Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital were appointed as the centre for clinical examinations for Membership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH). The first such examinations at the hospital were held in Mumbai on June 16 and 17. Thus, for the first time, Indian doctors will not have to go to UK but can obtain an international qualification in India itself. They will be allowed to use the designation “MRCPCH (UK)” with their names in their practice once they clear the tests here. The first written examination for the MRCPCH was held in India in 2009 but candidates had to go to the UK to take the clinical examination.
Dr Ramesh Mehta, the Principal Regional Examiner of South Asia for the Royal College said, “The MRCPCH is a prestigious international examination that is recognised by the Government of India and gives Indian doctors the opportunity to get an international post graduate examination without leaving the country.”
“The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health of UK is delighted that Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai have offered their excellent facilities to conduct this examination,” he added.
Dr Santanu Sen, Consultant Paediatrician at KDAH and Host Examiner for the MRCPCH said, “We at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital are absolutely delighted to hold the examination for our students in India. We are proud to be associated with this prestigious event that forms part of our greater commitment towards medical education”.
Talking about the examination, Dr Sen stated that the MRCPCH is a rigourous examination where even the examiners had to train and be evaluated themselves before they are allowed to examine candidates. He also informed that communication skills forms a major part of the evaluation of doctors. “We found that while Indian doctors are very good in their clinical knowledge; their ability to communicate effectively with patients: explaining problems, breaking bad news, obtaining consent etc. was at times suboptimal. We hope that this examination will raise the awareness about the need for training and testing of this very important skill in all the young doctors in the country.”
Dr Sen also stated, “We have candidates not only from all over India, but also from Singapore, Australia, Muscat, Brunei, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, who are coming to take the examination. We even have a large number of candidates from the UK itself who are very keen to take the examination here in India. There were desperate requests from candidates nationally and internationally that we could not accommodate this time.”
Speaking about the examinations, Graeme Muir, the Examinations & Assessment Advisor of the RCPCH (UK), stated that there is much that the UK can learn from the depth of clinical practice in India. He hoped that they can complement medical knowledge of Indian doctors with the well known UK patient-centred care. He said that bringing the MRCPCH to India is intended to be an example of UK partnership working with modern 21st century India.
EH News Bureau
- Advertisement -
