US training on cards for AFMC cadets

For the first time, the Armed Forces, as part of an exchange programme, will send five undergraduate students of the Armed Forces Medical College AFMC to an army institute in the US for 10 days. The aim is to introduce them to the standards in the West on war, casualties, evacuation and patient care, hoping to widen their horizons before they graduate.

Final year MBBS students and medical cadets of AFMC Ganesh Saravagi, Chetna Pandey, V A Arun, Sehajbir Kaur Pannu and Ruchi Tayal will leave on July 6 for the University of Health Sciences, Betheseda, USA. The team will be led by Surg Cdr K Adhikari of the Department of Paediatrics.

Maj Gen P Madhusoodanan, Dean and Deputy Commandant of AFMC, said the exchange programme has been started to provide international exposure to the medical cadets. They will also gain a first hand experience of the standard of medical care and contemporary health care practices in the USA, he said.

Lt Gen S K Kaul, Director and Commandant of AFMC, said the cadets have been selected on the basis of their merit and co-curricular proficiency.

8220;This programme will motivate them to try and attain similar standards in the Armed Forces medical services after they graduate,8221; he said.