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CRITERIA-VII

INNOVATIONS AND BEST PRACTICES

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7.1 Environment Consciousness 7.1.1 Does the institution conduct a Green Audit of its Campus The institution is conscious of its green responsibilities and endeavours at every step to be as environmentally friendly as is feasible in is functional constraints as will be outlined from the responses below. However apart from self awareness and internal efforts at being green it has not undergone and external or third party audit at its campus thus far. 7.1.2 What are the green initiatives … Energy conservation – The institution has started converting all its electrical lighting, from compact

Fluorescent lamp based to LED based lighting systems, in an ongoing effort to reduce its energy utilization foot print, in a phased manner. At present we are making our way through this initiative, several buildings have been fitted with LED lighting.

Use of renewable energy – The institution has rooftop located solar water heating system for energy conservation and use of renewable sources of energy. These are installed in heavier demand areas such as the wards and OT Block. The use of solar water heating system is also being extended to other blocks of the institution, however, as there is limited roof space available in the multistoried blocks, further scope of solar power for water heating has become limited.

Water harvesting – all the building drainage and rain-water run off systems of the campus have been designed and constructed by the PWD in a manner so as to enable ground water recharging.

Solar panels – Due to limited roof area available in the multistoried blocks. There is now limited scope for viable/significant deployment of solar panels. However, this matter is still being explored through PWD and if technically feasible/ viable, it is planned in the near future.

Efforts for attainment of carbon neutrality – the institution is using many techniques to reduce energy utilization (as mentioned earlier) and to use renewable energy sources. It has also invested considerable time, manpower and money in horticultural activities and efforts for greening of campus, as well as, planting of trees, towards attaining carbon neutrality. However, a detailed audit of the campus in this regard, has not been taken.

Plantation (of botanical or medicinal significance) – The institution’s horticulture activities are coordinated along with hospital’s horticulture department which maintains the campus greenery and manages a Nursery near Gate No.8 of the campus. The institution expends time and manpower in maintaining greenery in the campus, towards carbon neutrality. In addition, the institution has green

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plants / trees of medicinal / botanical significance, planted near the college building, with the help of experts available for such activities. These plants are grown and replenished when depleted. These plants have been labeled for the benefit of students and general public, to raise awareness.

Bio-hazardous waste management – Bio-hazardous waste of institution is managed according to national guidelines. The institution follows the NACO/national guidelines for hazardous medical waste segregation and disposal, making use of color coded plastic bag of approved material and thickness for general items and puncture–proof containers for sharps. The institution has its own incinerator as well as autoclaving facilities to help make the bio-medical waste non-hazardous before final disposal.

E-waste management – E-waste generated in the hospital is segregated in the institution and disposed off through accredited and approved e-waste disposal agencies, and following appropriate procedure, according to the state and national guidelines.

Effluent treatment and recycling plants – the institution has its own water effluent treatment plant for managing the waste water and sewage generated from its buildings and the recycled water is used for campus horticulture activities.

Though conscious and mindful of its environmental responsibilities, and, the need for setting an example, as well as highlighting any steps taken, for students to follow, the institution has not yet undergone any formal audit by an expert third party or external agency or, awarded any recognition certification for either carbon neutrality or any other certification for environment friendliness thus far.

7.1.3 The institution, along with attached GTB Hospital has its own hospital infection control cell

(HICC). Its activities are coordinated by Microbiology department, and the HICC is involved in both active and passive surveillance measures, for monitoring presence of infection causing micro organisms prevalent both in the hospital (Inpatient’s) as well as, in out patient’s (OPD) and their anti-microbial sensitivity and generating reports regarding the same from time to time. The Microbiology Department and HICC is also involved and monitoring clean spaces and OTs, and helps in the monitoring and reporting of outbreaks / epidemics amongst patients/community such as Dengue, Chikungunya, Malaria, etc.. They have their own standard operating procedures, which are upgraded from time to time, to be in accordance with national and international norms while being realistically feasible to implement.

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Radiation safety measures prevalent in the institution are mainly those that are prevalent in Radiology & Imaging department, in accordance with DAE & BARC guidelines followed nation-wide, for personal, as well as, environment monitoring of the department concerned. As there is no department of nuclear medicine or radio-therapy, radioactive material handling and issues arising as a consequence thereof are non-existent.

7.1.4 The institution has not been audited or accredited by any other agency such as NABL, NABH however the GNCT of Delhi has plans for the same for the hospital. This attempt at NAAC accreditation is such an endeavour.

7.2 7.2.1 Medical Education Unit (MEU) with an expanded scope

Innovations

The Medical Education Unit is located on the second floor of the Library building in the college premises. It is open from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm, Monday to Friday, and from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm on Saturday. The mandate to the MEU defines eight tasks: Faculty Development, Research in Medical Education, Development of a Resource Center, Continuing Medical Education, Policy Development, Developing Systems of Assessment, Developing Communication Links, and Developing and implementing Instructional Design. A brief description of the activities of the MEU, UCMS in the year 2014 is attached (Annexure-7.1).

Medical Education Unit Activities in brief: Research in Medical Education One of the prime objectives of the MEU is to promote research in Medical Education. The main goals are to: Conduct policy oriented research in medical education; Translate research into practical improvements in medical education; and Train medical education researchers.

Faculty Development Workshop

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The Medical Education Unit organizes several workshops aimed at improving the teaching - learning skills at undergraduate, postgraduate and senior resident level as well as for faculty development. The faculty development workshop has been held for the faculty of UCMS, with the objectives to allow participants to be better able to: have a greater understanding of how students learn, and utilize different learning technologies when appropriate; have a range of strategies from which to plan, implement and evaluate their own teaching to engage students in the learning process; demonstrate competence and skill in understanding and using a range of assessment methods commonly used in Medical Education; give feedback in an appropriate manner; and employ goal-seeking behavior and team-work in medical education, and as life skills. Senior Resident Training on Educational Principles (STEP) Three day orientation workshop was designed by the MEU. The objective of STEP was to provide the residents a repertoire of pedagogical practices from which to plan, implement and evaluate their own teaching to engage students in the learning process and to demonstrate competence and skill in understanding and using a range of assessment methods, to give feedback in an appropriate manner and to employ goal-seeking behavior and team-work in medical education.

Thesis writing workshop & Protocol writing workshop Writing a Thesis is a teaching-learning method. It teaches you research methodology and biomedical communication. The thesis is a essential part of the MD/MS/MDS program. The MEU holds regular thesis protocol writing workshops for the first year MD/MD/MDS students and thesis writing workshops for the final year students.

The program for thesis writing workshop for second year postgraduate students is attached. (Annexure-7.2) The program for thesis protocol writing workshop for first year postgraduate students is attached. (Annexure-7.3)

7.2.2 Multidisciplinary Modular teaching at UCMS

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Multidisciplinary Teaching / Learning Module on ‘Injury Prevention and Control’ for sixth semester students of UCMS and GTBH Modular teaching on Prevention and Control of Injuries was initiated in 2008, as part of a WHO SEARO initiative. After the success of the first session at UCMS, it has been worked into the regular undergraduate curriculum, and is now being conducted under the aegis of the Medical Education Unit.

A ten day module is conducted every April for sixth semester students. Involving a multidisciplinary approach, it includes lectures, hands-on tutorials, and student seminars. Nearly every specialty has a role to play in injury prevention; hence a multidisciplinary approach. Principal areas that are covered in the module include: Road traffic injuries, fall-related injuries, drowning, burns, poisoning, occupational injuries and work safety, violence related injuries, animal related injuries and disaster preparedness.

Copy of the 7th Multidisciplinary T/L Module on Injury Prevention and Control for 6th Semester held from 3rdApril – 15th April 2014 is attached (Annexure-7.4)

7.2.3 Mentoring programme

Mentoring is a relationship between a more experienced person (mentor) and a less experienced one (mentee). New entrants to the professional course at the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) have a unique opportunity to be mentored by senior medical students and a board of faculty mentors. The Student Mentoring Program at UCMS was designed by a group of dedicated faculty and students to facilitate informal out-of-classroom conversations between faculty, senior students and new entrants. The broad aim is to enhance the University experience for all. The short term goal is to introduce an immediate support network for incoming students. Thus, new entrants will get familiar with life at college, academically and culturally, so that they can better achieve their full academic potential. The long term goal is to cultivate a mentoring culture at UCMS and GTB Hospital that will engage all strata of students and every faculty member.

7.2.4 Disability Support Service

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UCMS is committed to providing equal access to education and equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Students are encouraged to be open about their disability and to discuss their individual needs with the Enabling Unit. Students should disclose a disability early in the academic year to ensure that essential support can be provided on time. The Enabling Unit adheres to University of Delhi’s policy regarding students and staff with disability. The Unit strives for improvement in the overall infrastructure, and in the learning and teaching process for the academic community. The University College of Medical Sciences also has an Equal Opportunity Cell that ensures affirmative action with regard to persons belonging to marginalized sections of society and persons with disability.

An action report of the Enabling Unit, UCMS - ACE (Access, Communication, Education) action report is attached. (Annexure-7.5)

7.2.5 Medical Humanities

'Medical Humanities' has been defined as an integrated, inter-disciplinary philosophical approach to recording and interpreting human experience of illness, disability and medical intervention. The Medical Education Unit formed the ‘Medical Humanities Group’ (MHG) on 1st April 2009. Being one of the first medical institutes in India to start such a program, we are still evolving. The reason for its genesis was the belief that medical students in India are focused from an early age on science subjects; dissociation from the humanities stream results in an unbalanced world-view. The various activities under the Medical Humanities Group include 'Confluence' (lecture series), Street Theater by students of UCMS, SPIC-MACAY activities, poetry recitation, Theater of the Oppressed Workshop, Infinite ability (disability sub-group), Gang-Green (Environmental Group), and Comicos (Graphic Medicine Club). Students may choose to become part of any sub-group, or may volunteer for starting one (like History of Medicine, Ethics, Narrative Medicine etc).

7.2.6 Theatre of the Oppressed

In order that trust and a strong relationship between the physician and the patient be established, it is not only necessary to promote greater understanding between the doctor and the patient but also provide enabling solutions where all stakeholders see themselves as a part of the larger

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society we all live in. Improvement in communication and hence greater caring will likely occur automatically if both the lay society and the physician community develop understanding about themselves. This awareness of oneself and one’s relationship to the society we live is one aspect of human personality and development that Theatre of the Oppressed techniques enable.

A two-day workshop in theatre of the oppressed culminated in a Forum performance at the University College of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India. This was the first time that a Theatre of the Oppressed workshop was being conducted exclusively for medical students. The workshop and the benefits it had to offer were received with great enthusiasm.

7.2.7 Infinite Ability

Infinite Ability is an attempt to provide an insight into the experience of living and coping with impairment. It is about exploring disability through creativity. A new special-interest-group created within Medical Humanities Group of University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, Delhi, India. The main purpose of the group is the promotion and coordination among Medical Persons with Disabilities (MPwD) by utilizing Medical Humanitarian approaches to focus on four competency-based learning objectives: Narrative Medicine/Graphic Medicine, Interpersonal and Communication Skills (Theatre of the Oppressed), Patient Care and Professionalism.

7.2.8 Gang-green

Gang-green is the environmental lobby of the Medical Humanities group. It proposes to disseminate awareness about environmental degradation and to initiate sustainable change.

7.2.9 SPIC MACAY and UCMS

The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY) is a voluntary youth movement which promotes intangible aspects of Indian cultural heritage by promoting Indian classical music, classical dance, folk music, yoga, meditation, crafts and other aspects of Indian culture; it is a movement with chapters in over 300 towns all over the world. Some of the activities of SPIC MACAY that have been organized in UCMS include "Save the tiger and may be also the RudraVeena" - Guest lecture by Dr. Kiran Seth, founder of SPIC MACAY

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in 2015, SPIC MACAY Lecture-Demonstration Bharatnatyam by Lavanya Ananth in February 2012, Mohan Veena Recital September 2011, PatherPanchali February2011, Kathak performance by Padamshree Shovana Narayan, Charlie Chaplin's first talking film'The great Dictator' in 2010.

7.2.10 Newsletter COSMOS- The UCMS Newsletter The UCMS and GTBH launched the first issue of its newsletter 'COSMOS' on 2nd May 2011. Copy of the COSMOS newsletter 2013 issue is attached (Annexure-7.6)

7.2.11 E-Journal

Research and Humanities in Medical Education (RHiME) The Medical Humanities Group, UCMS launched its flagship journal Research and Humanities in Medical Education (RHiME) in April 2014. RHiME is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal devoted to the Humanities in Medical Education. It has been assigned ISSN (online) number 23500565. The stated aim of the journal is to encourage contributions from and discussion between teachers and students, doctors and patients, the sick and their care-providers, and between health policy makers and policy users. The Editorial Board invites authors to submit original work relating to Medical Education and Medical Humanities. The following types of articles are published: Invited Editorial, Original Article, Student Original Article, Review article: systematic critical assessment of literature/artwork/film/practice, Narrative Medicine [either in English or an Indian Vernacular language (with translation into English where available)], Perspective, Poetry and Fiction [either in English or an Indian Vernacular language (with translation into English where available)], History of Medicine, Chhayankan (Visual Art), Research Brief, Letter to the Editor, Announcements and News, Discover.

An Editorial article published in the journal RHiME is attached. (Annexure-7.7)

7.2.12 Department of Biostatistics & Medical Informatics

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This Department was initially called Computer Centre and then Division of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics and started in the year 1995 as an independent unit. It was upgraded as the full Department in the year 2005. The Department provides all biostatistics and computer related services. All kinds of biostatistical consultation from the planning stage of the analysis of data are provided to the faculty for research and post-graduate theses. The thrust areas of research are health indicators and health databases.

7.2.13 National Knowledge Network (NKN)

The NKN is a state-of-the-art multi-gigabit pan-India data network for providing a unified high speed network backbone for all knowledge related institutions in the country. The purpose of such a knowledge network goes to the very core of the country's quest for building quality institutions with requisite research facilities and creating a pool of highly trained professionals. The NKN will enable scientists, researchers and students from different backgrounds and diverse geographies to work closely for advancing human development in critical and emerging areas. UCMS is one of the first medical colleges in Delhi to join the NKN as a nodal institution.

7.2.14 Intra Mural Research Grant

Research is an integral part of development of Science and Medicine. In order to encourage post graduate students and young Faculty members to undertake minor/pilot research projects relevant to health sector, the college has launched a scheme of providing Intra-Mural Research Grant (IMRG) to facilitate experimentation of novel ideas. A maximum amount of Rs.25,000/- for each proposal in one Financial Year is sanctioned under the Scheme. In the year 2011-12 a total of 52 IMRG projects have been sanctioned with a total sanctioned value of Rs. 9.99 lacs.

7.2.15 Hospital Infection Control Committee

The Hospital Infection Control Committee (HICC) is involved in annual surveillance of environmental monitoring of all OT’s and quality testing of water supply to the Hospital and Residential areas. It also undertakes outbreak investigation as a part of surveillance activity.

7.2.16 Problem based Learning

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Some departments have started introducing a newer and probably more effective way of teaching in the form of problem based learning. In this the students are introduced to clinical scenario/case based on the topic the teacher intends the student to learn. It is important that the students are naïve to the topic. While trying to solve the problem in a group discussion the students identify the learning needs and go home and try to read about them. In the next session they come back and share the knowledge they have gathered amongst their peer group. The teacher acts as a facilitator and only guides the group. He/she does not give out any information to the student. At the end of each session the students give their feedback by filling up a well structured feedback form. This form of self directed learning has been well accepted by the student as evident from the positive feedback given by the students at the end of each session. At present Physiology and Biochemistry departments are conducting PBL sessions regularly. There is need of horizontal and vertical integration to make this more effective

7.2.17 Research Cell

The research cell of UCMS was constituted to facilitate research amongst faculty members and students. The Research cell is chaired by Prof Meera Sikka. Three committees associated with the research cell are Research Project Advisory Committee (RPAC), Institutional Ethical Committee-Human Research (IEC-HR), and Institutional Ethical Committee-Animal Research (IEC-AR). Functions The research cells deals with

a. Managing intramural and extramural research grants b. Helping the researcher in procuring instruments, chemicals and other miscellaneous items

needed for research activity. c. Organizing and facilitating meetings of the three associated committees.

7.2.18 Skill laboratory The college had the distinction of receiving a special grant of Rs. 50 lacs from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for setting up of a Skill Laboratory. The laboratory is used regularly by various teaching departments of the college for providing skill training programmes to various

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beneficiaries such as undergraduate students, interns, postgraduate students and senior resident doctors. The departments that have been providing skill training programmes using the facilities available in the skill laboratory include the departments of Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Anaesthesia, Orthopedics etc.

7.3 Best Practices

7.3.1 Give details of any two best practices that have contributed to better academic and administrative functioning of the institution.

Title of the First Practice –

Medical Education Unit (MEU) at UCMS, with an expanded scope

(a) Objective of the practice:

To work towards faculty development, research in medical education, development of a resource center, continuing medical education, policy development, developing systems of assessment, developing communication links, and developing and implementing instructional design. All these well set objectives are aimed at smoothening and enriching the campus learning experience of the medical student /doctor with the aim of enabling creation of well rounded doctors/professional well capable of the service of humanity.

(b) Context:

The Medical Council of India, by the MCI Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, made it mandatory for all medical colleges to establish Medical Education Units (MEUs) or departments, in order to enable faculty members to avail modern education technology for teaching. Towards this end UCMS established its Medical Education Unit, which has been working with zeal and commitment towards the stated goals. Over a period of time, it was realized that MCI’s mandate for MEU’s in medical colleges was limited to improving outcomes of professional teaching and learning but did not aid the student in any way in becoming a well rounded and good human being. Keeping this in mind the MEU at UCMS has taken up challenging issues that go beyond the mandate by MCI, to strive for excellence at the institution in spheres of learning other than medical academics alone.

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(c) Practice

The institution has developed a vibrant and active Medical Education Unit over the years of its existence. Several faculty members of the institution are directly involved in the daily activities of the MEU and, many more support wholeheartedly the various activities organized by the MEU as needed, from time to time. The Medical Education Unit organizes several workshops aimed at improving the teaching - learning skills at undergraduate, postgraduate and senior resident level as well as for faculty development. As one of its unique practice, training courses on educational principles have been organized for senior resident doctors, many of whom represent future faculty members, medical practitioners and researchers. One of the prime objectives of the MEU is to promote research in Medical Education. The MEU holds regular thesis protocol writing workshops for the first year MD/MD/MDS students and thesis writing workshops for the final year students. Another unique initiative under the aegis of the MEU is a multidisciplinary teaching-learning module on ‘injury prevention and control’ for undergraduate students of the college, that is being regularly held annually for the benefit of each new batch. The Student Mentoring Program is also run by the MEU and provides a holistic support system to the new entrants in the medical college.

The Enabling Unit and the Equal Opportunity Cell of UCMS, function through active support and coordination by the MEU. MEU show its commitment towards this best practice of providing equal access to medical education and equal opportunities for students with disabilities.

The Medical Humanities Group formed by the MEU represents another innovative practice by the MEU UCMS. Various other activities of the MEU include 'Confluence' (lecture series), Street Theater by students of UCMS, SPIC-MACAY activities, poetry recitation, Theater of the Oppressed Workshop and Infinite ability (disability sub-group).

(d) Evidence of Success

The MEU has been diligently and regularly holding all its activities towards the achievement of its stated objectives. Information about all the activities, events, workshops being held by the MEU UCMS is made available on its own website www.medicaleducationunit.yolasite.com. The website is regularly updated with information about upcoming events and in several cases support material is made available for the beneficiaries after a program is over, e.g. for thesis writing workshops.The MEU has had the pleasure of launching its flagship journal Research and Humanities in Medical Education (RHiME) which represents an effort towards ensuring development in the field of medical education and medical humanities not just in the institution but beyond it too.

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7.3.2 Title of the Second Practice – Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU)

a) Goal:

i) To promote and facilitate research amongst Faculty and students of all departments. ii) To make state of the art research instruments and facilities available for all those who are interested in quality research. These two goals are largely derived from the institutional goal of encouraging and promoting the practice of top quality medical research amongst the students and faculty. The MEU and DBMI also contribute to this effort by orienting and helping plan relevant top quality biomedical research.

b) Context:

Most of the faculty members and students who had been oriented and trained in research with the help of efforts of MEU, were hesitant to plan and execute laboratory based research work of international standards, due to lack of essential high end instruments. It is always difficult to procure such costly instruments by individual researchers through funded projects. Therefore, with the help of a grant from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU) was established, to procure and maintain quality instruments, which will foreseeably enable the researchers of the institute to widen their horizon of research activity and realize their potential as researchers while also contributing significantly to the progress of medical science.

c) Practice

Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU)

A centralized Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU) was established with funding from Ministry of Health And Family welfare under the scheme of “Development of Infrastructure for Promotion of Health Research” as per letter no V.25011/570(i)/2010-HR. The total grant received was Rs. 6.25 Crores. Three spaces were identified in the college block and three Central Research Laboratories (CRLs) were established under the Scheme:

CRL I has the following instruments: HPLC, Gene Sequencer, Real time PCR, Gradient PCR. Flash Chromatography Gel Documentation system, Water purification system, Nanodrop.

CRL II has the following instruments: Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter, -80°C deep freezer, -40°C deep freezer, -20°C deep freezer, Thermostatic orbital shaker, Multimode reader, Elisa washer.

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CRL III has the following instruments: Biosafety cabinet, Inverted Microscope, Microcentrifuge, CO2 incubator, Autoclave, Automated cell counter.

Technical Staff has been appointed on contractual basis to help with the experimental work of the researcher using this facility. They include two Research Scientists, two Lab Technicians and one Lab Assistant.

d) Evidence of Success

Increasing numbers of the faculty members have successfully procured extramural research grants from various funding agencies and are making optimum use of the instruments. There has been a steady and considerable increase in research grants and publications over the past few years.

Research Cell

The research cell of UCMS was constituted to facilitate research amongst faculty

members and students. The Research cell is chaired by Prof Kiran Mishra.

Three committees associated with the research cell are Research Project Advisory

Committee (RPAC), Institutional Ethical Committee-Human Research (IEC-HR), and

Institutional Ethical Committee-Animal Research (IEC-AR).

Functions

The research cells deals with

• Managing intramural and extramural research grants

• Helping the researcher in procuring instruments, chemicals and other

miscellaneous items needed for research activity.

• Organizing and facilitating meetings of the three associated committees.

Research Project Advisory Committee

Prof B D Banerjee (Chairman)

Function:

Examine all project proposals submitted by the faculty members as per guidelines framed and approved by the governing body

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Institutional Ethics Committee-Human Research

Prof Meena Gupta (Chairperson)

Dr. Ashish Goel (Member Secretary)

Function:

To ensure that all research done on human subjects strictly adhere to ethical guidelines.

Institutional Ethics Committee-Animal Research

Prof S K Bhattacharya (Chairperson)

Function:

To ensure that all research done on animals in the institute strictly follows the ethical guidelines laid down by CPCEA

Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU)

A centralized Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU) was established with funding from

Ministry of Health And Family welfare under the scheme of “Development of

Infrastructure for Promotion of Health Research” as per letter no V.25011/570(i)/2010-

HR (annexure).

Grants received Rs 6.25 Crores

Three Central Research Laboratories (CRL) were established under the Scheme

CRL I CRL II CRL III

Instruments

1. HPLC 2. Gene Sequencer 3. Real time PCR 4. Gradient PCR 5. Flash Chromatography 6. Gel Documentation

system 7. Water purification

system 8. Nanodrop

Instruments

1. Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter

2. -80°C deep freezer 3. -40°C deep freezer 4. -20°C deep freezer 5. Thermostatic orbital

shaker 6. Multimode reader 7. Elisa washer

Animal Cell Culture facility

Instruments

1. Biosafety cabinet 2. Inverted Microscope 3. Microcentrifuge 4. CO2 incubator 5. Autoclave 6. Automated cell counter

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Equipments in the process of procurement

1. Gas Chromatography-Mass spectrometry

2. Double beam spectrophotometer

3. Binocular microscope

4. Fluorescent microscope

5. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer

6. Western blotting system

7.3 Best Practices

7.3.1 Give details of any two best practices that have contributed to better

academic and administrative functioning of the institution.

1. Title of the First Practice –Medical Education Unit (MEU) at UCMS

(a) Objective of the practice:

To work towards faculty development, research in medical education,

development of a resource center, continuing medical education, policy

development, developing systems of assessment, developing communication

links, and developing and implementing instructional design.

(b) Context:

The Medical Council of India, by the MCI Regulations on Graduate Medical

Education, 1997, made it mandatory for all medical colleges to establish Medical

Education Units (MEUs) or departments in order to enable faculty members to

avail modern education technology for teaching. Towards this end UCMS

established its Medical Education Unit, which has been working with zeal and

commitment towards the stated goals. Over a period of time, the MEU at UCMS

17

has taken up challenging issues that go beyond the mandate by MCI, to strive for

excellence at the institution in spheres other than academics too.

(c) Practice

The institution has developed a vibrant and active Medical Education Unit over

the years of its existence. Several faculty members of the institution are directly

involved in the daily activities of the MEU and many more support wholeheartedly

the various activities organized by the MEU from time to time. The Medical

Education Unit organizes several workshops aimed at improving the teaching -

learning skills at undergraduate, postgraduate and senior resident level as well

as for faculty development. As one of its unique practice, training courses on

educational principles have been organized for senior resident doctors, many of

whom represent future faculty members, medical practitioners and researchers.

One of the prime objectives of the MEU is to promote research in Medical

Education. The MEU holds regular thesis protocol writing workshops for the first

year MD/MD/MDS students and thesis writing workshops for the final year

students. Another unique initiative under the aegis of the MEU is a

multidisciplinary teaching learning module on injury prevention and control for

undergraduate students of the college, that is being regularly held annually for

the benefit of each new batch. The Student Mentoring Program is also run by the

MEU and provides holistic support to the new entrants in the medical college.

The Enabling Unit and the Equal Opportunity Cell that involve active support and

participation from the MEU, show its commitment towards the best practice of

providing equal access to education and equal opportunities for students with

disabilities. The Medical The Medical Humanities Group formed by the MEU represents another innovative practice by the MEU UCMS. Various activities include 'Confluence' (lecture series), Street Theater by students of

18

UCMS, SPIC-MACAY activities, poetry recitation, Theater of the Oppressed

Workshop and Infinite ability (disability sub-group).

(d) Evidence of Success

The MEU has been diligently and regularly holding all its activities towards the

achievement of its stated objectives. Information about all the activities, events,

workshops being held by the MEU UCMS is made available on its own

website www.medicaleducationunit.yolasite.com. The website is regularly

updated with information about upcoming events and in several cases support

material is made available for the beneficiaries after a program is over, e.g. for

thesis writing workshops. The MEU has had the pleasure of launching its flagship

journal Research and Humanities in Medical Education (RHiME) which

represents an effort towards ensuring development in the field of medical

education and medical humanities not just in the institution but beyond it too.

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0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total Number of Publication in Indexed Journals

2008-2012

MEDICAL EDUCATION UNIT, UCMS & GTBH.Status report: 2014

EVENT LEADSTRATEGIST

DATE(S) INVITED EXPERT(S) /FACULTY

PARTICIPANTS /DELEGATES

1. Thesis Writing Workshop forPGs

Dr NavjeevanSingh

10-11 Mar 2014 16 UCMS faculty 35 Ist year PG studentsbatch 2012-13

2. 11-12 Mar 2014 16 UCMS faculty 35 Ist year PG studentsbatch 2012-13

3. 12-13 Mar 2014 16 UCMS faculty 35 Ist year PG studentsbatch 2012-13

4. 13-14 Mar 2014 16 UCMS faculty 35 Ist year PG studentsbatch 2012-13

5. Launch of open access peer-reviewed journal RHiME

(Research and Humanities inMedical Education)

Dr. UpreetDhaliwal

1 April, 2014 International panel (see www.rhime.in)

International

6. Launch of book:How to Write the Thesis andThesis Protocol: A Primer forMedical, Dental and Nursing

Courses

Dr Piyush Guptaand Dr

NavjeevanSingh - Eds

April 2014 _ _

7. Workshop: Mental Toughnessand Psychological Resilience

Dr SatendraSingh

16 April, 2014 Ms Mary Keightley, foundingdirector of Mind Associates ltd.

For Nurses and Residents

8. Outreach program: ThesisWriting Workshop for NBE,

IQ City Medical College,Durgapur

Prof PiyushGupta

22, 23 April,2014

2 Faculty from UCMS DNB Trainees

MEDICAL EDUCATION UNIT, UCMS & GTBH.Status report: 2014

EVENT LEADSTRATEGIST

DATE(S) INVITED EXPERT(S) /FACULTY

PARTICIPANTS /DELEGATES

9. WHO multidisciplinarymodule on PCI

Dr BK Jain 3 – 15 April2014

UCMS faculty VIth semester students ofUCMS

10. Outreach program:Workshop: The What, Why

and How of MedicalHumanities

Dr SatendraSingh

22-24 July, 2014

The Medical Humanities Groupof the MEU, UCMS & The

Centre for Community Dialogueand Change, Bangalore

Students and facultyof PSG Institute of

Medical Sciences andResearch, Coimbatore

11. Outreach program: ThesisWriting Workshop for Faculty

Dr Piyush Gupta 4 & 5 August,2014

Four faculty from UCMS At MM Institute ofMedical Sciences,

Ambala

12. Protocol writing workshop Dr. AmirMaroof Khan

5-6 August,2014

16 Faculty from UCMS 35 first yearpostgraduates of UCMS

13. 6-7 August,2014

16 Faculty from UCMS 35 first yearpostgraduates of UCMS

14. 11-12 August,2014

16 Faculty from UCMS 35 first yearpostgraduates of UCMS

15. 12-13 August,2014

16 Faculty from UCMS 35 first yearpostgraduates of UCMS

16. Preconference Workshop:How to get your research

papers published

NationalConference on

HealthProfessions

Education 2014

25 September,2014

Dr Anshu, Dr Chetna Desai & DrSatendra Singh

30 participants fromNCHPE 2014

THESIS WRITING WORKSHOPFor II yr PG students, 2nd to 5th March, 2015 (Mon -Thur)

VENUE: Conference Hall. Library Block, ground floor

Batch A: 2nd Mar, Batch B: 3rd Mar, Batch C: 4th Mar, Batch D: 5th Mar

SESSION TITLE Date RESOURCE PERSONS Duration TIME

1 Writing and Depicting Results

(Dr. Sanjay Gupta)

2nd Dr. Sanjay Gupta 75 min 9.00 AM to 10.15AM

3rd Dr Upreet Dhaliwal

4th Dr. Amir Maroof Khan

5th Dr Naveen Sharma

2 Data organisation and analysis

(Dr Piyush Gupta)

2nd Dr. Amir Maroof Khan 75 min 10.15 AM to 11.30 AM

3rd Dr Dheeraj Shah

4th Dr. Amir Maroof Khan

5th Dr Dheeraj Shah

TEA BREAK: 11.30AM to 11.45 AM

3 Writing the Discussion

(Dr BK Jain/Dr SV Madhu)

2ndDr SV MadhuDr Naveen SharmaDr Rehan ul Haq Dr Ashish Goel

75 min 11.45 PM to 1.00 PM3rd

4th

5th

LUNCH BREAK: 1.00 TO 1.30 pm

4 Writing the Summary and the Conclusion

(Dr Piyush Gupta)

2nd Dr Pooja Dewan 75 min 1.30 PM to 2.45 PM3rd Dr Chander Grover

4th Dr Satendra Singh

5th Dr Mrinalini Kotru

5 References, Plagiarism & Language skills(Dr Navjeevan Singh)

2ndDr Upreet Dhaliwal, Dr Ashish GoelDr Alpana Raizada

20+20+35 min

2.45 PM to 4.00 PM3rd

4th

5th

PROTOCOL WRITING WORKSHOP 2013

23 to 27 September 2013Batch A

23 Sep 2-4pm

&

24 Sep 9am-4pm

Batch B

24 Sep 2-4pm

&

25 Sep 9am-4pm

Batch C

25 Sep 2-4pm

&

26 Sep 9am-4pm

Batch D

26 Sep 2-4pm

&

27 Sep 9am-4pm

INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY PRINCIPAL 23 Sep 2013 1.30 PM

All Ist year PGs to attendVENUE Conference Hall, Ground floor, Library Block

DAY 1Batch A= 23 Sep Batch B= 24 Sep Batch C= 25 Sep Batch D= 26 Sep

2-4pm in the MEU, II Floor, Library Block

SESSION RESOURCE PERSONS DURATION TIME

1 Introduction and overview of the Workshop Dr. BK JainDr. Navjeevan Singh

30 min 2.00 to 2.30 PM

2 Electronic Search of the Literature Dr. Piyush GuptaDr. Dheeraj Shah

Dr. Satendra SinghDr. Rajat Thawani

90 min 2.30 to 4.00 PM

DAY 2Batch A= 24 Sep Batch B= 25 Sep Batch C= 26 Sep Batch D= 27 Sep

9am-4pm in the Conference Hall, Library Block

1 Recap of last day's proceedings Rapporteur 15 min 9 to 9.15 AM

2 Finalize the Research Question, Write Aimand Objectives

Dr. BK JainDr. Mohit Joshi

60 min 9.15 to 10.15AM

3 Write the Methodology Dr. Dheeraj ShahDr. Shilpa Khanna Arora

60 min 10.15 to 11.15AM

TEA: 11.15 TO 11.30 am

4 Plan the Statistical Analysis& case record form

Dr. Pankaj GargDr. AM Khan

60 min. 11.30 TO 12.30PM

5 Introduction, Review of Literature Dr Sanjay GuptaDr. SV Madhu

Dr. Navjeevan SinghDr. Naveen Sharma

45 min 12.30 to 1.15 PM

LUNCH: 1.15 TO 1.45 PM

6 Write Title Dr. Piyush GuptaDr. Navjeevan Singh

30 min 1.45 to 2.15 PM

7 Write References Dr. Upreet DhaliwalDr. Navjeevan Singh

Dr. Pooja Dewan

30 min 2.15 to 2.45 PM

8 Informed Consent & Ethical Issues Dr Satendra SinghDr. Upreet Dhaliwal

15 min 2.45 to 3 PM

9 Convert the plan into a Protocol using aTemplate

Dr. Navjeevan Singh 30 min 3 to 3.30 PM

10 Present the Protocol Dr. Navjeevan SinghDr. Pooja Dewan

& all faculty

30 min 3.30 to 4 PM

For details visit: www.MedicalEducationUnit.yolasite.com

Medical Education Unit, UCMS & GTBH, Delhi 8th Multidisciplinary T/L Module on Injury Prevention and Control for 6th

Semester (3rd April – 15th April 2015)

PROGRAME Venue*: LT II Date 12 Noon to 1.00 PM 2.00 PM to 3.00 PM 3.00 PM to 4.00 PM 4th April Saturday

Program introduction: Dr. BK Jain, Dr Navjeevan Singh

6th April Monday

Violence: Dr. MS Bhatia/Dr. Shruti Srivastava (Psy)

Epidemiology: Students’ Presentation; Concepts and Classification: Dr. Madhu Upadhyay (CM)

Haddon’s Model & 10 basic strategies: Dr Rahul Sharma (CM)

7th April Tuesday

Dr. Rehan­Ul­Haq (Orth) Occupational injury, Work safety

Group Work – Day 1 GW I­Extrication, Triage, Transport: Dr. Rachna Wadhwa GW II­CPR Hands­on: Dr Sujata Choudhary & Dr. Rashmi Salotra GW III–Haddon Matrix: Dr Rahul Sharma (CM) GW IV–Classification of Injuries: Dr Amir Maroof Khan (CM)

8th April Wednesday

Communication & counseling; Role play Dr MS Bhatia & Dr. Shruti Srivastava (Psy)

Group Work – Day 2 GW I­Extrication, Triage, Transport: Dr. Rachna Wadhwa GW II­CPR Hands­on: Dr Sujata Choudhary& Dr. Rashmi Salotra GW III–Haddon Matrix: Dr Rahul Sharma (CM) GW IV–Classification of Injuries: Dr Amir Maroof Khan (CM)

9t h April Thursday

Fall­related injuries, burn injury, Mass trauma and disaster: Dr. Naveen Sharma (S)

Group Work – Day 3 Four group works in 4 batches – Day 1 GW I­Extrication, Triage, &Transport: Dr. Naveen Sharma GW II­CPR Hands­on: Dr. Sujata Choudhary & Dr. Priyanka GW III–Haddon Matrix: Dr Somdatta (CM) GW IV–Classification of Injuries: Dr Madhu Upadhyay (CM

10th April Friday Road traffic injuries: Dr. Ashesh (S)

Group Work – Day 4 GW I­Extrication, Triage, Transport Dr. Rachna Wadhwa GW II­CPR Hands­on: Dr Sujata Choudhary & Dr. Rashmi Salotra

Medical Education Unit, UCMS & GTBH, Delhi 8th Multidisciplinary T/L Module on Injury Prevention and Control for 6th

Semester (3rd April – 15th April 2015)

GW III–Haddon Matrix: Dr Rahul Sharma (CM) GW IV–Classification of Injuries: Dr Madhu Upadhyay(CM)

11th April Saturday

Informatics; Safety promotion audit, & Population­based program: Dr. Amir Maroof Khan (CM)

13 th April Monday

Advocacy skills ­ Role play by students Moderator : Dr. Satendra Singh (Phy) Participants

Student Seminar I Prevention and control of injury in the home environment Dr. Navjeevan Singh, Dr. Naveen Sharma, Dr. Upreet Dhaliwal, Dr. Rehan­ul­Haq, Dr. Satendra Singh

14th April Tuesday Panel discussion: Prevention and control of injuries in old age Dr. Navjeevan Singh, Dr. Naveen Sharma, Dr. Upreet Dhaliwal, Dr. Rehan­ul­Haq, Dr. Satendra Singh

Student Seminar II Prevention and control of injury In the hospital environment Dr. Navjeevan Singh, Dr. Naveen Sharma, Dr. Upreet Dhaliwal, Dr. Rehan­ul­Haq, Dr. Satendra Singh

15th April Wednesday

Ocular injuries: Dr. Upreet Dhaliwal(Oph) Drowning: Dr. Dheeraj Shah(P)

Attendance of students will be recorded with respective department: (An) Anesthesia, (CM) Community Medicine, (Oph) Ophthalmology, (Orth) Orthopedics, (M) Medicine, (P) Pediatrics, (Psy) Psychiatry, (S) Surgery,

Dr. BK Jain Module Coordinator & Head, M.S. & Professor, Department of Surgery UCMS & GTBH, Delhi

Dr. Navjeevan Singh Professor of Pathology & Coordinator, MEU UCMS & GTBH, Delhi

Medical Education Unit, UCMS & GTBH, Delhi 8th Multidisciplinary T/L Module on Injury Prevention and Control for 6th

Semester (3rd April – 15th April 2015)

1

Enabling Unit, UCMS ACE (Access, Communication, Education) action

report (June 2011-May 2012)

OBJECTIVES ACTION PLAN STATUS

ACCESS

Breaking barriers Needs assessment On target

(Audit survey sent to Persons with

Disabilities [PwD])

Accessible teaching

room

Leniency towards students on

arriving late because of physical

disability & inaccessibility

On target

(Notice issued)

Accessible parking Accessible parking Behind schedule

(Separate parking allowed but

place not ear marked)

Accessible library To explore the possibility of

making library (1st floor), reading

room(2nd

floor) and Medical

Education Unit (2nd

floor)

accessible to PwD

Major challenge

(UGC HEPSN proposal sent to

Principal, UCMS)

(SIDPA proposal sent to Secy.

MSJE)

Accessible post office To explore the possibility of

making post office (1st floor)

accessible to PwD

In process

(Letters sent to Postmaster, MS,

XEN)

Accessible bank To explore the possibility of

making bank (1st floor) accessible

to PwD

In process

(Letters sent to Branch Manager,

MS, XEN)

COMMUNICATION

2

Disability statistics Maintenance of PwD case histories Complete

Website with important circulars,

UGC guidelines & announcement

Ahead of schedule

(http://enablingunit.yolasite.com)

Collaboration with EOC, DU On target

(In touch with DU EOC)

Creating

Opportunities

Providing information’s from

various disability listserve’s &

associations

On target

(Student selected for SYRACUSE

Conference)

(Student participation in

PARWAZ)

Latest updates on website On target

(Infinite Ability website

applauded in Times of India)

A special-interest-group on

disability-Infinite Ability, created

under ‘Medical Humanities Group’

Ahead of schedule

(http://infiniteability.yolasite.com)

(Initiative published in medical

journal)

Disability studies Module on ‘Disability Studies in

Medical Education’ prepared for

XIIth five year plan

On target

(Sent to Nodal Officer, 12th FYP,

UCMS)

Coordinator

initiatives

Wrote chapter entitled, “disability-A Doctor’s

perspective” written in the book “Hiring PWD’s-

Understanding them and making enabling

environment” published by PHD Chamber of

Commerce & Industry, New Delhi

On target

Presented abstract on ‘Understanding Disability &

Creating Accessible Campus’ at Roundtable

Conference on "Disability, Barrier- Free Campus and

Higher Education" held at HURITER/SIS, JNU

On target

Paper on ‘Broadening horizons: Looking beyond

disability’ published in ‘Medical Education’ journal

On target

Paper on ‘Disability studies in medical education’

accepted in International Journal of Use-Driven

Health Care

On target

Organized first ever ‘Theatre of the

Oppressed’ workshop for medical

students in India

Ahead of schedule

EDUCATION

Awareness Maintenance of case histories On target

Sensitization On target

(Confluence-VI lecture on

‘Broadening horizons:Looking

beyond disability)

Awareness program for faculty Further needs to be persued

(Funding for workshop)

(Disability etiquettes handbook on

3

websites)

Functional websites Ahead of schedule

Important observances Ahead of schedule

(Separate webpages created for

important days on Down

syndrome, Autism, Hemophilia,

Polio, Blindness, Mental health,

thalassemia & International Day

for PwD)

Equal Opportunities Equality and Diversity Committee Complete

(All members are PwD &

includes students, faculty & non-

teaching staff)

Special call for students with

disability to attend workshops

On target

(Theatre of the Oppressed

workshop invite to DU)

Biomedical retrieval of information

on PubMed workshop

Behind schedule

(To be done with MEU for

Delhi’s medical colleges)

Research methodology workshop No update

(awaiting funding)

Facilitation of

admission

Orientation program (in-house as

well as run by DU)

On target

Counseling Professional counselor for part-time

counseling

Ahead of schedule

(Ms Abha Khetarpal providing

voluntary counseiling)

Coordinator himself providing

voluntary counseling for Amar

Ujala Hindi daily

On target

Mentoring Mentoring program On target

(Faculty supervised near peer

mentoring with MEU)

Dr Satendra Singh, E-mail: enablingunit@gmail.com, phone 99717 82076

THE UCMSNEWS LETTER

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1January 2013

1

From Principal’s Desk

It is a pleasure to present you the next issue of the

'UCMS Newsletter'. As always, the College has

been on the forefront in various academics,

research and extracurricular activities. During the

last 6 months, several faculty members were

awarded research grants by various funding

agencies with greater involvement of faculty from

various clinical departments. The College

organized inaugural meeting of the Program

Advisory Committee in Health Sciences under the

newly constituted Science and Engineering

Research Board, Department of Science and

Technology, Govt. of India. On this occasion, the

Chairman of PAC, Prof. V.I. Mathan, former

Director, CMC, Vellore interacted with the faculty

and resident doctors and discussed about various

challenges being faced by the medical community

in pursuit of health research. Our annual

marathon academic event, EORCAPS witnessed

huge response from participants all over the

country and had to be organized in a bigger venue.

The Medical Education Unit has been organizing

guest lectures and conducting thesis protocol

writing workshops in the College as well as in

neighboring states. The Telemedicine Unit

organized teaching learning activities with PGI,

Chandigarh and SGPGI, Lucknow. Recently, the

first batch of students successfully completed

Masters Course in Medical Imaging Technology.

The College students wholeheartedly participated

in the Annual Sports and Cultural extravaganza

and our cultural team organized various street

plays on contemporary themes. Towards the year

end, the UCMS Alumni Association organized a

grand event for the College Alumni which was

attended by large number of UCIITES from all over

the world. On this occasion, the Alumni from 1973,

1977 and 1987 and their families were also

felicitated. The College continues to be a

fountainhead of inspiration for its medical

students, teachers and alumni.ar

Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar from

University of Illinois, Chicago gives lessons in GIS at UCMS

I worked recently for four months in India as a Fulbright-

Nehru Senior Research Scholar affiliated with the

University College of Medical Sciences Department of

Community Medicine in Delhi. The goals of the United

States Fulbright Program are to increase international

collaborations and improve understanding among

scientists about the culture and conditions of other

nations. India is a strong partner in this program. This

was my first visit to India, and I was honored to be a part

of the academic community at UCMS, where I worked with Dr. Arun Sharma.

My educational background is in Geographic Information Science and I

focus specifically on spatial epidemiology, which looks at how geographic

location is important for health.

In terms of work, Dr. Sharma and I proposed to “add” geographic location to a

set of household survey data collected by Vikram K. for his thesis research

titled Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) Scheme in Trans-Yamuna Area of

Delhi”. Dr. Vikram had interviewed women from six slum or resettlement

areas in East Delhi who had given birth in the past year to evaluate the

effectiveness of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) in these areas

under the JSY scheme. With a list of respondents’ addresses and Vikram

K’s memory our group found each of the households where he had

interviewed people last year and then used a Global Positioning System

(GPS) handheld receiver to record the geographic coordinates. The

students involved were quickly proficient at using the GPS. Later, I helped

them to use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to link the survey

responses to locations and we could learn in which areas was the program

more successful. Later, I trained them in using spatial analysis software to

statistically relate geographic locations of households with the utilization of

JSY services.

Other health issues came to my attention in India. Low air quality is a

growing problem that I experienced first hand when dust storms combined

with other pollution to make March 2012 a very bad month for breathing in

Delhi. Better monitoring of particulate matter, using data from satellites

combined with ground measures and maps of traffic and important industries

can help to make the case to improve pollution standards and provide

support to those with asthma and other conditions. During a visit to the

University of Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka, I was involved in a project

related to the mapping of dengue cases in Columbo. Knowing the location of

cases from different serovars can help to uncover the reasons behind the re-

emergence of this vector-borne illness.

I came back from India with a much greater appreciation for the differences in

daily life between my University in Illinois, where I live in a town with about

150,000 people. At home, a quiet 15-minute bike ride gets me to my office. I

traveled to the UCMS by Metro and by bus or rickshaw, passing more people

in those 40 minutes that I pass in a week in Illinois. I especially enjoyed the

beauty of Himachal Pradesh and the natural openness of people I met. I

hope that I will have an opportunity to return to India soon.

Marilyn O’Hara O.P. Kalra

POINT COUNTERPOINT

Should doctors be the only professionals required to fulfill a

mandatory rural posting?

“Longer course proposal for MBBS - Mandatory 3

month rural internship to be increased.” (The

Telegraph, New Delhi, May 20, 2012)

The Medical Council of India, in consultation with

the Union Health Ministry, is examining a proposal

to add several months to the current three month

rural training for medical students. The reason being

touted is that there is a shortage of human

resources in health, especially in rural and tribal

areas, where the population is vulnerable. In the

past, the Government tried to attract doctors to rural

areas by announcing reservation in postgraduate

admissions for MBBS doctors who opted for rural

postings after graduation; and advocating 10 extra

marks in postgraduate admissions for MBBS

students with one year of rural service; those who

served three years in backward areas were to get 30

marks. However, despite the incentives, there were

no takers for the scheme.

The advantages of increasing the mandatory rural

posting are that aspiring doctors will have an

opportunity to learn about common diseases

affecting the majority of the population of India. They

would get ample opportunities to hone their skills.

An exposure to rural lifestyles and encounter with

unique medical cases will make them better

doctors. In the process, medical services will reach

the poorest and most backward areas of India,

leading to greater development opportunities. The

country will be able to draw closer to its declared

objective of providing universal health care.

However, if we look at the flip side, the duration of

the under-graduate medical course is already much

longer than any other professional course in India.

On top of it, the whole cycle starts again with

preparat ion for post-graduate entrance

examinations. Adding any more duration to this

arduous course is untenable. Also, fresh medical

graduates are not sufficiently skilled to practice

without supervision; the ethics of posting those to

rural centers needs re-examination. The rural and

tribal population should not be reduced to guinea

pigs at the hands of raw medical professionals.

It is commonly commented that, rather than forcing

medical graduates into rural services, the

Government should make rural health settings more

attractive for doctors. Improving civic amenities

2

(good roads, infrastructure, electricity, sanitation, schools for the children of

doctors), and offering better salaries to doctors in rural areas, may

automatically attract doctors to rural areas. Rather than posting medical

graduates to rural areas, it might be more viable to appoint senior medical

professionals to these areas when they retire from government service.

They may be given a considerably enhanced salary for rural postings.

People will get a better health deal, and have more confidence in a senior

doctor than in a newly graduated one.

It is widely claimed that the GOI spends 31 lakh rupees to make an MBBS

doctor. This claim is entirely debatable, keeping in mind that the faculty

teaching medical graduates is also looking after huge patient populations,

for free, and the graduates themselves work for one year as compulsory

interns for which they are paid a pittance. However, this leads us to further

basic question that how much is the government’s spend on other

professionals like managers, engineers or lawyers; and how does it plan to

recover these costs? These professional institutes being run by the

government do only teaching (if at all some research) but no community

service (at least not on a day-to-day basis). The official proposal to impose

an exit tax on graduates from these government run institutions applies to

graduates who plan to leave Indian shores for greener pastures abroad. That

is to say, if they stay within India (most likely, in an urban area only) and serve

the Indian population (probably charge hefty fees or earn astronomical

salaries), they are not obliged to fulfill their moral obligations towards rural

India!

India is a poor country and tax payer’s money needs to be well utilized. The

rural, tribal and backward areas are grossly lacking and being Indian

citizens, we all must share the responsibility of contributing to inclusive

growth in society. However, posting only doctors to improve the health care

scenario is meaningless in the absence of an overall development of

infrastructure in these areas (including roads, electricity, power generation,

fund management etc). Is it that rural India is lacking only with respect to

health care facilities and all the other basic minimum requirements of living

have already been provided for? We require engineers to build roads and

other infrastructure, enhance irrigation facilities, provide electricity or build a

fully functional PHC and fresh engineering graduates could do a compulsory

internship posting for that. We require good managers to implement the lofty

development plans, including those for health care and for this fresh

management graduates could do a district or sub-district level training during

MBA. Expert legal advice is needed by our rural brethren to ensure their

basic human rights and fresh law graduates could do a good job at that.

Would posting the MBBS students in the rural areas help improve the health

of our rural community and achieve the goals of NRHM? Or is it just another

ploy to remove the focus from the government’s own failure to enhance the

per capita expenditure on health care or to ensure free of cost, quality health

care to those most in need?

Friends, through this issue of COSMOS, we wish to seek your opinion on

selective policy of enhancing rural posting of doctors and not any other

professional. We would request you to spare some time and respond to the

questionnaire for the same at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9PGX5K8

This would help in understanding and disseminating the views of the medical

community through this forum.

Upreet Dhaliwal

Chander Grover

Formal mentoring of fresh entrants

to Medicine-Required or not?

The University College of Medical Sciences, a

premier medical Institution affiliated to the

University of Delhi, is a pioneer in having started

formal mentoring, in 2009, for 1st year MBBS

students. The program was initiated to further the

personal and professional development of these

students and to make them “feel at home” in their

initial rough transition to a professional setup. Over

the years, the program has seen active participation

by students (juniors and seniors) as well as the

faculty.

There have been occasional success stories

attributable to the program where individuals were

relieved of acute stressful situations by adequate

counseling and help by their mentors. In order to

assess the general, popular opinion about the

program in our institution, we conducted the present

survey; most of the 222 respondents were students

(n=201; 90.9%). Respondents were associated with

the mentoring program mostly in the capacity of

mentees (n=114; 51.3%); 29 (13.1%) were mentors;

26 (11.7%) had witnessed both sides of the story.

Fifty-three respondents (23.9%) were not

associated with the program in any capacity.

Respondents’ opinions were taken on a three point

Likert-type scale (agree, not sure or disagree).

Need for formal mentoring

Almost 85% of the respondents (n=189) agreed

that, in the medical profession, mentoring of a junior

by a senior (in any format) is helpful. It was also felt

by the majority that “formal mentoring” of new

entrants to MBBS makes them feel more confident

or supported upon joining the college (figure-1).

Figure 1: New entrants to MBBS feel more confident

or supported when they join an institution which

offers formal mentoring vis-a-vis an institution which

offers none.

Acceptability of formal mentoring

The acceptability was quite high among the

respondents; 136 (61.2%) felt that official

assignment of a formal senior mentor to a first year

student can be an effective strategy (figure-2).

Overall, 52.2% respondents (n=116) were of the

opinion that formal mentoring in its present format

has helped undergraduates adjust in this institution (Figure 3). Also, 54%

(n=120) respondents perceived that getting a formally assigned mentor

upon entry into college life would have been or has been a definite help in

their studies.

Figure 2: Official assignment of a formal senior mentor to a first year student

can be an effective strategy

Figure 3: Formal mentoring in its present format has helped undergraduates

adjust in this institution

A formal mentoring assignment can forge lifelong bonds. This fact was

endorsed by 54% participants. However, at the same time, 60.3%

participants felt that informal mentoring relationships, developing over a

period of time, tend to be stronger and more fruitful as compared to formal

mentoring relationships. The reasons for this can be manifold. A formal

mentoring relationship tends to develop over a period of time and both the

mentor and mentee have the freedom of choice; hence, they are more

committed to the relationship. They are generally working in the same or

related fields; hence, their scope of interaction is also much greater.

Figure 4: Students who have been mentored from first year onwards tend to

perform better in studies/research

Advantages of mentoring

While a few respondents (n=86; 38.7%) felt that students, who have been

formally mentored, tend to “smarten up” early, the house was divided on the

issue of whether mentored students tend to perform better in studies or in

research activities (Figure 4). Nevertheless, formal mentoring was

perceived to be helpful in providing an overall healthy development and a

career boost by 48.1% respondents (n=107). It was also strongly felt that

mentoring helps pass on professionalism, ethics and life skills to the

students (Figure 5), enabling them to stand in good stead as far as their

future professional life is concerned.

141

44

33

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

Co

lum

n1

116

62

44

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

116

62

44

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

77

77

66

60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78

Agree

Not sure

Disagree

3

Figure 5: Mentoring by teachers helps pass on

professionalism, ethics and life skills to their students.

Although, mentoring was seen to be an overall important value addition to a student’s life and career, the respondents seemed unsure how good it is for the Institution’s image. Students were divided over whether the availability of mentoring could be an important factor in their decision to opt for a particular institution (36% agreed; 38% disagreed). Only 31.9% (n=71) felt that formal mentoring has boosted the image of our institution.

Disadvantages of mentoring

We asked the respondents about the potential side effects associated with this type of an exercise. It has been perceived that handing out support to students as soon as they enter a new environment may turn out to be a ‘spoon feeding’ exercise. The students may never be able to grow out of their “school mentality”. However, an overwhelming majority, 59.9% of our participants disagreed with this perception (Figure 6). Only a minority (29.2%) believed that mentees may take mentors for granted and draw undue advantages. On the issue of mentor sensitivity with respect to what the mentee may be going through, the house was clearly divided with one third of the respondents either agreeing, disagreeing or unsure about it. Similar divided opinion emerged on the perception that formal mentoring can bias mentee’s perception, or his learning, very early in his career (73 respondents disagreed; 71 agreed). Forty-six percent respondents felt that currently, mentors are not giving enough to foster formal mentoring, and 59.4% felt that formally appointed mentors do not allot enough time to their mentees. On the other hand, 48.1% respondents felt that it is the mentees who are holding back from formal mentoring; according to 49.2%, it is the mentees who lack time and effort to invest in the relationship.

Figure 6: Mentoring is not 'grooming'; it is 'spoon feeding'.

On being questioned about an ideal format for a formal mentoring program, 64.4% respondents felt that a formal training program for proposed mentors should be a must. Also, 83.7% respondents felt that mentees should also have the choice to decide whether or not they want formal mentoring; they should have the liberty to choose their mentors.

Chander Grover

125

49

48

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Agree

Not sure

Disagree

Public health services in India are managed by healthcare professionals.

Medical students are being trained for a primary care role and after

graduation are expected to carry out the leadership and managerial duties at

the primary health centres. However, there is hardly any training in the

exiting curriculum to acquaint them with these concepts. It is commonly

assumed that a health degree means that one can be a manager and a

leader as well. As a result, new graduates who have no training in managerial

and leadership skills or experience are given a wide range of management

and supervisory responsibilities. However their lack of preparation in

planning, organizing, delegating, motivating and teamwork begins to

frustrate them and thus undermine the quality of patient care and service.

The lack of managerial capacity at all levels of the health system is cited as a

binding constraint to scaling up services and achieving the global

development Goals in healthcare services.

Furthermore, healthcare scenario has changed drastically in the last decade

or so. Stronger economy and rising incomes have led to a rise in patient

expectations, reflecting societal changes in attitude towards provision of

goods and services. Cost of healthcare has also gone up due to increasing

use of expensive technology. All these have increased the complexity of

healthcare services at secondary and tertiary level. To be able to deliver

quality services in this scenario, a reasonable level of healthcare

management skills are required on the part of the doctors. In response to

these changing demands and priorities in healthcare delivery to the society,

it is imperative that suitable revisions are made in the medical education so

as to allow students to acquire skills they need to succeed not only as

clinicians but also as leaders and managers.

Navneet Kaur

Leadership and managerial skills for medicalstudents

4

33

56

133

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Agree

Not sure

Disagree

Principal gets Delhi State Award for doctors

Prof. O P Kalra, Principal, UCMS was honored by Govt. of NCT of Delhi with

state award for doctors for his outstanding contribution to medical education

and health care services in Delhi. On this occasion, 21 doctors and 47

paramedical workers were honored. The doctors were given a citation and a

cash award of Rs. 50,000/- and the paramedical personnel were given a

citation and Rs. 20,000/-.

Dr. O.P. Kalra receiving award fromThe Hon’ble Chief Minister Mrs. Shiela Dikshit

A Place by any Other Name wouldn’tSmell as Sweet: Oh Delhi!

CLUES ACROSS

3 Fiery tragedy site (6)

6 Rehydration for Delhi summers (3)

8 Divine tribute on the riverbed (10)

11 Ghantewala Halwai’s Chowk (7)

12 Delhi Delhi Delhi (4)

14 The hills that bound us (8)

CLUES DOWN

1 Floral temple (5)

2 This garden near UCMS is all heart (7)

3 Saravana Bhavan’s yummy fare (4)

4 The river flows east of Delhi(6)

5 Kashmiri poet, Hindu College alumnus (4)

7 He built the Walled City (9)

9 Lifeline of Delhi (5)

10 Colloquial name of the Capital city (5)

13 Animal queen of Delhi’s roads (3)

(Contributed by Rajat Thawani and Upreet Dhaliwal)

5

APOKALYPTO : Report

Apocalypto is the literary society of UCMS, now continuing promisingly into

its 2nd year. Progressing upon its aim to promote literary talent in the college,

it organized an inter- college debate on the topic –“Students should evaluate

their teachers” on 18th April 2012. LHMC bagged the first prize and UCMS,

second.

A film entertainment quiz was also conducted in September 2012.

T h e m e m b e r s o f t h e s o c i e t y c a n b e c o n t a c t e d o n

apokalypto@googlegroups.com and for more information, visit

www.apokalyptoyolasite.com

Abhinav Aggarwal

RIPPLE 2012 : Erit et ultimus

Ripple, the annual festival of UCMS, an escape from the monotony of routine

makes it a highly anticipated event in the students’ calendar. The student’s

union of UCMS laboured hard to make the event a memorable one. The

theme reflected the witty use of the 2012 apocalyptic prediction and the new

look website along with an exclusive teaser video were innovatively used for

promoting the event among other things. The Lit Café, the literary part of

Ripple, kicked off with a 2 day medical conference organized by students for

Doctors, a pioneering effort in UCMS on “The newer advances in maternal

and child health care and diabetes.” Various events like Ad-Mad, Medical

quiz, Entertainment quiz, Sports quiz, English and Medical debate had

enthusiastic participation from various colleges.

The cultural segment was as good as ever. ’Svaang,’ the street play

competition organized by Manchayan was the major crowd puller with some

jaw dropping performances. ’Wave’ The western dance event by

Renaissance had everyone tapping their feet and clapping their hands for

some mesmerizing performances. The sports segment: Arena also included

a UCMS Marathon along with the conventional sports like basketball,

football, volleyball, badminton, cricket and indoor games like pool, chess,

table-tennis. All saw widespread participation by teams from various

Nukkad Ka Neela Kurta

A very few medical colleges can boast the possession of cultural teams and

by being a part of them during the first 2 years of my medical career, I was

one of the few medical students lucky enough to enjoy this legacy. The

memoir, “Nukkad ka neela kurta” is about my time devoted to Manchayan,

the dramatics society of UCMS, in my 2nd year. Street play served as my

only way to relive whatever I used to perceive while living in Delhi and it is

only through this medium that you can shout in anger and simultaneously

deliver a useful message to the spectator.

Our small team might not have made a giant leap for mankind, but it was

surely a big step for us. With Manchayan we all may have never have earned

any possessions, but we had achieved..!! something which can never be

earned otherwise. Despite many trials and tribulations, we came far and

were successful in carrying the legacy forward .With Manchayan it was

never the end but the journey that makes it more than anatomy and

pathology. Even today, when I listen to some weird Hindi song, I start making

its parody and conjure up a scene which could fit in our street play. Maybe

that’s something Manchayan has gifted us all…the ability to observe, the

ability to dream and the ability to carry your ideas forward even when faced

with opposition and demeaning pains.

Aheed Khan

6

colleges across Delhi. The fresh attractions

included the solo, duet and group singing

competition organized by Plexus: the music society

of UCMS.

However, as has been our tradition, the biggest

crowd puller was the Star Nite. The central ground

was overflowing with the enthusiasts of Honey

Singh and Mafia Mundeer. They rocked the stage

with their adrenaline charged performance, which

though short was nonetheless exhilarating. The

grand finale of Ripple was the Teachers’ Carnival,

the true apocalypse when the teachers sing, dance,

act, crack jokes and everybody becomes a part of

the fun and frolic. The disbelieving students roar and

clap and cheer without inhibitions making it a fitting

end to the journey that is Ripple!

Abhinav Aggarwal

Rishikesh: Stairway to Heaven

If Haridwar is known to be the doorway, then Rishikesh is the stairway to

heaven for someone seeking spiritual solace and internal peace. Located 25

km ahead of Haridwar which happens to be the last location connected by

Indian Railways, Rishikesh can be reached by taxi or autos which ply from

4am till late night from Haridwar. It is also the best getaway for Delhiites who

normally storm one of God’s domiciles whenever they feel the heat of the

NCR. Barely 225 Kms from Delhi, it’s one of the favourite weekend getaways

for adventure sports like trekking, rafting, kayaking, camping etc. These

sports seem to be God’s way of luring His children towards the holy

Himalayan expanse that harbours a spiritual enigma which most fail to

understand. However, besides sports, hordes of devotees storm this holy

place especially during every major Hindu festival.

Once reached, one can stay in any of the hotels or guesthouses which range

from Rs 250 to 2500 a day. It’s best to book your stay using any of the tourism

websites. The best time of the year to visit Rishikesh is from February to July

end. After July all sports are closed as water level of the Holy Ganga rises to

dangerous levels. These sports re-commence from November onwards, but

icy cold waters of the Ganges separates true adventure enthusiasts from

regular wannabes. The May to July sun is very harsh, so a sunscreen with a

good spf is highly recommended.

Among sports, rafting is the favourite of all but children under 5 are not

allowed. Normally four levels are defined on the basis of distance covered

and number of rapids in the Ganges. Brahmpuri being the shortest distance

(9km) followed by Shivpuri (16km), Marine drive (25km) and The Wall (35

km) which is the most dangerous and reserved for army and navy personnel

only. The water is very cold especially when it is released from the Tehri dam

so heart patients and asthmatics are also barred from this sport as your heart

literally jumps out of your mouth when you first encounter the rapid and ice

chilled water. Kayaking being an individual sport requires rigorous one

month training before one is allowed for it.

One can go for trekking or camping also. Once across the Laxman Jhoola

(which is the main bridge connecting the two sides of the Ganges), we see

the main temples where constant chanting of sacred hymns can be heard at

any time of the day, but the Aarti at 6:30 pm is the one to watch out for. The

most recommended place to eat is the Chotiwala restaurant which is the

major attraction of the town (which I avoided due to rumours of unhygienic

food being served recently). Opposite direction from the main temples is the

road which leads to Neelkanth temple, which is one of the 12 major Shiva

dhaams. Enroute to Neelkanth we come across Garudchatti, where many

small tributaries flow into Gangaji. Following any of these upstream through

the jungle on foot, we pass through the Rajaji National Park and come across

many small waterfalls whose raw scenic beauty is beyond description.

The small Himalayan town sleeps by 9 pm, so if you are a night owl, you can

go down the ghats at night and feel the powerful calm of Gangaji near

Laxmanjhoola and even meditate. The spiritual and adventure experience at

Rishikesh is exhilarating and it’s a strong recommendation to devote at least

5 days for the visit.

Sumit Rai

The World Iodine Deficiency Disorder Day was

celebrated at UCMS & GTB Hospital on 22nd

October 2012 Prof. S V Madhu, Professor & Head

of the Department of Medicine, who is also the

State Programme Officer of the IDD Control

Program, Goverment of NCT of Delhi, organized a

training workshop for the district coordinators and

paramedical staff responsible for implementing the

program.

Prof. Raj Pal, Medical Superintendent, GTB

Hospital inaugurated the workshop and Dr. Arun

Sharma, Professor in Community Medicine

presented an overview of the program. This was

followed by an interactive session between the

Participants and Dr S.V Madhu and his team on

various aspects of Iodine Deficiency Disorders,

implementation of NIDDCP in Delhi, and

demonstration of field testing for salt iodine

estimation. The work shop was attended by 6

doctors and 32 paramedical workers.

Arun Sharma

World Iodine Deficiency DisorderDay celebrated at GTB Hospital

The ocean of milk (Ksheer Sagar) was churned to settle the war between the

Gods and demons, the latter having captured the universe after defeating

the Gods. For churning the ocean, mount Mandrachala was used as the

churning rod (which resembles the shaft of Aesculapius), and Vasuki, the

king of serpents became the churning rope. From the churning, besides

several precious items, emerged the white elephant Airavat, which finds a

place in the emblem; the second elephant is picked up from the emblem of

University of Delhi. Subsequently, Dhanvantari, the physician of gods

emerged from the churning, holding the Kalash (pot) containing the nectar of

immortality (amrita,) covered with a lotus flower.

In the UCMS emblem, the Kalash with nectar in it, covered with a lotus, sits

atop mount Mandrachalam. Thus, all symbols in the UCMS emblem are

related to medicine and mythology; the only question that remains

unanswered is when churning of the ocean was done with one serpent, why

does the emblem have two? Surely Caduceus and Vasuki have a debate on

hand to settle the issue.

Arun Sharma

7

Caduceus, Aesculapius or Vasuki?

My young friend from Delhi University on her first

visit to UCMS flummoxed me with a question, “What

does the emblem of UCMS mean? Why are there

two serpents?” Obviously, I had no clue at that time

but it certainly made me search for an answer.

What intrigued me was that in some places a single

serpent, while in others two serpents entwine the

shaft and I set out to explore its genesis. The shaft

with two serpents, a global head, and two wings is

the Caduceus; the shaft with a single serpent is the

rod of Aesculapius. In Greek mythology, Caduceus

was the staff carried by Hermes, the God of

underworld, wealth, and commerce, who was also a

patron of thieves. In Roman mythology, it was

depicted in the left hand of Mercury, the messenger

of the gods. According to Heinz Insu Fenkl, the

symbol was first used by a medical publisher in the

19th century on all its publications. Subsequently, in

1902, it was adopted by the U.S. Army as the

insignia of its Medical Corps. A section of medical

professionals are against the use of Caduceus as a

symbol of medicine and healing because of its

association with deceit, theft and darkness.

On the other side, Aesculapius was the child of

Apollo (the God of Health) from an unfaithful lover

named Coronis. Apollo, after killng Coronis, got the

child delivered by Hermes, while Coronis’ body lay

on the funeral pyre. Aesculapius was trained by

Chiron to become a healer who eventually became

the God of Medicine. Thus, the rod of Aesculapius

seems a more relevant symbol of healing and

medicine than the Caduceus. The most popularly

accepted explanation of the serpent coiled around

the rod is the process of rejuvenation associated

with a snake’s rebirth after shedding its skin;

becoming young again is something that medical

science aims to achieve. The other explanation is

the use of snake venom as a drug for various

ailments in the past; however, the serpents and the

shaft in the UCMS emblem have nothing to do with

Aesculapius and Caduceus, as the following

anecdote will reveal.

In 1974, a contest was held among students to

design the emblem of UCMS, for which six entries

were received. Of these, Prof. Satendra Sharma’s

design (he was then a final year student) was

chosen by the Emblem committee of the college.

According to Prof Sharma, its origin lies in Indian

mythology.

UCMS emblem Caduceus Aesculapius Delhi University

The period since the last issue of the Cosmos has been an eventful one for

the Medical Education Unit. In-house activities included the “WHO

multidisciplinary module on Prevention & Control of Injury” for VIth semester

students of UCMS, in April-May; “Protocol Writing Workshop for first year

post-graduate students” in August; and a Faculty Development Workshop

on “How to supervise a thesis” in September.

Apart from in-house activities, students (Rajat Thawani, Arjun Ravishankar

and Nayan Agarwal) and faculty conducted a workshop on “Powerpoint use,

communication skills and literature search” for undergraduate medical

students from AIIMS, LHMC, VMMC & UCMS, under the banner of MEU and

IMediSTAR; faculty visited Sougor in April to conduct a “Basic Workshop in

Medical Education Technology” for the teachers of Bundelkhand Medical

College; and in July faculty conducted a “Teaching Methodology Workshop”

for teachers of Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, New

Delhi.

Experts in their respective fields were invited to share their expertise with

faculty and students. Prof A Bhattacharya gave a guest lecture on

“Simulation in medical education” in April; and Ms. Vasumathi Sriganesh

(QMed Knowledge Foundation) conducted a workshop on “Literature

Search and Referencing” for under-graduate and post-graduate medical

students, library staff and faculty in November. The Blind with Camera

workshop was conducted for 12 visually impaired participants from Delhi

University by Partho Bhowmick (Beyond Sight Foundation) in October.

Lastly, the MEU launched “COMICOS-Graphic Medicine Club”, a new

initiative of the Medical Humanities Group, spearheaded by Dr Satendra

Singh, Assistant Professor of Physiology.

Upreet Dhaliwal

Medical Education Unit: Update

Participants at MEU Workshop

EORCAPS: 375 Participants

This year also, the Department of

Anaesthesiology & Critical Care,

UCMS & GTB Hospital organized

EORCAPS (Examination Oriented

Refresher Course for Anaesthesia

Post-graduate Students), a 9 day

long academic extravaganza from

21st to 29th September 2012, under

the dynamic leadership of Prof. A K

Sethi.

EORCAPS has established itself as the most coveted teaching program for

exam-going anaesthesia students from all over India. This course is unique

because it is specifically designed to take care of all aspects of practical

examination including case presentations, drugs, ECGs, X-rays as well as a

one-day equipment workshop. The faculty for the program comprises of

experienced teachers and examiners drawn from all over India. The

equipment workshop is a rare chance to see almost 300 equipments used in

anaesthetic practice. The course drew an enormous response with around 375

students attending it, and concluded with an encouraging feedback.

Asha Tyagi

A Participant Receiving CertificateFrom Principal

Another major problem in US is insurance. Insurance companies approve many tests which the patients undergo. In a recent article that I read in a local newspaper they said that “CEOs of insurance companies have more income than the taxes the whole company pays”. But a good insurance ensures that the patient gets good care without worrying about payments.

In all, I would say that my experience was great. Because I was with one unit every day of the month and there was uniformity, I got to learn much more than I would have otherwise. Also, I got to learn a lot about the healthcare system in the US. If and when I reach a stage of making significant decisions in the fields of medical education and hospital management, I will know which way to go!

Rajat Thawani

My Journey as a medical student in the USA

When I went to the US for a clerkship elective in Oncology, I was immediately demoted from being an intern back home to being a medical student in the US. As medical students, we had to stay in the hospital from 7 am to 6 pm; that makes for a really long day!

On day one of my elective, I was allotted three patients that I had to follow everyday till they got discharged. I had to start the day by evaluating the patient (history and physical examination). After that, I had to go over their labs, vitals and any investigation that was ordered. This was followed by a sit-down round with the attending residents, pharmacists, social worker, nursing coordinators and a whole lot of other people. Then there was a round to see patients all over the huge hospital, which was quite an exercise! There used to be a discussion outside every patient’s room that lasted 30 minutes each time.

When I had to present a patient, I had to have a plan. I may or may not be right, but I felt that I was part of a team. At moments, almost every time I was not presenting a case, I lost patience because I was just not used to spending so much time on each patient. In Delhi we have to see a lot of patients because of which the time spent per patient is quite little. In the US, the round went on from 9 am to 4 pm, and the number of patients that we saw was FIFTEEN only! It was only later during the month I realized how the team focused on every aspect of patient care: medical, psychological, physical, etc. and they had to. I was in Oncology and the branch is not just medically challenging, it is also very emotional and dramatic; not just the patient, the whole family deals with the disease. For each patient that I saw, I had to write an extensive note which was a skill difficult to master. I really enjoyed the experience I had in this elective and was amazed at how comfortable the patients were made to feel in the hospital.

While taking histories of patients, I realized that the occasional headache or mild abdominal pain that we consider trivial in our patients in India, are considered very important here and they are all investigated. These patients are educated and their description of symptoms appears to be from the textbook (and I was wondering where all that description in the books came from!). Sometimes, patients came with their own treatment plans; they wanted a specific treatment and were pretty adamant. Doctors obliged if they did not have any strong reservations against it. I remember rheumatoid arthritis being treated with Minocycline. In India, however, doctors are the boss! What I realized was that the healthcare system of US is much more advanced than India but they had a few flaws too, which I am sure they are working on. For example, there is a lot of defensive medicine being practiced. Doctors always have a fear of litigation at the back of their minds. Even as a student I was expected to have malpractice insurance. This leads to a lot of documentation, and all of it is online. So, a prerequisite of practicing medicine in US should be good typing speed!

Editor: Dr. Arun Sharma, Professor, Community Medicine Dr. Upreet Dhaliwal, Professor, OphthalmologyAssociate Editor:

Dr. Naveen Sharma, Associate Professor, SurgeryMembers:Kuleen Prabhakar, Assistant Registrar, Accounts

Dr. Rumpa Saha, Assistant Professor, MicrobiologyDr. Chander Grover, Assistant Professor, Dermatology

Dr. Sumit Rai, Assistant Professor, MicrobiologyDr. Rajat Thwani, Intern

Abhinav Aggarwal VIII semester, MBBS

Correspondence: Dr. Arun Sharma, Editor, COSMOSUniversity College of Medical Sciences, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110095E-mail: cosmos.editor@gmail.com | Ph: 011-22582972-77, Extn: 5307

DST's Program Advisory Committee in Health Sciences:UCMS hosts inaugural meeting

Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India has

recently constituted a Program Advisory Committee in Health

Sciences under Science & Engineering Research Board.

UCMS hosted the first meeting on 30th and 31st August,

2012 under the chairmanship of Prof. V. I. Mathan. On this

occasion Prof. Mathan also interacted with the faculty on

“Challenges of Health Research”. During the interactive

session, faculty members asked questions regarding

opportunities for interdisciplinary research and need for research regarding

integration of modern medicine with Indian systems of Medicine.

Prof. V. I. Mathan

8

Research & Humanities in Medical EducationOpen access, peer reviewed, online journal of Medical Humanities and Medical EducationISSN (online) 2350 0565

Editorial: Why Medical Humanities?March 30, 2014 EditorialUpreet Dhaliwal, MSEditor-in-Chief, RHiME, and Professor of OphthalmologyUniversity College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, University of Delhi, India

Corresponding Author:Dr Upreet DhaliwalA-61, Govindpuram, Ghaziabad 201002, UP, Indiaemail: upreetdhaliwal at yahoo dot com

Received: 30-MAR-2014 Accepted: 30-MAR-2014 Published Online: 30-MAR-2014

How to cite this URL: Dhaliwal U. Editorial: Why Medical Humanities? RHiME [Internet]. 2014 Mar 30[cited 2015 Mar 24];1:[about 2p.]. Available from: http://rhime.in/?p=47

For decades the paradigm has been to actively train doctors in diagnostic and technical skills, leaving sońerskills – communication, ethics, humanitarianism, empathy – to be picked up passively through peer observa-tion or role-modeling. Despite such lop-sided training, many of our medical students go on to become out-standing, compassionate and ethical physicians; yet, from diŃerent parts of the country, we increasingly hearof violence against doctors at the hands of patients and their relatives when communication has brokendown, or empathy failed to be shown. These instances highlight the need for active instillation of soń skillsduring medical education, a sentiment endorsed by medical educators worldwide.[1,2]

It is clear that we need doctors who will respond sensitively to both the physical and the emotional needs oftheir patients. Obviously, the doctor must consider the patient as a whole; in equal measure, doctors mustengage with patients with all of themselves – their minds,their hearts and their emotions – engage as per-sons who are able not only to heal, but also to feel and think, explain and understand and cope. To this end,educators are exploring the possible role of the humanities in medical education.[1-4]

‘Medical humanities’ is an inter-disciplinary way of looking at medicine through the lens of philosophy, the-ology, art, history, literature, anthropology, and other humanities subjects. It is not a list of subjects; it is anacknowledgment that there are subjective experiences which influence something as objective as the sci-

ence of medicine.[3,4]

Students join medicine very early in life, usually at the expense of a basic training in the humanities, result-ing in one-sided intellectual growth. Add to that the current medical curriculum, which is exhaustive, stress-ful, and ever expanding. We have to find solutions that do not over burden students, and yet translate intoimproved patient care.

Can exposure to the humanities help in honing sońer skills, while helping medical students unwind and destress? Can such exposure act as a catalyst to bring about the much needed change in the way we learnmedicine, and what remains unlearned?

The role of the medical humanities in medical education is as yet uncharted in India and most of Asia, andfrankly, we don’t know if it is the answer; however, the literature is promising.[1-5] Through sharing illnessnarratives doctors can become aware of the range of experiences resulting from illnesses; they can begin tosee it from the patient’s view-point; through the social sciences they can learn about cultural and personalcircumstances and beliefs that impact health care practices. Such awareness may result in greater empathy,which, in turn, can lead to the doctor knowing the importance of providing an environment in which patientsfeel they can communicate freely and eŃectively.

In the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, the Medical Humanities Group of the Medical EducationUnit has attempted to expose the medical fraternity to art, dance, theater of the oppressed, and films, hop-ing to enhance empathy, appreciation, critical thinking and self-awareness, which are important attributesfor a doctor.[6] Discussions on books, movies or patient narratives have been shown to hone communicationskills, judgment, professionalism, and reflective practice. The medical humanities can help in the develop-ment of tools that allow better engagement between patients and medical practitioners – better in the sensethat they are guided by reflective and experiential practice, and are culturally relevant.[4]

A journal of medical humanities seems to be an appropriate vehicle to spur greater research in this excitingand promising new field; to encourage the sharing of ideas and experiences in the medical humanities; andperhaps to move the humanities from the realms of a curiosity, to that of an essential component of medicaleducation.

RHiME is a journal with a diŃerence. With its primary focus being Medical Education and Humanities, it alsoseeks to explore intersections between ethical decision making, patient participation, creative expression,philosophy and history in medicine- in pursuit of medical educational goals. The multi-linguistic logo of thejournal illustrates the ideology behind the formation of the journal and aims to encourage participation fromreaders with diverse backgrounds. We sincerely hope that you will participate in this endeavor and shareyour valuable work with us.

References

Blease C. Can a shot of humanities make doctors more humane? The Guardian: Notes and Theories.2013 Nov 4. [cited 2014 Mar 30]. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/nov/04/medical-humanities-doctors-humane

1.

Coulehan J. What Is Medical Humanities and Why? New York: New York University School of Medicine;2.

2008 Jan 25 [cited 2014 Mar 30]. Available from http://medhum.med.nyu.edu/blog/?p=100Wellcome Trust. Funding: Medical Humanities. London: Wellcome Trust [cited 2014 Mar 30]. Availablefrom http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Medical-humanities/

3.

Durham University. Centre for Medical Humanities: Medical Humanities. Durham: Durham University;2013 Nov 12 [cited 2014 Mar 30]. Available from https://www.dur.ac.uk/cmh/medicalhumanities/

4.

Victoria Bates. Why should I care about medical humanities? London: Wellcome Trust; 2013 Oct 24[cited 2014 Mar 30]. Available from http://blog.wellcome.ac.uk/2013/10/24/why-should-i-care-about-medical-humanities/

5.

The Medical Humanities Group. University College of Medical Sciences: Medical Education Unit. Delhi:Medical Education Unit; c2008-2014 [cited 2014 Mar 30]. Available from http://medicaleducatio-nunit.yolasite.com/medical-humanities.php

6.