In these days the Kerala News papers talks about the issues regarding the management admission in the Medical seats of self-financing colleges. As Keralites it is not surprising for us, as it comes periodically every year, in the beginning of the academic year. The student’s political parties are raising this issue in such a way that it is the first time we are facing such situation and they will continue this until they will get some other subject to show the color of their flags.

But we are forgetting that a lot of students and the parents are at the peak point of anxieties, for them the worries and tensions are not ends with the entrance exam and result announcement. The uncertainty between the Government and the Management are ridiculing the effort and time taken by those candidates to eligible for a medical seat.

This is not only the case of Kerala only, though we are not seeing much agitations in other states of the country, vagueness are there in the admission process of the professional courses. As always the Government and the concerned body are solving the problem in a temporary basis and it will come after one year again. We are not getting any permanent solution for this issue. As a citizen we can blame for the system and hope for the best to come.

The Next Best Option?

There are a group of people who don’t want to get into these issues and lessen their career pace due to such arguments. Medical Seats are always receives an attractive position in the common man’s life. It is more about a social status rather than pursuing a degree and in India we can see lot of parents who are declaring proudly that their child got a Medical seat. But unfortunately being more lucrative there is a big difference in the demand and supply side of the course, obvious that the demand side is higher than that of the supply. Hence the competition is so tight for the available Government seats and those in the management side, the discussions and later troubles are not going to be end.

What will be the next option for the aspirants of Medicine, who misses out the options here in the country. The good news for them is the opportunities available in the foreign countries for various medical courses. It was there in the eighties and in nineties, but we don’t felt the necessity since our professional education sector is more balanced than that of the present time. USSR was there in the list from the early days and now China is also becoming one of the preferred areas for the medical courses. There are many reasons why the students are choosing the foreign countries for their studies.

Seven Years Vs Six Years

In India the Medical profession is controlled by the Medial council of India and they made Skill Test compulsory for every MBBS students to register their degree and to practice in India after their house surgeon. It was similar to the screening test conducted for the students having their degrees from the foreign countries. The Indian Government is making a policy by which the students need to do the rural service after their house surgeon for one year and it is going to be mandatory for all the aspirants of this profession. Hence all together the students need to spend seven years to complete their Bachelors’ course in Medicine in India.

This is not the case of students who are pursuing their degree in China and other counties. The Colleges in China allows the student to do their one year internships in India and Medical council approved this as the service period. The students can take their practicing/internship in India straight after their five year program by taking the screening test and can do in the Indian Government Hospitals or in the corporate ones. Thus the students have to study in China for five years plus one year as service period in India, all together six years to complete and registering their course. This will enable them to effectively save one year. The two degrees are equally treated in the country and hence there is a greater advantage in saving your time.

The Expense Part

This is one of the greatest threats for the Indian students to have a degree in Medicine. The medical line is topping the list of the most costly courses in the country. Though they are eligible to get a seat, the reservation issues and the less number of seats made them to pay a huge amount as course fee. It is very difficult for the middle class people to manage the expense part of this program. If you are belonging to a middle class and unable to manage a Government seat, then the medical profession is not for you.

Now commonly the course becomes the favorite one for the Upper class people. Each year the fee structure is taking a huge hike which is not happening in the income structure of the Indian Citizen. The average price for a management seat in the country costs around Rs. 35-40lakhs plus other expenses and course fee.

The Fee structure in the countries like China and USSR is much lesser than that of these. A parent has to spend around Rs.40lakhs all together for the five years. The developed infrastructure, modern facilities and technological advancement and the Government funding make the course fee lessen in these countries. This is also a driving force towards the foreign countries for the medical degree.

The Infrastructure and Other Facilities

The Indian Medical Colleges and other private institutions are always blamed for the poor facilities and also for not meeting the benchmark in the quality standards needed for the future doctors. There are manyreasons said behind the lack of resources but nothing will count when it come to the academic requirements. Indian students are getting less exposure to the modern medical technologies and equipment used for diagnosis and other treatment purposes.

But the Chinese and USSR hospitals and Medical field are known for the world class hospitals and ambiance and thus the students get higher exposure in various related fields. The well trained faculties and exquisite labs are common in the Medical colleges in those countries. The interaction with different culture and the healthy level of completion exist among the students help to develop the personal as well as the emotional maturity. These are some advantage of taking courses in those countries and help you to think about a career in Medicine….