Today I am talking about need of sending
medical students in rural community during their study in medical school.
It was believed in the past that health
problems could be solved by advancement in medical technology and by production
of smart and competent doctors. It was true few decades ago, when medicine was
not this developed. Identification and management of health problems was mostly
not easy and sometimes not possible. Now, medicine is very much developed.
There is tremendous improvement in technology and knowledge of health issues and
disease. We can treat/manage most of the health problems. But still there are people
who are dyeing prematurely and untimely in many parts of world due to
insignificant and minor problems. The major reason of this is inaccessibility
of the medical service. In rural parts of our nation, there is absence of proper
health services and qualified health professionals. Even simple and easily
manageable health problems are killing people in those areas. The life
expectancy of one district of our country is two decades less than other
district (Mugu and Kathmandu). Just imagine the disparity… A baby born today
will live about 20 years less just because of being born in Mugu, not in
Kathmandu. What is its fault for this punishment? If there had been availability
of the health services and health professionals, the disparity had not been
this large in our country and around the globe. Newly graduated doctors and other
health professionals don’t understand there need in those areas thus are
concentrated in big cities. This was realized by WHO and medical universities
worldwide and they concluded that, medical students should be trained to work in
community as a part of medical education which will make them well aware about
the ground reality and also make them compassionate enough with desire to
contribute in service of rural areas. They can be advocates of disadvantaged
and underserved ones and also provide service to these underprivileged people.
Knowing such need in current generation of
doctors, many medical universities around the globe have implemented community
based curriculum in their medical schools. Our medical school PAHS (Patan
Academy of Health Science) as well has opted Community Based Learning and Education (CBLE) as a strategic
approach to make its graduates community oriented and to make them advocates of
disadvantaged. Such community based educations are experience based learning
that gives students an opportunity to understand the problem at the ground
level. It enables the graduates to understand ‘social, economic and cultural
aspects of people’s life and their relationships with health & disease and
problems of the community’ in real life setting. Community Postings make the graduates gain confidence to adjust and
efficiently carry out their duties when posted in such a setting. Thus it
motivates them to develop an enthusiasm to serve the underprivileged areas of
the country. Please don’t forget, taking the students in community for 1 day as
a trip or picnic because of mandatory rules of community posting by the affiliating
university won’t help at all. I have heard some medical collage do so.
I know going to rural forever is not
practical for any health professional. But going there for few years immediately
after graduation is achievable. Before he leaves the place for higher education
or anything, fresh graduate will take his place. And I am pretty sure, the strategies
like CBLE will encourage graduates to work in rural for at least few initial
years of their professional life.
Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment