Certificate course in minimal access surgery launched

Coimbatore: A one-year certificate course in Minimal Access Surgery for surgeons who pursue their career in laparoscopy was launched by Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India (AMASI).

The course to be offered at the Gem Hospital and Research Centre here was unveiled by Chairman of the Academic Council of Medical Council of India Ved Prakash Mishra at a function organised by AMASI.

This would be the first certification course to be started by a professional organisation to cater to the ever increasing demand for quality training in laparoscopic surgery, AMASI President, Suresh Chandra Hari said.

The surgeons selected for the course would have to undergo training in seven modules prescribed in the curriculum and would be in two semesters each of six months' duration, he said.

In his address, Mishra asked AMASI, which has 7,500 members, to constitute a Board of Studies, so that it can upgrade the knowledge from time to time.

Suggesting that the association also establish an accreditation unit for self attestation, Mishra asked the surgeons to utilise the opportunity to upgrade their skills and make affordable the cost of treatment to poor and common man.

Founder-President of AMASI C Palanivelu, also the Director of Gem Hospital, was conferred the Professor of Emeritus by Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Deemed University, Nagpur, on the occasion for his outstanding contributions in the field of laparoscopy.