If not MBBS, be a paramedic!

Paramedics are the professionals who support both the doctors and patients simultaneously. Patience is their most-needed quality.



AS soon as you visit a doctor for any ailment, you are led to a lab and tests are done. Who performs this necessary task for you? Doctors? No, they are the paramedical professionals. Optometry, Radiography, Lab Technology, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation are some of the prominent disciplines in allied sciences.

Admission procedure & job scenario
It varies from institute to institute. It has been felt that the paramedical staff does not get due recognition at times and that is why courses at Master's and PhD level have been started. But at an operational level, a paramedical job does not require higher studies but field experience is most important. Most institutes prefer to admit students through national-level admission tests while others through state/institute level tests. Here is a ready-reckoner.

Good news is that finding a job in this area is easy once you have your degree or diploma as no hospital or clinic can run without a paramedical staff. Anurag Saxena of RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences in AIIMS says, “Students pursuing the course are able to find part-time jobs in their first year itself at a stipend of around Rs. 7,000. After completion of the course, the salary begins from Rs. 15,000 and if the person has some part-time experience, he can get even higher.”

Self-Employment
Apart from working in clinics and hospitals, you can work from home and become self-employed also, like a physiotherapist. One may find a physiotherapy centre within a 3-km-range. But yes, then investment is a concerning factor as machines used are expensive. Paramedics can also go for clinical research after pursuing further studies. Read more...

Conclusion
It is team work and the person has been supportive to both the doctor and the patient at the same time. “Patience is the most important quality paramedics should have. They should be able to listen to the patient and understand his need all the time with a smile,” says Treta, who pursued a course in pathology. Other qualities include ability to work for long hours, good scientific vocabulary and fine presence of mind.

Shahnaz Husain recieves award for Quality Excellence in Ayurveda

New Delhi, Aug 5 : Beauty expert Shanaz Husain has been honoured with Indian Achievers Award for Quality Excellence by Indian Achievers Forum in collaboration with the India Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Husain was awarded for her achievements in promoting Ayurveda as a traditional cultural industry and taking Ayurvedic beauty care to the globe.

The award ceremony was a part of 29th Indian Achievers Summit on Indo-Thai Business Relations held here last evening. Ex-deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Khun Korn Dabbaransi was among the various dignitaries present on the occasion that focused on business and trade opportunities between the two countries.

Speaking of the increasing popularity of Ayurveda, Ms Husain said the concept of "total well being" and spa treatments are steadily gaining ground and the world was looking towards traditional Asian holistic healing.

She noted that both Thailand and India were known for their traditional spa treatments, which draw upon plant products and natural substances and proposed to set up an Indo-Thai Ayurvedic spa in London.

Doomsday scenario for cardiac surgery in India: Director AIHF

New Delhi, Jul 15 : Years-long training and lack of financial returns have led to severe shortage of cardiac surgeons in India, a country where every fourth person dies of a heart failure, Director of All India Heart Foundation Dr O P Yadava said today.

"Last year there was not a single candidate who registered for the Diplomate of National Board (DNB) programme in Cardiac Surgery in more than ten training programmes running in Delhi. Medical practitioners have lost their interest in this specialisation," Dr Yadava, Chief Consultant Cardiac Surgeon and CEO of National Heart Institute said.

This is a major cause of concern as it has been predicted that by 2015, almost 20 million people will die from CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke. Moreover, as more and more people are suffering from the obesity syndrome, they are twice as likely to suffer from heart attacks.

The reasons for this declining trend are attributable to the six to seven years of training involved to the strenuous nature of the job itself and the relatively greater financial returns even from streams as mundane as radiology and laboratory services.

"Another reason in equal measure is the high headed egoists senior faculty in the speciality who think themselves as nothing less than God and demand and extract more than what an average trainee could endure," Dr Yadava, winner of Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award-1992 as well as Indira Gandhi Excellence Award-2006, added.

Asked if, according to him, government is thinking of taking action against the crisis, the reply came in negative. "The government is happy to have its four seats of Master of Chirurgical (MCH) filled in its top-most institute. They forget that the number of applicants for it has declined drastically from thousands to hundreds and will go down further," the doctor said.

He informed about a desperate measure taken this year by the authorities to attract trainees for cardiac surgery wherein a new programme was launched where entry is being provided immediately after MBBS for a five-year consolidated DNB programme in CTVS.

"This is not enough. It is necessary to increase the financial compensation, reduction of working hours which currently go to 18 hours a day, ensuring the cardiologist's self esteem, adequate placement and a lifestyle improvement programme by the government," he said.

India suffers the highest loss in potentially productive years of life, due to deaths from cardiovascular disease in people aged 35-64 years (9·2 million years lost in 2000). By 2030, this loss is expected to rise to 17.9 million years -- 940 per cent greater than the corresponding loss in the US, which has a population a third the size of India's.

Delhi Task Force to curb illegal water bottling plants soon

New Delhi, Jun 14 (UNI) The Delhi government will soon intensify its special drive to seal such illegal water bottling plants in the capital which are running without legal authority and proper licence.

To ensure for providing safe, pure and clean drinking water to the people, the government will form a state level task force to check on clean water in Delhi and will seal the illegal drinking water bottling plants.

''A nine-member state level task force, headed by Director, Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA), will have members nominated from Delhi Police, Divisional Commissioner, MCD Commissioner, NDMC, Dy Secretary (Home), Drug Controller, two SDMs (One from North and One from South),'' Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said today.

She said the task force will have full rights to check the quality of water being packed in bottles at the water bottling plants and on violation they will have the right to seal the plants and get registered a case against the defaulters.

Prof Walia added that though Department of Prevention of Food Adulteration was engaged in conducting drives to check the purity of all types of eatables and food and drink, there was a need to launch a special drive to check the illegal water bottle plants.

''Such bottling plants not having BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards Certification) will be sealed out rightly by the task force authorities,'' she noted.

She said the department was facing a lot of difficulty in picking samples of packaged drinking water as the exercise required the services of other related departments too.

''Keeping this in mind, the government has decided to constitute the task force to check the purity of water and to ensure the sealing of illegal water bottling plants prevalent in Delhi,'' she said.

During a special drive launched in the last week of May, 56 samples of special packaged drinking water were lifted from various corners of Delhi. Prof Walia said violators could be punished with imprisonment from six months to three years under provisions of law apart from sealing the plant.

Clock ticking: Majority Indians falling prey to heart diseases

Gurgaon, Apr 20 (UNI) Indians may account for more than 50 per cent of the global cardiovascular diseases if urgent action is not taken, according to health experts.

Aiming to reduce this burden, a Centre of Excellence for prevention and control of such diseases was opened here today.

Jointly set up by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) and Emory University, the Centre will provide population-based applied research and training to combat diseases related to heart.

There has been a rise in diseases like diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and stroke world over and Indians are fast falling prey to them.

''While there are several effective and cost-effective interventions for prevention and control of cardio-metabolic diseases, the translation into practice and policy is woefully inadequate,'' Prof D Prabhakaran, Department of Chronic Disease
Epidemiology, PHFI and Executive Director, Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), said.

The Centre would enable clinical research infrastructure development, conduct research and stimulate clinical, epidemiologic, health services and outcomes, health policy, translation and behavioural research, he added.

President and Director of MDRF Prof V Mohan noted that the country needed more of skilled health workers in large numbers. ''This Centre will act as a facilitator in training such people. It will develop models,'' he said.

Prof Nikhil Tandon from Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, AIIMS, emphasised that the Centre would fill in the gap between doctors and patients.

''A majority of people, who suffer from such diseases, do visit doctors and practitioners, but still the results are not visible. This is because there is a significant gap between patients and doctors. There are a huge number of people who either do not get the right medicine or do not follow their prescription. This is an
attempt to fill that gap,'' he said.

There are altogether 11 such Centres of Excellence in the south Asian region, out of which two are in India. The others are in the US, Guatemala, Peru, Argentina, South Africa, Kenya, Tunisia, China and Bangladesh.

These Centres are together funded by National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and United Health.

Walking: the zero-cost exercise

New Delhi, Apr 11 (UNI) With ''Urbanism and Healthy Living'' forming the theme of World Health Week 2010, doctors reiterate their advise to make walking, 'the zero-cost exercise', as the fitness mantra.

Often known as the best heart medicine, walking has always been considered the simplest positive change one can make to effectively improve his or her heart health.

''People residing in metropolitan cities often undermine their health due to busy lifestyle and hectic work schedules.

They are not able to take out time for proper exercise. So, walking comes to the rescue,'' Dr Ravindra L Kulkarni, an interventional cardiologist and founder Director of Just For Hearts, said today.

The Just For Hearts is an organisation that aims at spreading the consciousness for a healthy life and a healthy heart.

He said every individual should walk for at least 30 minutes each day. ''A majority of people are becoming obese these days. Walking helps in burning calories. It is a zero-cost exercise,'' Dr Kulkarni, who was awarded Advanced Fellowship in Complex Percutaneous Coronary Interventions from University of Torino in Italy, said.

According to studies, every hour of physical activity can add up to two-hours to ones life expectancy. It can help a person not only reduce the risk of coronary heart disease but improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels, maintain body
weight, enhance mental well-being, reduce the risk of osteoporosis, breast and colon cancer and diabetes also, among others.

Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association and the Art of Living marked the week's beginning by organising a walk for ''Healthy Cities - Hygienic Habits''.

Many people involving medical fraternity, school and college students, NGOs and local government participated in the walk from India Gate Children's Park to Amar Jawan Jyoti at 0700 hrs.

''Cultivating hygienic habits among people is most important in the present era. It does not require any hard efforts, but commitment, education and awareness,'' Sayantan Sinha, president of Rotary Club of Delhi South Metropolitan,
said.

Various members of the club, including people from all age groups, had participated in the walkathon.

Sunder Lal Jain Hospital gets new ambulance

New Delhi, Apr 10 (UNI) As a humble gesture towards the needy, Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF), a registered NGO, in association with Rotary Club of Delhi Ashoka today donated an ambulance to Sunder Lal Jain Hospital here this morning.

This was the ninth ambulance donated by AOF in northern India. Earlier it had donated four ambulances in Punjab, two in Faridabad and one each in Chandigarh and Uttarakhand.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr William S Pinckney, Chairman, AOF said, ''This ambulance will help in addressing the health requirements and medical emergencies of the needy. We are planning to donate five more ambulances till the end of this year in the northern region only.''

The services of this ambulance would be provided round the clock for the patients of the hospital and other needy within Delhi NCR.

President of Rotary Club of Delhi Ashoka Kapil Gupta said, ''This modest donation is in line with the Rotary International Theme 2009-10 -- The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands -- that lay emphasis on water, health, hunger and Child Education.''

Dr Chander Prakash, Chairman, Sunder Lal Jain Hospital, was also present on the occasion.

Shortage of Ayurvedic medicines creates uproar in MCD

New Delhi, Mar 17 (UNI) The issue of shortage of Ayurvedic medicines in city hospitals and dispensaries created uproar in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's Standing Committee meeting today.

Shouting slogans against Bhartiya Janata Party, Congress leaders claimed that BJP-run state governments had only been focussing on promoting allopathic medicines.

''A major scam in the case of purchase of Ayurvedic medicines had come to light in July 2008 according to which the BJP had reduced to half the budget for the same, along with holding the purchase of some,'' Leader of Opposition in the MCD Jai Kishan Sharma alleged.

He mentioned that there were two Ayurvedic hospitals, five Panchkarma hospitals and 107 Ayurvedic dispensaries in the city.

''Though, these centres have a huge army of doctors and other workers, who get appraisal annually, there are not enough medicines to treat the patients,'' he said.
He added that this year, medicines of Rs 75 lakh have been purchased and the House granted Rs 174 lakh yesterday to purchase more.

''The amount is still not enough to overcome the shortage,'' he said.

When the Congress leaders came to the Well of the House and started agitating, the matter was postponed till next week.

Union Budget 2010-11: Expectations in health, education sectors

New Delhi, Feb 18 (UNI) As Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is all set to table the Union Budget for the fiscal 2010-11 on February 26, various civil society organisations are keeping their fingers crossed while expecting high from it.

Taking view of problems like non-allocation and underutilisation of resources for various schemes under the Centre, the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) and Oxfam India yesterday demanded increased allocation for flagship schemes in health and education from this year's budget besides effective
utilisation of the allocated resources.

''Our concern is where would common man, who form the heart of the budget, stand in the Union Budget 2010. There is a need for greater allocation for the health and education schemes besides better utilisation and accountability and commitment towards them for the uplift of SCs and STs,'' Oxfam India Chief Executive
Officer Nisha Agrawal said.

Underlining the facts revealed after a series of people's consultations held by the CBGA across the country with support from Oxfam India, Ms Agrawal noted that the UPA-led government had promised a hike in public spending on education to six per cent of the GDP.

''However, the overall public spending on education continues to remain at a low of 3.37 per cent of the GDP,'' she said.

She claimed that the Union Government has not been able to allocate even 50 per cent of the total outlays in several schemes like Mid Day Meal, Teacher Training Institutions and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

''Moreover, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 has also not been notified yet,'' Ms Agrawal pointed out.

Analyst Praveen Jha of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning of the Jawaharlal Nehru University was also present on the occasion.

He argued that the combined budgetary allocation for health stood at a meagre 1.04 per cent of the GDP for 2008-09, despite the fact that the UPA had made a commitment in the National Common Minimum Programme in 2004 that total public spending on health in the country would be raised to two to three per cent of the GDP.

''However, it stands at a meagre 1.04 per cent of the GDP for 2008-09 (Revised Estimates),'' Head of CBGA Yamini Mishra said.

''The government had promised upgradation of every district headquarters hospital and their strengthening to provide quality health facility, but nothing is visible even close to it,'' she added.

She further said the state of schemes for the uplift of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes was also not impressive.