Seats for pharmacology course likely to be increased next year

Due to a limited number of seats available for the pharmacology course, homeopaths who want to pursue it will have to wait till next year to get the licence for practising allopathy.

Dr Pravin Shingare, head of Directorate of Medical Education & Research (DMER), Mumbai said they are likely to increase 1,900 seats for homeopathy doctors by next year.

There are 65,000 homeopaths in the state and every year more than 200 homeopaths are added to list but still the state has arranged for just 700 seats a year.

“There are very few seats available for the course and Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy (JJ) hospital is the only staterun hospital which offering the course to homeopaths. At this rate, it will take more than three years to allot seat to all the doctors,” said a homeopathic doctor.

The doctor further said they were happy when the government started a oneyear course in pharmacology at the end of which they would get licence to practise allopathy course.

The DMER director said they are planning to increase the number of seats to 1,900 for the next year so that maximum doctors should benefit from the course. “Last year 20,000 doctors registered for the course of which only 700 homeopathy doctors have showed interest for practising the allopathy course. 19,300 prefer to practice homeopathy. The seats will be increased so that doctors who want practise this course can get a chance,” added Dr Shingare.

The state Cabinet passed the proposal in 2014, permitting homeopaths in the state to prescribe allopathic medicines if they complete a one-year course in pharmacology under Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS).

“The main aim of promoting this course was to provide affordable health care services to the people,” saidd a DMER official.

According to the homeopaths, the circular issued for the course said that every medical college should have 50 seats for this course which has not been implemented till now. “It was made compulsory in the circular that medical colleges should provide 50 seats in pharmacology to get register for the course, but not a single medical college followed this circular,” said Dr Sunil Gupta, a homeopathic doctor.