"Clinical tutoring is a good prospect for medical students"

Dr. Sanjay Singh is Assistant Professor in Katihar Medical College, Bihar. He has been teaching MBBS students for over 12 years now. He has graduated to teaching PG medical students and MD scholars since one and a half years.

Dr. Sanjay did his MBBS from Kolkata National Medical College in 1998. He started off his career as a Clinical Tutor in Katihar Medical College since 25th June, 1999. During his teaching career, he decided to pursue further studies and completed his MD in 2010.

In an exclusive interview with Shiksha.com, Dr. Sanjay Singh sheds light on medical profession as well as what it takes to be a successful doctor. He also suggests that Academics is fast emerging as a very lucrative option for brighter medical students.

How did you prepare for your medical entrance examinations?

After completing my 10+2, I tutored under subject-specific professors in Kolkata and got through West Bengal Joint Entrance Exam (WBJEE) in second attempt. At that time too, there were many famous  medical coaching classes around but they wanted lump sum money at the time of admission. There was no one at home to guide me but I think that for a self-motivated person, these are only inconveniences. Because wherever there is a will, there is always a way.

What differences do you see in medical students of today and yesterday?

Medical students were more laborious in the past. In my batch, future doctors used to study for 18-20 hours a day. They used to pore over books, attended practical, clinical, and theory classes regularly, had healthy intellectual discussions with teachers and saw patients diligently. Today, students have acquired the ‘made-it-easy' mentality. They are not so regular in the classes, rely more on technology and Net, and do not study for more than 5-6 hours a day. Their lax attitude has become a key reason for degradation of skill in the medical profession.

As an academician, what do you think about the Common Entrance Test (CET) proposed by the government?

I do not exactly find it alluring. Government reasons that a Common Entrance Test for all medical colleges throughout India will reduce financial burden on the students and their parents and that they won't have to run from one place to another to give different medical entrance exams. However, I think it has also brought down the number of options students had to just one. If a student is unable to get in based on that single medical entrance exam, he or she will have no hope of getting a seat in any medical college in India.

But won't it mean that medical colleges will be able to get best students from all over India and the quality of medical education will go up?

The quality of medical students coming into the medical college may go up but if the quality of overall medical education has to go up, medical education system has to be better regulated and the rules and regulation will need to be strictly enforced. These days, coaching classes are into robotic production of medical students who depend a lot on rote learning to crack medical entrance examinations. We see as many as 40 to 50% students failing their semester-specific exams every year. At last, only hard work pays.

What rules and regulations are you talking about?

• Regular attendance in all the classes
• Periodical Assessments from time to time
• Acquiring Updated Information by attending Seminars and from Medical Journals
• Regular Ward Attendance
• Dedicated Teachers
• Promoting the Spirit of Medicine and sensitizing Future Doctors towards woes of patients and their family members
• Promoting Higher Education in Medicine

Is Katihar medical college a private one or a government medical college?

A private one.

Is there reservation for SC/ST/OBC students in private medical colleges?

Right now, only government medical colleges offer reservation of seats for SC/ST/OBC students. Talks are on about reservation in private medical colleges too but it has not been implemented yet. However, there are some private colleges for minority institutions that reserve 50% of their seats for the state minority and keep rest of their seats open like Christian Medical College, Vellore; Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Kishanganj Medical College, Bihar for Sikhs, and Katihar Medical College (KMC), Bihar for Muslims.

There are some medical colleges in private-public partnership (PPP) where government provides land to private institutions to build a medical college and medical colleges allot half the seats to its candidates.

How many seats are available for students in government and private medical colleges all over India?

Every year, only 31,000 medical students get admission in medical colleges all over India at present.

We have news that government will be doubling medical seats soon.

Government has already doubled its medical seats at the PG level in government medical colleges. The seats will be doubled at the UG level too. The aim is to have one medical college in every district. Today, there are only 303 medical colleges in India - catering to all the 612 districts of India. Thus, there is a lot of scope in the profession for medical students.

What are all the prospects open for MBBS students?

A trained doctor finds many takers. You can do your own clinical practice or open your own hospital. If you want to do a job in India or abroad, you will find it at your own doorstep. You can become a Research Scholar or join Academics as a career. There are a lot of administrative jobs in Hospitals and Medical Colleges for MBBS graduates too who choose to do further Diploma or Degree course in Hospital Administration. It is quite a lucrative career.

But there are many disadvantages too. There are no short cuts for doctors. You cannot expect quick rise in this profession. Guinness Book of World Records mentions that to become a doctor, you have to go through most expensive, most exhaustive, and most time-consuming education. You have to be very patient, before you can handle patients.

Source: Ruchi Shrimali (Shiksha Team)