Medical Education in India - Filling the Void

The rise in colleges and institutions offering medical education in India has been witnessed as a silver lining in the dark cloud of healthcare industry. The country is lagging behind in offering quality medical services and facilities due to shortage of skilled and experienced staff.

According to a survey conducted by insurance giant ICIC GIC, it has been reported that there is a shortage of medical staff across the nation. To be precise, there is a shortage of 16 lakh nurses and 10 lakh doctors in India. The dental health section is also lagging behind. There is a shortage of about 2.3 lakh dental surgeons in the country.

Has India really joined the super advanced health treatment and the healthy nation bandwagon? The survey indicates that India is lagging behind and far from achieving the goal. The doctor population in India is 0.5 (per thousand population) against other countries across the globe.

Doctor population in the following countries:
Thailand-0.3
Srilanka- 0.5
China- 1.6
UK- 5.4
USA- 5.5
Cuba- 5.9

In a shocking report, it has been indicated that India is facing shortage of medical and healthcare staff! Staff per 1,00,000 people include 61 nurses, 41 pharmacists, 7 dentists, and 6.5 physicians surgeons. The population ration for nurses and midwives is also low as compared to countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka. Thailand and Sri Lanka enjoys a nurses and midwives population of 5.07 and 3.94 respectively against India's 2.19.

There are 345 medical colleges in India. As per a survey conducted by World Health Organization, India has the highest number of medical colleges across the globe. Now, it is surprising how the country lags behind in skilled medical staff and facilities.

India has about 32,000 government medical seats. It is said that only 4.71 per cent of all the candidates appeared for NEET – 2013 will get government seats.

Average annual output (per medical college)
India- 100
China- 930
Eastern Europe- 125
Central Europe- 149
Western Europe- 220
North America- 110

Migration of Doctors
The survey said that about 1400 doctors migrated abroad in 2012. WHO reported that India has the highest number of doctors migrating to other countries.

The Making of a Doctor
It costs between Rs. 40-50 Lakhs to complete an MBBS degree under management quota.

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