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The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, is all set to make its foray into medical education and launch a doctor of medicine (MD) programme once the National Medical Council (NMC) gives its go-ahead, IIT officials said.
”Considering the availability of human resources, doctors, other medical experts, and experts in medical technology research at IIT Kharagpur and also the advisors of the IIT’s medical programme who are highly qualified, it has been inferred that a PG medical programme would be the right choice for IIT Kharagpur and that it would give a new direction for technology-empowered advanced medical studies and research,” IIT Kharagpur Director Suman Chakraborty told The Indian Express.
The IIT recently placed the plan before its Board of Governors, officials said. The institution is ready with all the paperwork and will apply for approval once the NMC’s application portal opens, they added.
“Subject to the assessment by the NMC, once the green signal is given, IIT Kharagpur is ready to launch the programme. There will be 10-20 seats,” he added.
Chakraborty said that the MD students would have their practical training at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, which is just outside the IIT campus.
“The medical college is also a part of IIT Kharagpur. The hospital is an independent legal entity. The hospital activity has been ramped up to meet the requirements for the medical education programme. It was running in a complete OPD (outpatient department) mode. Now it has an inpatient department also. That is a significant transition,” he said.
In May 17, 2007, then President A P J Abdul Kalam laid the foundation stone of the Dr B C Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre, with the vision of launching both an MBBS college and a super-speciality hospital, but the MBBS plan has been paused.
A senior IIT official said the institute had put on hold its plan to launch an MBBS programme owing to the lack of adequate infrastructure.
The Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SPMSH) recently successfully conducted its first surgery at the newly operational operation theatre of its superspeciality hospital. The procedure, led by Dr R K Behera, a senior surgeon, involved the removal of a foreign body under emergent conditions. The patient was discharged the same day.
With the operation theatre functional, the SPMSH is set to rapidly scale up towards a hospital with a 220-bed mission-mode inpatient department, expanding its surgical and speciality care capabilities.
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