The union cabinet on Wednesday cleared the health ministry’s proposal to institute a three-year BSc (community health) program that aims to help raise a cadre of public health professionals for rural areas, reports.

 

The course that had the nomenclature of Bachelor of Rural Medicine and Surgery (BRMS) was met with objections from the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the medical community.

Subsequently, the course nomenclature was changed to BSc (community health) and the process of framing the syllabus for the course was taken out of the MCI’s ambit and handed over to the National Board of Examinations (NBE).

The bachelor in community health program will act as a bridge between auxiliary nurse midwife and a doctor and overrides the objections raised by a parliamentary panel and the MCI.

The parliamentary panel in March had said instead of creating a new pool of health professionals whose mandate and education are grey areas, there should be a compulsory one-year rural posting for fresh medical graduates to meet shortage of doctors in rural areas.

Source: India Medical Times