NO Cadavers, NO Anatomy Classes: Telangana MBBS medicos in fix

Hyderabad: Plight of students pursuing MBBS course from Telangana based medical colleges are apparently mounting day by day.

While 300 MBBS students at Maheshwara medical college stared at bleak future for over a month only due to medical college’s failure in paying salaries of the teaching faculty for months; private medical colleges running in the state are; as bizarre as it sounds; are having a tough time running any classes imparting the basic knowledge of the human body.

All first-year MBBS students have to dissect human cadavers during anatomy classes. With private medical colleges skipping anatomy classes, MBBS students are forced to rely on books for learning and many are graduating without the proper knowledge of anatomy which could prove costly later on in their careers, moreover, to the patients.

The matter came to light via recent media reports where the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA) stated that there are many other medical institutions apart from Maheshwara Medical College; which are not conducting classes regularly, especially when it comes to anatomy classes.

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Speaking about the predicaments which are now leading to lesser practical knowledge to the upcoming doctors, TJUDA President Dr P S Vijayender Goud informed Deccan Chronicle, “As dissection classes had not been held, a high number of students failed in the subject…. With no bodies to dissect, the practical experience was not as required. Also, many have not understood the position of organs. For that, one needs to witness dissection during which different organs are cut and their insides studied. Students will not be able to understand the subject thoroughly till this procedure is carried out properly.”

He added, “This has happened several times before with other private medical colleges too. In some medical colleges (classes on) anatomy dissection are not being held. In fact, in many colleges, annual exams were held without conducting anatomy dissection classes even once, because of which students have been losing out on academic knowledge.”

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Reasons why?

IMA State Secretary Dr Sanjeev Singh Yadav further enlightened the main reason due to which the medical institutes are not conducting anatomy classes. He mentioned that difficulty in getting cadavers is one of the concerns. “It has become very difficult to get a cadaver now. Earlier when rules were less stringent, there was some movement of unclaimed bodies through mortuaries but that has come in control now with GHMC cremating or burying unidentified and unclaimed bodies. In absence of any rules for donating or selling such bodies to private colleges, getting a cadaver has become a problem,” he informed TOI.

Ghost faculty is named to be yet the other reason. On this matter, Dr Goud said, “These faculty members exist only on paper and after getting MCI approvals, college managements leave the medical students without any classes.” “In one particular college, not a single anatomy class was conducted in the entire 2018,” he informed.

While there are 3D models, where dissection can be performed, it is a costly affair; none of the medical colleges in Telangana State has it.

They are medico-legal codes in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, clearly laying guidelines about post mortem, but in Telangana, there are no such codes. The association stated, “It is high time we lay such codes. In Jeevandan also, the organs were donated at private hospitals. Actually, post-mortems should be done in private hospitals.”

A medical institute needs at least eight bodies for one year for MBBS to practice dissection on, but some of the medical colleges in the state are getting none.

As per a senior forensic department doctor at Osmania General Hospital, “The Osmania and Gandhi hospital mortuaries get more than enough bodies to provide to private colleges. Earlier, they were many instances when dead bodies were illegally sold by doctors and other staff. Many were punished for this type of corruption for which the court ordered them not to sell bodies. Subsequently, there was a shortage of dead bodies in private colleges.”

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MBBS students Threatened?

The MBBS students, as alleged by TJUDA to Deccan Chronicle, were threatened when demanded conduct of dissection classes from their concerned medical college managements. Not only this, their parents were allegedly terrorized by the management. They were allegedly told not to spread word about absence of dissection classes if they did not want their wards to fail in the exams.

These issues were also represented to higher officials of the health department previously; however, no action was taken. The association members also alleged that medical colleges were not paying stipends to students.

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