PULSE OF THE MATTER
The visionary zeal of Thiru N.P.V. Ramasamy Udayar, a leading industrialist of Tamil Nadu, resulted in the creation of this edifice, the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), earlier known as Sri Ramachandra University. What started as Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, with an intake of 100 MBBS students in 1985, has now grown into a vast green expanse, a lush 150-acre campus in Porur, Chennai, with state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities for academics, healthcare and research under its 12 constituent faculties.
The faculty of medicine is the anchor unit
around which all other faculties function. As far as education for health professionals go, there is not much that is not on offer here, with over 150 programmes under the faculty of dental sciences, pharmacy, physiotherapy, nursing, allied health sciences, management studies, public health, biomedical science & technology, clinical research and sports & exercise sciences. A recent addition is the faculty of engineering and technology. The ambience provides for a well-equipped and air-conditioned central library, nearly 400 ICT-enabled smart
classrooms, seminar halls, auditoriums, and diagnostic and research laboratories. Sri Ramachandra Hospital & Medical Centre caters to the health needs of the local public at large, providing affordable healthcare while also giving clinical exposure to the students of various streams. The hospitals are NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals) accredited.
In the 30-odd years of its existence, SRIHER has achieved many yardsticks of excellence, including the 28th rank in the HRD ministry’s latest National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Ranking for 2020. The Sri Ramachandra Medical college & Research Institute was ranked 13th, the Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Dental Sciences 7th and the Faculty of Pharmacy was placed 26th.
The Covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, and India and Tamil Nadu were no exception. The second wave was more devastating in terms of education, economy, entertainment and engagement. I would like to dwell on some of our experiences during this pandemic.
The Sri Ramachandra Hospital of SRIHER was a designated testing centre for the detection of Covid infection in suspects. A fever clinic was organised to serve patients 24/7 during the pandemic. In one of the service blocks of the hospital, we created 300 isolation beds and 40 ICU beds to take care of Covid patients. Simultaneous care was provided for non-Covid patients at the medical centre as well.
Covid-19 has led to the embracing of online educational technologies by universities, colleges and individual faculty members. The millennial learners were much more ready for this. While the theoretical component can be imparted to students on virtual/ online mode and assessments can also be handled online, the challenge in health professionals’ education is imparting the skills required to practise. Simulation and computer-based education for practical sessions was introduced to overcome this challenge. Common clinical procedures were recorded and uploaded in the learning management systems, which enabled students to observe and reflect.
Paper cases, virtual OR, ER, ward rounds, clinico-pathological meets, interactive CMEs and webinars came by way of practical training. The university practical exams in certain subjects were also conducted online. Real patient exposure was provided to students in small batches, staggered throughout the 8-10 working hours.
Post-graduate (PG) training was affected to a great extent as there were fewer non-Covid patients. PG students in clinical subjects and interns worked very hard as frontline workers in managing Covid patients, running fever clinics as well as in motivating the public to come forward for vaccinations. Online consultation services and home healthcare were run successfully by the institution. The training programme was focused on building up clinical reasoning and critical thinking through case discussions.
“Simulations and computer-based education initiated for practical sessions helped overcome the Covid disruptions” —DR P.V. VIJAYARAGHAVAN, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (Deemed to be University)