ABSTRACT
General practitioners (GPs) who work in occupational medicine (OM) should be trained continuously. However, it seems that ethical issues have been neglected. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine educational priorities for GPs working in OM. A total of 410 GPs who participated in OM seminars were asked to answer a number of questions related to items that they usually come across in their work. The respondents were given scores on 15 items, which pertained to their frequency of experience in OM, their felt needs regarding education in the field, and their knowledge and skills. Ethical issues were the most frequently utilised item and the area in which the felt need for education was the greatest. The knowledge of and skills in ethical issues and matters were the poorest. Ethical principles and confidentiality had the highest calculated educational priority scores. It is necessary to consider ethical issues as an educational priority for GPs working in the field of OM.
ABSTRACT
Cross-system practice is widely prevalent in Indian settings. The recent policy decisions of the Government of India and the legalisation of cross-system practice in various states have brought this issue into the limelight once again. We aim to critically evaluate this issue from the philosophical, academic, and public health perspectives, as well as with reference to training. On the one hand, students of traditional Indian medicine are being introduced to allopathy without philosophical backing, practice based on the aetiological model and training in modern pharmacology. In addition, pharmaceutical industries are wooing AYUSH practitioners and their prescription patterns have already been “allopathised”. As for the allopathic system, it is witnessing enormous scientific advances and growing increasingly complicated. The medicines are risky and also associated with many life-threatening side-effects. Meanwhile, the government is grappling with the humungous problem of ensuring health services for all. The government’s intention is to expand the reach of health services by allowing cross-system practice, but the issue has much wider ramifications. The authors believe that before cross-system practice is allowed, there is a need for a comprehensive and deeper understanding of all the benefits and pitfalls of such as system. A few of these are discussed in this article. Specifically, we delve into the philosophical issues, syllabus and training, advances in medical technology, and larger public health perspectives. We end by suggesting a few steps that may help to improve public health in the country.