A Village To Call My Own

The Medical Council of India has recommended that PG medical students must serve three months in a district hospital before they get their degrees. This is a welcome move

There are four types of patients. The first are ignorant patients who form the majority and belong to rural India or the ruralurban belt in cities and metros. They depend totally on doctors for treatment and decisions. They may or may not have access to Google but all of them need affordable healthcare. The second are informed patients who read Google and visit the doctor with halfbaked knowledge and information. The third and fourth group are the empowered and enlightened patients, respectively, who want to share decision-making with their doctors. These are the patients who will go for the best services, hospitals and doctors.

It is the first category that is more im portant and both MBBS and post-gr a duate doctors need to understand and study the concept of affordable healthcare for this population. During my MBBS studies, CT scan, angiography, echo cardiography and advanced lab facilities were not available and yet we managed patients with very low morbidity and mortality. This was possible only because we were stationed in a rural set-up.

If a medical college is situated in an urban set-up and students get exposed only to well-off patients, they will not be able to learn rural and semi-urban healthcare systems and the needs of the community. It is true that under Article 21, health is a fundamental right and under Article 14, we need to provide uniform care at the national level. But what is more important is not the magnitude of care but the standard of care.

The magnitude of care may differ from facility to facility, but the standard of care should be the same. Whether the person comes from a rural or urban background, he should receive the same standard of care.