Planning a Medical College
Adelmo Fernandes
The setting up of a medical college requires a lot of planning and procurement of necessary equipments which could take at least two years. It requires appointment of good teaching staff, and basic facilities. It would be in the fitness of things for a committee consisting of professionals in the field and retired members of the medical fraternity to look into the feasibility and other aspects of setting up of such a college. Besides making available the infrastructure and all the facilities required by the Medical Council of India like classrooms, laboratories, a well stocked library, and various departments, a medical college needs a huge campus and a lot of open space and greenery to create the right atmosphere for studies. It is true that more Goan students need to be given an opportunity to pursue medical education. It is a fact that at present the number of seats in the general category in the medical college is insufficient to meet the needs of the state. It is also a fact that the number of seats that should be in the reserved category is decided by the centre, and the state government has no say in it. But then, it does not seem right to set up a medical college so as to put to good use three floors of the district hospital which will otherwise be left redundant and unutilized. By its very nature, the requirements for starting a medical college are far more complex than that needed to start an Engineering college. Hence it would not be advisable to set up a medical college in haste. If the government wants to increase the number of doctors the state produces, then it should also make provision for job opportunities when these medical students pass out.
At present the number of doctors available in the cities has reached saturation point. However the same cannot be said about the rural areas where there is an acute shortage of doctors. But then how many doctors are willing to work in the rural areas? It is understood that there is a shortage of nurses in the State. The government could think of starting a nursing college at the District hospital in Margao and build a medical college at an alternative site in South Goa with a large campus area after proper planning.