Need for Medical ethics
For the last few years, society has witnessed a degradation in medical fraternity. It is true that there is a general demoralization of society, but the doctors have gone far from “Noble Profession” to commercialization. AS soon a a medical graduate leaves the institution, he forgets the sacred “Hippocratic Oath” There is a long pending need of teaching medical ethics during the undergradaute course.
A proposal was made by Medical Council of India New Delhi to introduce structured “Medical Ethics” in the syllabus in 2004, but it has still not been approved by Health ministry Govt of India. It was proposed that every student will spend the first three months in learning medical ethics, computers and communicative english.
Till today Indian Medical Colleges, known to produce best doctors, do not teach medical ethics. There are two institutions which ave included ethics in medical curriculum. St Johns medical College Bangalore is having a 40 hours teaching course, while Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Bangalore will also have questions on medical ethics in exam. The Indiam Council of Medical Research is organizing a 10 week training program in August 2007 in bioethics. As we all know that the society now does not consider medical profession as noble? surely we doctors have degraded our system.
Now it is considered a business and not a profesion, we are constantly visulizing trade malpractices among doctors.
The conduct against hippocratic oath includes giving commission for procuring patients, utilizing several large sized boards at various palces with false information, using advertisements, bills etc for one’s own benefit, distributing gifts to unqulaified persons for procuring patients, performing unnecesary surgeries, going to places owned by quacks for consultations and operations, taking commision from investigation agencies and also from profesional brothers for referral and what not.
Although it is true that this malconduct is being propagated by a few, but the percentage is increasing day by day. This is the main cause for increasing litigations against doctors. An important suggestion, other than inclusion of medical ethics in sylllabus is to make it compulsory for every medical graduate to sign a bond with a pledge to abide by medical ethics and never to indulge in professional malpractice. the langauge can be drafted by eminent personalities and a regualr check committee can look after the conduct of doctors at district level.
Let the doctors come forward and stop this menace so that a “Noble Profession” remains Noble and no Dr K Murugesan dares to let his unqualified minor son perform caesarian operation on the behest of entering his name in Guinness of Records.
Dr Sheel Parihar,
Near Kotwali, Civil Lines, Bulandshahr,
UP Phone: 05732 253952, 280194, 09358010656
