MD (Hom) in repertory becoming a teacher in Anatomy; that speaks for the vision of academic planners in homeopathy.

The other option is to include postgraduate programs like MSc (Anatomy), MSc (Physiology), MSc (Biochemistry), MSc (Psychology), MSc (Pathology), MSc (Medical Microbiology), Master of Public Health, etc in The Homoeopathy Central Council (Minimum Standards of Education) Amendment, so that a BHMS graduate can pursue these courses to gain academically relevant knowledge and skills and grow professionally in these departments of homeopathic institute. BHMS qualified person with postgraduate qualification in relevant pre- and para-clinical discipline would be in a better academic state to teach and train homeopathic students in those subjects.

The third option is to design a post graduation program for these subjects in a way that it takes into consideration course content from homeopathic perspective. For example, Pathology is taught not just for histopathological content, but also their pathodynamics from core concepts of homeopathy. Such a curriculum may be structured on the principles of Educational Science and Technology, so that the teachers not only gain mastery over content but also competency in a wide range of curricular components like lesson planning, applying appropriate teaching – learning methods and media, and relevant evaluation techniques to make learning not only more meaningful but also enjoyable.

Postgraduate education in clinical and homeopathic disciplines also needs a review for academic competence. There has to be a dispassionate SWOT analysis of existing courses and openness and willingness to bring about changes if necessary to improve the academic stock of homeopathy.

A Case for Community Health Oriented Homeopathy Practitioner – re-orienting the trainers of internship program

2009-05-07T04:49:00.000-07:00

A Case for Community Health Oriented Homeopathy Practitioner
– re-orienting the trainers of internship program

Community health is a discipline that is gaining wider attention from the stakeholders of health, than was seen earlier. The reason for this shift could be the changing horizons of health philosophy, which is veering towards an inclusive health policy on a global scale. The increasing linking of health issues with human rights have brought into the health policy loop, the crusaders of social advocacy. Medical practitioners too are gradually getting sensitised to the social, environmental and economic dimensions of health and are accepting that medical model of health is not to be taken as an exclusive and isolated entity, but has to be seen in the entire range of human and social integration.

The medical curriculum – whichever stream of medicine it may belong to – is increasingly giving greater emphasis for the inculcation values among its learners, the non-medical dimensions of health – disease axis. Thus, it can be seen that many universities are exposing their medical students to the community health issues right from the first year of their studies. Such strategic moves facilitate the internalisation of values in the human interaction that get reinforced during the ‘hardcore’ clinical learning.

There are many global movements that are striving to position community health at the heart of healthcare delivery. The People's Health Movement, which is a worldwide movement of people's organisations, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and wide range of civil society networks and social movements is driving the World Health Organisation for the adoption of a resolution on Primary Health Care and Social Determinants of Health, so that the member countries make their health policies to ensure they are based on the principles of the fundamental right to health and the social conditions that create health, ensure that their current health care systems are modified to better respond to people's needs and the modified system has a clear process of continuously assessing people's health needs in a participatory manner and adopt public policies that are able to ensure sufficient and well-trained health care personnel and build the training of health care personnel on the principles of the right to health among other advocacy issues.

The concept of ‘Community Campus partnership for Health’ that is gaining momentum in the North Americas aims to foster partnerships between communities and medical education institutions so that they can synergise on each other's strengths for improving the health education curriculum and orienting it to the community health sensitivities. Community Campus Partnership for Health is a non-profit organisation that promotes health through partnerships between communities and higher educational institutions. It has a network of over 1,200 communities and campuses across North America which are collaborating to promote health through service-learning, community-based participatory research, broad-based coalitions and other partnership strategies.

The homeopathic undergraduate curriculum in India has laid sufficient emphasis on the community orientation of homeopathic practice. Towards achieving this goal, the Central Council of Homoeopathy has –
• Increased the duration of learning community health to three years, from the one year study that was earlier, and
• Made at least one month of internship posting at the Community Health Centre, preferably in a rural area.

These measures are intended to ensure that there are sufficient learning opportunities in the field of community health. However, since the last seven years that have passed after the new ordinance was enacted and at least three batches of students have come out under this scheme, there is a need to take stock of the impact of this new initiative. There is no organised study to assess this impact, if any was conducted, there it is not published in any of the journals nor presented in any seminar. However, the anecdotal evidence is suggestive of ‘no change’ in the attitude of the learners from the previously held beliefs.

The students under the older curriculum had the notion that ideologically homeopathy is customised medial therapy and that there can be no violation on this and the ‘new generation’ of learners who have studied under the modified curriculum continue to hold on to the same belief with the same intensity. The reason is even though the duration of studies was increased by two more years and there was compulsion to spend at least one month in the rural postings, the comparable scaffolding to facilitate this transformation was neither provided by an ideological articulation that there is compatibility of homeopathy in community health nor were there efforts to evolve robust models of community health practices on a larger scale. Whatever individual efforts were made have remained as isolated islands.

This is not to suggest that no efforts are made either at ideological dialogue or on-site experimentation of homeopathic principles in community care settings. Whatever small efforts were made are good enough to herald a new beginning. From these experiences, a scalable model can be developed and debated on a larger platform. The implementation of the consensual outcomes of such an effort can propel homeopathy into the mainstream of community health.
In this regard, the following activities are suggested to assess the impact of homeopathy in community health. This could be a pilot project at one centre or multiple centres. My plea is to reorganise the internship program for community health orientation, because –
• It would be easier to debate on the ideological issues with mature minds of internees than with the first or second year students, and
• The duration of at least one month can be gainfully utilised for experiencing the impact of homeopathy in community healthcare.

The planning for the internship program may be done to identify the objectives, activities and outcomes of the community health posting. The learning objectives of the internship program is to foster an understanding of the psychological, social, biological, and public policy factors that influence the health of people in populations.

At the outset, the internee shall be tested for the ‘entry behaviour’ to assess the existing knowledge, skills and aptitude so that he / she can be prepared to undergo the action learning from a position of strength and clarity. The assessment of entry behavior shall include the assessment for the following objectives –
• Define health, disease and recovery
• Describe what is meant by community health
• Describe the main health and social indicators used in community health
• Define epidemiology and describes its role in community health
• Define and differentiate between incidence and prevalence
• Describe how to identify and investigate epidemic
• Describe the epidemiological aspects of diseases
• Describe the epidemiological and preventive aspects of malnutrition
• Discuss the concept of family planning and family development

Objectives of the community health posting:
• Explain the influence of social-culture aspect on the individual perception of health and illness
• Discuss how community development affect changes in the lifestyles and epidemiologic transition of disease pattern
• Describe health promotion aspects for prevention of chronic disease
• Determine the social factors which may influence the prognosis of specific diseases
• Demonstrate the patient education skills as part of the management of patient’s problem.
• Demonstrate relevant, effective communication skills when talking to the patient, patient’s family and other medical staff
• Identify verbal and non-verbal behaviour when communicating with the patients, their family and the medical staff
• Demonstrate sensitivity towards religious, cultural, traditional and moral values of the community
• Demonstrate skills in scientific inquiry and critical thinking in the process of compilation, analysis and utilization of health data collected in the community for the purposes of identification and prioritization of community health problems
• Plan, implement and evaluate health promotion programs
Activities during the community health posting:

The following are some of the activities suggested for the community health segment of internship posting –
1. Conducting a survey of the population to understand the community that they will be working with, to be sensitive for the social, cultural, economic, linguistic and environmental diversities; to identify the health status of the community that they will be working in; to get the primary data with reference to morbidities and disease trends and to assess the possible existence of maintaining causes.
2. Data collection and projection
3. Providing clinical services – taking the case, analysing it with the background of the socio-environmental factors and providing the therapeutic care
4. Health education to the population on disease prevention and health promotion including nutrition and lifestyle counselling
5. Seminars, Poster presentation and Journal club on medical humanities, social and clinical research methods, etc.

Outcomes of the community health posting:
At the end of the posting, the internee would–
• have become sensitive to community health needs and identify him/herself with such healthcare delivery
• apply the principles of homeopathy for the individual and epidemic morbid expressions in the community
• develop team spirit for the promotion of community health
• make proactive efforts to actively assist community health efforts

At the end of the pilot study, it can be assessed for the effectiveness of the program by evaluating the extent and depth to which the stated objectives are realised. The second cycle will be to modify the program in the areas that have remained unattainable and project more realistic objectives or to modify the activities to support the realisation of objectives.

Role of homeopathy in community health

2009-03-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Preventive and Social Medicine or Community Health is emerging as a cementing force that is binding together medical care providers, health policy planners, government machinery and also the activist groups that are focussing on health related issues. The involvement of multiple stakeholders provides an understanding of how important community-based health issues are in the future of healthcare operations. The International Conference on Primary health Care, 1978, popularly called as Alma Ata Declaration lays stress on health being a fundamental human right. In this context, it is appropriate to examine the role of homeopathy vis-à-vis community health: whether these two entities are mutually compatible or is there a dichotomy in aligning these two.
Homeopathy, based on the operational principle ‘let likes be cured by likes’ is traditionally associated with an individualistic approach for therapeutic decision making. It is also a generally held understanding that every subject receiving homeopathy medicines has to be measured as an individual, applying the parameters of homeopathic pathometrics. These parameters include diagnostic profiling and personality profiling of each subject. This has become an integral and indelible routine in the homeopathic therapeutic decision making. Therefore, the populist interpretations of Hahnemann’s writings have revolved around the opinions that reinforce that homeopathy is customising prescriptions for the individual patients.

Community health, as a discipline, strives to provide health services in the community, understand community resources, promote health and prevent disease, empower communities with information on health related issues and promote community participation in healthcare activities among other issues. For achieving this, the community health strives to take into account the socio-cultural aspects of patient care, coordinate a community’s health resources for the care of patients, identify and intervene in a community health problem and assimilate into community and participate in its organisations.

Therefore, the approach of Community Health has is focused on preventive, promotive and therapeutic modalities for larger segments of society at any given time. The focus here is more inclusive of the society, than the single subject. In its quest for wider reach, community health trusts the opinion, ‘what is good for the population is good for the individual’. Thus, the operational principles of homeopathy and community health seem to be diametrically opposed and the popular image of homeopathy seems to be unsuited for its wider application in community health context.

However, this fallacy is as superficial as it can be. Scratch the history of homeopathy a little more deep; you will find that the greatest social impact that homeopathy has made, is in the ‘mass’ situations – be it the Asiatic cholera during Hahnemann’s time or the recent epidemics of Japanese Encephalitis in parts of India. It is another matter that the homeopathic profession has not completely showcased the good work it has done in the manner that could attract the attention of health policy makers to take position on the potential of homeopathy in community health context.

The corollary of the statistical significance of ‘what is good for mass is good for individuals’ could also be ‘what is good for one individual is good for another with the other circumstances remaining the same’. The second statement is the one that drives homeopathic materia medica. Thus, by deduction, homeopathy is compatible for ‘mass’ therapy.

Therefore, to explain the role of homeopathy in community health, we need to look for indications in interdisciplinary areas like Medial Sociology, Social Epidemiology, health geography and Multilevel Modeling. We may draw further inspiration from the research that is undertaken in the areas like ‘social model of health’. Medico sociological research on healthcare organization and policy can be focused on different levels – the macro, social level; the meso level of the formal organizational structure and the micro individual level.

Charles Mc lntire defined Medical Sociology in the late nineteenth century as the professional endeavour devoted to social epidemiology, study of cultural factors and social relations in connection with illness, and the social principles in medical organisation and treatment. Initially the medical professional endeavoured to develop it as a subsidiary discipline. However, it was the efforts of sociologists that developed medical sociology as an academic and research based discipline. Medical sociology concerns itself with the sociological study of the social institution of medicine, its knowledge, practice and effects. Medical sociologists investigate the social organisation and production of health and illness. They are also interested in the frontier areas of public health, demography, etc to explore phenomena at the intersection of the social and clinical sciences.

Social epidemiology is defined as "the branch of epidemiology that studies the social distribution and social determinants of health," that is, "both specific features of, and pathways by which, societal conditions affect health". The aim of social epidemiology is to identify socio environmental exposures that may be related to physical and mental health outcomes. The principal concern of social epidemiology is the study of how society and social organization influence the health and standard of living of individuals and populations.

Health geography is the interdisciplinary approach of applying geographical information to the study of health, illness and healthcare. Though it is based on the biomedical model of health, it is grounded in the empiricist ideology that stresses on observational evidence. This socio-ecological model takes a more holistic approach to health and illness. It emphasises on the treatment of whole person and not just components of the system.

Multilevel modeling is a process that applies parameters which vary at more than one level. The concept of levels is the critical factor in this process. Multilevel modeling has gained greater popularity due to the ease ushered in by computer technology and user friendly software applications. The goal of multilevel model is to predict values of some dependent variable based on a function of predictor variables at more than one level. For example, we might want to examine how a person’s health is influenced by the characteristics of an individual and the environment in which he / she lives.

Taking example of healthcare research, in the effort to assess the impact of two different therapies, one may have to take not only the response at individual level, but also at the environmental or other collateral levels. The data may be analysed for assessment of not only the individual level response, but also the levels of group response and responses of groups from various geographical distributions. These correlations must be represented in the analysis for correct inference to be drawn from the experiment.

To quote John Dewey, ‘I should venture to assert that the most pervasive fallacy of philosophic thinking goes back to neglect of context’. In the context of infectious disease treatment, it was observed and recorded by Thomas McKeown that improvement in living conditions, especially diet and housing, public sanitation and personal hygiene were also factored as important in eliminating the potential for infectious diseases. This contextualisation is also validated in homeopathy – from pathological response to individualised response to pathogenesis to constitutional flair that may transcend diagnostic criteria. Even in the modeling of human behaviour, context can be very important. Individual action may be determined by independent variables operating at different levels, from micro to macro.

A transdisciplinary approach by integrating areas of study like medical sociology, social epidemiology, health geography and multilevel modeling, to health and illness has resulted in contextualising health and society. In any phenomenon related to society and health, it has become necessary to impress upon the importance of context. Because of the human – social interaction is an open system consisting of variables that are diverse and perhaps beyond the control of external contextual influences, the application of multilevel modeling brings in a semblance of ‘organised thinking’. The biopsychosocial model developed by George Engel in the 1970s explains the convergence of various factors in the disease / disability generation. This demonstrates that characteristics or processes occurring at one level of analysis may have their effect on characteristics or processes at another level.

There is an increased interest and activity among the health policy researchers to understand the relevance of multilevel approach that could study the impact of the biopsychosocial model. The report prepared by the Office of Behavioural and Social Sciences Research, in the National Institute of Health, titled ‘Towards Higher Levels of Analysis: Progress and Promises in Research on Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health’, suggested integrating social science research into interdisciplinary, multilevel studies of health. It recommended a development of state-of-the-art social science method so as to measure data at various levels of social institutions.

If we agree that homeopathy is compatible as a mass therapy, how do we justify this phenomenon without deviating from homeopathic ideology? The Organon of Medicine not only provides examples of how the mass situations can affect the individuals – not just in the epidemic situation – but also in individual instances. In the aphorism 36, while discussing the simultaneous occurrence of dissimilar diseases, Hahnemann makes a mention of ‘… patient suffering from a severe chronic disease will not be infected by a moderate autumnal dysentery or other epidemic disease. The plague of the Levant, according to Larry does not break out where scurvy is prevalent, and persons suffering from eczema are not infected by it. Rachitis, Jenner alleges, prevents vaccinations from taking effect…’ Further, in aphorism 77, ‘… those diseases are inappropriately named chronic which persons incur who expose themselves continually to avoidable noxious influences …. These states of ill-health, which persons bring upon themselves disappear spontaneously, provided no chronic miasm lurks in the body, under an improved mode of living, and they can not be called chronic diseases’. These expressions underline the foresight and openness that Hahnemann had regarding aetiopathogenesis for homeopathic pathometrics.

He further distinguishes the characteristics of epidemic diseases vide aphorism 100, ‘…. A careful examination will show that every prevailing disease is in many respects a phenomenon of a unique character, differing vastly from all previous epidemics, in which certain names have falsely applied – with the exception of those epidemics resulting from a contagious principle, that always remains the same, such as small pox, measles, etc.’

In the aphorism 101, he states ‘… the carefully discerning physician can, however, from the examination of even the first and second patients, often arrive so nearly at a knowledge of the true state as to have in his mind a characteristic portrait of it, and even to succeed in finding a suitable, homoeopathically adapted remedy for it.’

In the aphorism 102, he states ‘… all those affected with the disease prevailing at a given time have certainly contracted it from the one and the same source and hence are suffering from the same disease …’

The above cited excerpts from Hahnemann’s writings iterate the compatibility that homeopathy has with the concept of community health. To take the argument further, we can assert that homeopathy not just takes cognisance of the individual or of the community in isolation, but an individual within the community and a community as a whole. The interrelationship of individual and community, and the outcomes of individual – community interactions have a strong bearing on the health of the individual and health of the community. Thus, the strength of homeopathic principles is the holistic community health, of which an individual is also a part. Another reason to assert that homeopathy and community health are mutually compatible is the approach to disease and illness is the holistic understanding that homeopathy has towards disease generation and health prevention, and the social model of health that is gaining wider acceptance in community health.

In the earlier model of public health practice, the working hypothesis was that diseases are caused as a result of exposure to noxious factors in the external environment. This is like the stimulus – response equation. Though this approach produced considerable successes in primary prevention, it does not satisfactorily address to the entire range of public health issues. Therefore, the emerging model of public health based on the social model suggests that in all its manifestations, disease is a reaction of the human organism to, and /or a failure to cope with, one or more unbalancing changes in its internal environment. These are caused by one or more unfavourable exchanges with the external environment and /or failures in the structural and functional design of the organism. Therefore, human illness is attributable to the dependence of organisms on a fundamentally hostile external environment and to unfortunate evolutionary legacies. This concept suggests that primary prevention is only a part of the whole and that there are different approaches to prevention, including interfering with disease mechanisms, and remedying human organisms’ design failures. This is much in tune with homeopathic approach that includes multilevel of parameters.

Therefore, the emerging model of public health, with a transdiciplinary approach stemming from the seamless fusion of medical humanities and clinical disciplines has veered to the homeopathic approach that was modeled more than two centuries back, and which was applied by homeopathic practitioners more in the individualized care settings than the community care context. It is now a challenge for the homeopathic community to leverage the principles and legacy of homeopathy to position homeopathy as a viable mainstream model for public health.

References:
• Annandale E: The sociology of health and medicine. Cambridge: Policy Press, 1998
• Bury M: Health and illness in a changing society. London. Routledge, 1997
• Engel GL: The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine. Science. 1977 Apr 8; 196(4286):129-36.
• Gabe J. P, Elston M. A, Bury M: Key Concepts in Medical Sociology. Sage Publications, Canada. 2004
• Hahnemann S: Organon of Medicine (6e). B. Jain Publishers, New Delhi, 1982
• Luke DA: Multilevel Modelling (3e), Sage, 2005
• Mackenbach J: The origins of human disease: a short story on "where diseases come from", Epidemiol Community Health.2006; 60: 81-86
• McKeown T: The Role of Medicine: Dream, Mirage or Nemesis? Princeton Univ Press, 1979
• Meade M. S and Earickson R. J: Medical Geography (2e). Routledge, 2005
• Michael Bury, Jonathan Gabe: The Sociology of Health and Illness: A Reader. Routledge, 2004
• Wong V. S: Principles of Community Medicine, accessed from www2.jabsom.hawaii.edu/ FamilyMedicine/Conference%20Schedule/.../Principles%20of%20Community%20Medicine%5B1%5D.ppt

Teaching "Human Biology" in Homeopathy UG Course

2009-01-02T01:38:00.000-08:00

I have come across the syllabus of Universities of Stanford and Washington in the U S of A, where they have included Human Biology in the pre-clinical study of their medical and dental courses. It is in fact not a completely new subject. In fact the Human Biology subject has the anatomy part, physiology part and biochemistry part. The teachers who are qualified in these basic sciences undertake their respective teaching and evaluation of students.

What is different is that the learners are made to feel that these subjects are not independent of each other, but have interconnections, whose appreciation is beneficial in clinical practice. Often the very text and reference books that are prescribed for the ‘stand alone’ subjects are utilized. However, there are some books that are designed for this ‘networked’ subject.

Ayurvedic students learn anatomy as “Shareera Rachana Shastra”, which has concepts and contents unique to itself. It is not the same as the mainstream anatomy.

I have deliberated much on this concept of Human Biology and feel that it is a good idea to give it a try at least on an experimental basis. While generating the educational objectives of this subject, care can be taken to give sufficient justification for the inclusion / deletion of the contents on the basis of their relevance to clinical practice with special reference to homoeopathic situation.

Though faculty development is a major issue, the efforts needed are minimal, since the teachers who are already in the field have to re-orient and upgrade their knowledge base. This can be organized in the form of re-orientation programmes for the select teachers.

This programme need not be started as a blanket agenda covering the entire 184 colleges in one go. It can be started on an experimental basis in one of the universities that has couple of institutions and evaluated for a period of one or two years for its effectiveness and attainment of purpose, and reviewed for continuation or otherwise. An interim permission form the competent authority to the effect that such an experimentation doest not imperil the academic future of the students who are the experimental subjects needs an administrative and political determination, which I hope is not lacking in the present leadership.

Human Biology for Homeopathy Unergraduate Course

2009-01-02T01:24:00.000-08:00

The following is the proposal that I had sent to the Central Council of Homeopathy, New Delhi, India in December 2002

Workshop on Human Biology in BHMS

Preamble:

The structure of homoeopathic undergraduate curriculum is profoundly influenced by the Medical Council of India’s curriculum for MBBS course. The professional and ideological priorities of homoeopathic practice are certainly not the same as an allopathic graduate. Therefore, the syllabus for pre-clinical subjects in BHMS cannot be the same as the one proposed for MBBS. Since the current syllabus draws the contents and process strongly from the MBBS syllabus, it is high time that we addressed to a need for reviewing the syllabus for the subjects like Anatomy and Physiology to begin with.

A closer look at the curriculum of Anatomy and Physiology in BHMS syllabus is a revealing experience in that there is a generous dose of these subjects at the cost of providing a homoeopathic orientation to the students right from the beginning of the course. Even as the Medical Council of India has reduced the duration of first MBBS from 18 months to 12 months and toned down on the regular dissections, we still persist with the age-old syllabus giving high priority to even the dissection of the entire brain.

A fair and unprejudiced assessment of the contents in Anatomy and Physiology of BHMS syllabus and their utilization in our clinical practice can be a topic of doctoral dissertation. On introspection, we do understand the usefulness of the minute details that we studied either in Anatomy or Physiology in our clinical practice. On the other hand, we are at times baffled by some of the simple issues pertaining to the structure / function of the human body. The main culprit for this academic disaster is the distorted priorities set in the syllabus.

Reflections:

The need of hour is to debate upon

Should we be teaching Anatomy and Physiology at BHMS?
If we should teach them, why we should?
What shall be our priorities for these subjects?
What should be the content?
What should be the format?
What are the material and human resources needed?

There is no denying that we should be teaching and more importantly, our students should be learning the basic medical sciences, including Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. These are not only needed to provide the academic parity for BHMS with other health sciences undergraduate courses, but also to equip the learners with the fundamental information to practice medicine.

Once we are convinced that we should after all be teaching these subjects, it is time to set our priorities for these subjects. The professional responsibilities of a homoeopathic practitioner are to some extent dictated by the societal and establishmentarian discernment of homoeopathy as a health-care profession. Homoeopathic professionals are considered as experts in certain predetermined diseases like the chronic diseases, persistent diseases, etc. They are not considered by the establishment for various reasons, to be competent to pursue higher education in the branches like surgery, obstetrics, etc. Unless we aim at bringing in a paradigm shift in the popular and political perception to see homoeopathic practitioners as a mainstream group indulging in the same tasks as an allopathic professional, we have to reconsider our curricular options.

Since we as homoeopaths have a strong therapeutic range in chronic diseases, it is conventional wisdom to focus on that aspect while writing the course objectives of the basic medical subjects. In this regard, stressing on the dissection of human body by every student and prescribing a whole range of equipments to teach anatomy is nothing short of dissipating the scarce resources. Seriously thinking, there is a lot that needs to be clipped out from the syllabus of Anatomy and Physiology in BHMS and there certainly are some issues, which need to be included to make it truly purposeful for the homoeopathic students and practitioners alike.

Proposal:

It is proposed to convene a workshop of senior teachers of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry in homoeopathic institutions across the country and deliberate on the ways and means of rationalizing the curriculum of these subjects, in terms of course aims, learning contents, assessment techniques, material and human resources to implement the course, etc.

The workshop may consider the following issues:

What shall be our priorities for teaching Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry?
What should be the teaching / learning content?
What should be the teaching / learning format?
What are the material and human resources needed to implement the suggestions?

Of late there is a trend in the health sciences related courses to integrate the teaching of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry under the generic name – Human Biology. An attempt is made to present an integrated view of these basic medical sciences to appreciate the symbiotic and holistic rapport of these disciplines. This also provides a more humanistic approach to medical students – an issue, that is very close to homoeopathic philosophy.

Therefore, the proposed workshop could also consider evolving the educational objectives of Human Biology as an alternative to discipline-based teaching of Anatomy and Physiology / Biochemistry as is in vogue now.

Format of workshop:

Send a proposal to Central Council of Homoeopathy for consideration to associate with this project
Form a core group to liaise with the institutions and send the message across
Identify a venue for the workshop
Draw a tentative Income – Expenditure statement
Request each of the recognized homoeopathic institute to depute one faculty member, preferably holding a senior position in the institute from the departments of Anatomy and Physiology / Biochemistry
Finalise the list of participants for the workshop
Identify the resource persons to co-ordinate the workshop
Finalise the dates for the workshop
Arrange or the staying and other necessities of the participants
Organize the workshop

Expected Outcomes:

The workshop shall focus on evolving

Educational objectives of Anatomy, Physiology / Biochemistry
Consider introducing Human Biology as an alternative to “Anatomy, Physiology / Biochemistry”
Reflect upon the possibility of launching “Human Biology” as the alternative on an experimental basis at least in one University
Resolve to provide the “homoeopathic orientation” right from the first year of BHMS course and even in the basic medical disciplines.

The proposal is in public domain. Anyone interested to carry this forward please get in touch with me. We can build a public opinion

Branding Homeopathy Education

2008-12-29T02:13:00.000-08:00

Homeopathy is set to emerge as a major influence on the global healthcare policy in the next two decades. The only constraining factor for this could be the brand of homeopathy education. The organised homoepathy education has to measure upto the global standards in documenting evidences for the training that happens in the institutions.

I presented a paper at the recently concluded National Homeopathy Summit at Lucknow on 'improving admissions in homeopathy colleges'. There was palpable apathy even among the managers and principals of the homeopathy colleges, which is incomprehensible; these are the institutions who are on the brink of collapse unless some resuscitation is given. Still there is an aura of 'fatalism' perhaps in the manner there was reaction.

There is every possibility that the southward trend of admissions' volume in homeopathy colleges can be halted and the numbers can be improved.

Is someone listening???