On the occasion of Doctors Day today, IMA stresses on the need to revive the popularity of medicine as a promising career option

On the occasion of Doctors Day today, IMA stresses on the need to revive the popularity of medicine as a promising career option Congratulates the recipients of the Dr BC Roy National Award New Delhi, July 1 2016: On the occasion of Doctors Day, the Indian Medical Association has appealed that all its 2.5 lakh members to act as brand ambassadors of the medical profession and encourage youngsters to take up the profession in the future. They have also stressed on how doctors must never smoke or drink in public since patients look up to them and often follow by example. “On the occasion of Doctor’s Day, IMA has appealed to all its doctor members to not give way if they are being forced to accept targets by hospitals. Every doctor is requested to uphold the integrity, dignity and honour of the medical profession. We wish everyone a very Happy Doctors Day and congratulate those who received the prestigious Dr BC Roy National award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier today. Dr BC Roy in whose memory this day is celebrated will continue to remain an inspiration for the entire medical fraternity for centuries to come,” said Dr SS Agarwal National President IMA & Padma Shri Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal – Honorary Secretary General IMA & President HCFI. The medical profession as a whole is becoming less popular amongst the young who afraid of the long and many years of struggle they see ahead of them. The shortage of medical colleges and MBBS seats further adds to the problem. There is an urgent need to increase the quality of medical education in India, address the shortage of seats and bring back the fading trust in the profession. The medical profession was, is and will always remain a noble one. Doctors Day is celebrated every year on July 1st in remembrance of Dr BC Roy - a social reformer, politician, statesman, administrator and the founding President of the Medical Council of India. Dr Roy played a key role in establishing the Indian Institute of Mental Health, the Infectious Disease Hospital and the first ever post-graduate medical college in Kolkata. Dr Roy was also actively associated with the Indian Medical Association and guided their deliberation. During his long association with the Medical Council of India, Dr Roy helped in upgrading the standards of medical education in the country and the organisation of post-graduate medical education on a firm footing.

A Doctors Day special webcast held on the legal and ethical aspects governing the medical profession

A Doctors Day special webcast held on the legal and ethical aspects governing the medical profession IMA & HCFI raise awareness about medical negligence and the ethical duties that all medical professionals must follow New Delhi, June 30, 2016: The field of ethics studies principles of right and wrong. There is hardly an area in medicine that doesn't have an ethical aspect. The medical profession was, is and will always remain a noble one. The job of doctor is to help reduce suffering. The first oath that a doctor takes upon entering the profession is: "A physician shall uphold the dignity and honor of his profession” and the first declaration they make is "I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to service of humanity." However in today’s day and age, we witness a high degree of commercialization in the medical field. Cases of medical negligence, unethical promotion and misconduct are not uncommon. This has brought the entire medical profession into question. What we must remember is that there are black sheep in every profession and without trust and belief in the system of medicine, it is not possible for a doctor to effectively do his duty of helping save lives. Stressing on the urgent need raise awareness about the duty of every medical professional to uphold the ethics and duties that govern them and to reinstate the nobility of the profession, IMA and Heart Care Foundation of India organised a webcast today. The expert faculty for the same consisted of Dr. Arun Gupta – President Delhi Medical Council, Dr. Girish Tyagi- Registrar Delhi Medical Council and Padma Shri Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal – President HCFI & Honorary Secretary General IMA. The webcast was assisted by Dr. V K Monga, Dean IMA CGP. Speaking about the same, Padma Shri Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal – Honorary Secretary General IMA and President HCFI said, “We are committed to making the medical system in our country more transparent and efficient. It is for this reason that we constantly strive to educate member of the medical fraternity about the ethics that govern the profession. We urge the entire medical fraternity to abide by the MCI regulations and maintain the nobility of the profession. We also urge the public to understand that doctors’ work towards the benefit of the society and they must be trusted. The increasing incidence of violence against doctors, no cap on compensation in cases of medical negligence cases as well as the enforcement of acts such as the PCPNDT act only deter doctors from doing their job of saving lives effectively. Doctors must be respected and trusted.” The Medical Council of India states terms like pardon, warning and censure for differnet cases of mild human negligence by Doctors where the council can give a second chance to the doctors without ruining their medical career. However, these should be applied in cases involving no criminal offence. Calculating from the shortage of doctors in every hospital in repect to the number of patients, a doctor at an average gets 5 minutes per patient. In these 5 minutes, he is required to wash his/her hands twice - before and after checking the patient, take the entire medical history of the patient, examine them in an effective manner and prescribe the relevant treatment. In just 5 minutes, miscommunication and mistakes are bound to happen. It is crucial that more focus is laid on increasing the number of seats for medical professionals, regularly training doctors through CMEs on new treatments and diseases as well as encouraging more people to enter the profession. Adding to this, Dr Arun Gupta, President Delhi Medical Council said,”Indulging in unethical acts leads to the defamation of the whole profession. It is the respobsiity of all medical professionals to adhere to their ethics and for patients to respect their doctors.” Dr. Girish Tyagi, Registrat Delhi Medical Council said, “10-20% of the complaints received by the Council pertain to the violation of ethics. Over 90% of the medical negligence cases are the result of the shortage of doctors as well as mis-communication not only between doctor-patient but also between patient-counsellor and patient-chemist.” Miscommunication due to time constraints leads to the dissatisfaction of patients. For instance when prescribed a CT scan the doctor might recommned a particular lab because the scans their emit minimal radiation levels. Because of the time constraint, the doctor in most cases would not communicate this to the patients. In turn the patient might feel that the doctor gets a cut from the centre and that is why they have recommended it. It is thus important for patients to trust their doctor. A few tips for doctors to safeguard themselves against cases of medical negligance 1. Doctors should communicate properly and be empathatic towards the patients. 2. Conversations between doctors and patients should be video taped for future references. 3. Consent form should be crisp and precise so that terms and conditions are clearly understood by the patients to avoid any confusions. 4. In cases where a MLC is to be made the police should be informed at the earliest.

Today is Doctors’ Day

Today is Doctors’ Day Doctors’ Day is celebrated in India on 1st July every year to mark the Birth & Death anniversary of Bharat Ratna Awardee, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy (Dr BC Roy). Dr BC Roy was born in 1882 in Patna, Bihar and after doing his medical graduation in Kolkata and MRCP and FRCS at London, he started his career as a physician in Patna in 1911. He taught in Patna Medical College and in Carmichael Medical College. He was a true freedom fighter and joined Mahatma Gandhi in Civil Disobedience Movement. In the field of politics, he became a leader of the Indian National Congress and later Chief Minister of West Bengal. In 1976, he was conferred Bharat Ratna and Dr B C Roy National award were constituted in his name the same year. He left us on 1st July, 1962 but his soul is still remains in the collective consciousness of the medical profession of our country. The demand for a Doctors’ Day originated in Kolkata by Kidderpore Branch in 1989 under the Presidentship of Dr Santanu Banerjee and Dr Pradip Kumar Chatterjee as the Secretary. Later, the state working committees of IMA Bengal and the IMA Bengal State Council in 1989 resolved to declare 1st July as Doctors’ day under the Presidentship of Dr Ashok Chaudhuri. The forwarded resolution was considered by IMA Central Working Committee held on 24th & 25th April, 1991 under the then National President, Dr Ram Janma Singh and IMA declared 1st July as Doctors’ Day starting from 1st July 1991. IMA persuaded the Government of India to accept it as National Doctors’ day and 1st July 1992 became the historical Doctors’ day when it was accepted and recognized by the Govt. of India. (With inputs from IMA Bengal, Dr Sanjoy Banerjee)

Indian Medical Association appeals to its 2.5-lakh members to provide free consultation to all on Doctors Day

Indian Medical Association appeals to its 2.5-lakh members to provide free consultation to all on Doctors Day New Delhi, June 29, 2016: Indian Medical Association (IMA), the only representative, National voluntary organisation of doctors of the modern scientific system of medicine in our country has appealed to its 2.5 lakh doctors to commemorate Doctors Day by providing free medical consultation to all patients on that day. “Medical profession is a noble profession and will always remain so despite the violence and negative criticism against doctors. IMA has written to our 2.5-lakh members to observe Doctors day as IMA community service day and provide free consultation to over one crore people in one day. We strongly believe that each and every person deserves quality medical care irrespective of his or her economic background. This will help make health care more accessible to all”, said Dr SS Agarwal – National President IMA & Padma Shri Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal – Honorary Secretary General IMA and President Heart Care Foundation of India. In addition to waiving their consultation fees for one day, IMA has also written to its 2.5-lakh members urging them to organise seminars on patient safety, conduct blood donation camps and adopt a girl child. IMA through Sameer Malik Heart Care Foundation Fund an initiative of Heart Care Foundation of India will also be supporting girl children from economically weaker sections of the society and approach them for free congenital heart surgery.