Expansion of medical education

PEOPLE at large in Bangladesh have a common complaint against the doctors. They complain that most doctors do not behave rationally with the patients. They charge exorbitant fees for their advice and other health services which are not commensurate with the average earnings of the people. They advise unnecessary tests, along with necessary ones, just to get commission from diagnostic centers. Frequently, they even do not examine and give the patients a proper prescription. Normally, the graduate and post-graduate doctors are reluctant to serve in the rural health centers or even to accept government jobs under the given salary structure. They avail themselves of different limitations of administrative rules, regulations and orders to avoid staying at their posting at rural health centers. On the other hand, it is a matter of concern that students are losing interest to study science subjects at the secondary and higher secondary levels. Perhaps they are discouraged to study science subjects because of the every limited scope of doing higher studies in related areas. Setting up of more medical colleges can encourage students to study science subjects at secondary and higher secondary levels. The elected government is committed to provide health services in rural as well as urban areas of the country. But it becomes difficult to make the doctors serve in rural areas. To address this practical problem, it is necessary to set up and run 64 medical colleges in all 64 districts to impart undergraduate medical education courses. The under-graduate doctors, who will successfully come out from such colleges, should be recruited by the government. The required numbers of posts in rural health centers need to be created for undergraduate doctors. They will serve the patients in rural Bangladesh. Six medical colleges can, at least, be set up and run at six divisional cities for the undergraduate doctors who desire to study graduate medical courses. The scope for higher studies for the undergraduate doctors needs to be created. Bangladesh has enough teachers to impart medical courses at under-graduate and graduate levels. It is a great advantage. We need to utilize this opportunity. We need to invest a large sum of money to set up and run these medical colleges. Therefore, the elected government needs to take up a five-year plan to set up undergraduate medical colleges in each district to impart under-graduate medical courses and set up and run graduate medical colleges in each divisional city to impart graduate medical courses to the undergraduate doctors. Md. Ashraf Hossain Ramna, Dhaka E-mail : mah120cb@yahoo.com