Need of the hour

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">Superspeciality is the latest buzzword in the field of medical sciences. Education Times speaks to the dean of Maulana Azad Medical College, Dr Shushil Kumar on the upcoming area of superspecialisation.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On the need</span><br />Development of superspecialisation is the need of the hour.Superspecialisation includes the areas not included in the first degree of specialisation like medicine, surgery and allied branches. The development of superspecialisation is costly for our country. However, necessity demands that we have at least one superspecialisation institute in each state.<br />The subjects covered in superspecialisation includes, heart, brain, gastroenterology, kidneys, various glands and plastic surgery. In recent times, the subjects of neonatology and experimental pharmacology have been included in the superspeciality topics.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Present demand </span><br />There is a rise in demand for superspecialists because our knowledge about superspeciality has increased through media exposure, both electronic and print. Patients now are well informed and willing to afford facilities offered by a superspecialist. They want good facilities and are ready to pay for it. In addition, with the advent of insurance sector, more and more people are going for better medical care, for treatment offered by specialists and superspecialists, as it is of far more superior quality.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Importance of MBBS</span><br />Even if we have specialists and superspecialists, we still need MBBS graduates. They are required to diagnose patients, screen and scan, at the first level of health care. In rural areas, MBBS doctors have to provide treatment for different kind of ailments and have to deal more with diseases at the primary level.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">On integrating specialisation at MBBS</span><br />It is not possible to integrate specialisation or superspecialisation at the MBBS level because when you enter the medical college in the first year of the MBBS programme, your desire for learning is different. At that time a student is not aware of the various areas in the medical sciences. There are 30 different branches in medical sciences. <br />It is difficult for a student to select the area he or she would like to go for at a later stage. Integrating specialisation at MBBS level is neither feasible not recommended. Moreover, the duration of the MBBS programme is already quite long and increasing it even further to accommodate specialisation wouldn’t be feasible. MBBS in itself is an integrated programme providing basic knowledge in all disciplines. </div> </div>