Role of faculty of medical colleges in national health policy and program development

Abstract

Going back into history, before the Samudra Manthan, even Gods suffered from illnesses and it was Ashwani, who treated them. There used to be a constant war between the deities and demons, but finally wisdom prevailed over them and they decided to map the treasures of knowledge, which needed to be preserved. They held a manthan (churning) to extract the treasure. Traditionally, this has been associated with the churning of the ksheer samudra, the milk ocean. It has also been likened to a “brain storming session,” with strict rules when the merits and demerits of various alternatives are discussed. Eventually, the 14 ratnas emerged. Lord Dhanvantari emerged during this manthan and brought with him Amrita, the elixir of life. He is considered the God of physicians and Father of Ayurveda. Taking a cue from samudra-manthan, the need of the hour is to have a vichar-manthan or vichar vimarsh (churning /critically examine the ideas) to deliberate upon the role of the faculty of Medical Colleges in national health policy and program development.