Why we vanquish AYUSH with bridge course

The proposed bridge course for AYUSH vaidyas to make them experts in modern medicine (as MBBS doctor) as well would create multiple problems for AYUSH vaidyas but many AYUSH vaidyas in private practice believe that such proposal would give them legitimacy for cross pathy.  

The message conveyed by Dr T Jacob John, the world famous virologist who retired as Professor of clinical virology from Christian Medical College, Vellore in his article in The Hindu dated February 10, 2018 is quite pertinent.  

If we allow AYUSH vaidyas to practice allopathy as well, it would be like appointing a believer of Islam or Christian as priest in Hindu temple or a Hindu as Mullah in Mosque after giving them the training required for the job.  

The faith and the belief system of people in all possibility would prevail over the training that they have acquired.  In simple sense AYUSH is ‘religion’ whereas modern medicine is ‘science’.  The above logic of Dr. T Jacob John warrants the personal attention of our Honorable Prime Minister and others who push this agenda of legalizing cross pathy.     

AYUSH has strong philosophical roots of its own than science.  The philosophy of AYUSH is linked with God, Hindu religion, caste system, Brahmin racism, endorsement to mantra healing & miracle, approval for superstition, astrology, bad omen and evil spirit etc.  

Although the graduates from AYUSH may claims to have studied also a little about modern physiology, pathology, anatomy etc., in their curriculum but they hold deeper anchorage in spiritual essentials and philosophy than science.  All such modern sciences were taught to them at the introductory level meant only to help them to understand their own system better and develop it further.   

Similarly the MBBS graduates prescribing AYUSH products is also not correct approach because the possible interaction of all such herbal, mineral and heavy metals like lead, arsenic, mercury, various animals fecal material based products of AYUSH how would support or counteract with allopathic drugs is not known.  Such possibility is well established by various credible research works.   Besides that the allopathic system is target specific, its mechanism of action is well established, its side effects and limitations are known and the pharmacological active substance & its level of purity are established.   

On the contrary no such science is known about any of the AYUSH products except the tall claims on the efficacy of the system by none other than the patriots and proponents of such system.  So government should not adventure to mix philosophy with science and adulterate both.

The likely sufferings of AYUSH vaidyas those who acquire competency in allopathic system after bridge course are many.

Today many AYUSH vaidyas who could not join government establishment are appointed as duty doctor in various private nursing homes and hospitals.  Many private colleges hire them mainly due to the cost advantage.  The AYUSH vaidya also may not dare to question the status quo owing to their limitation.   Imagine how they would deal the situation in future after bridge course?   

After bridge course, in all likelihood their status may be assumed to be as equal to MBBS graduate but the private hospitals may not respond to such notion purely due to the course content of bridge course and its limitations.  Such situation may cause great agony to the AYUSH graduates as besides their 5 ½ years of graduation, they have also studied bridge course.  Even if they are treated at parity with MBBS graduates in salary terms, but still may not receive a status equal to MBBS obviously due the fact that no one can become MBBS doctor through bridge course.  

Imagine if the vaidya prefers to settle in private practice after bridge course, why should they practice own system when they are permitted to practice allopathy.  Patients can be easily treated and can be cured of their medical problems with allopathic drugs, then why should they over burden the patient with AYUSH products unnecessarily.  As a result of the above possibility, the bridge course would favour spontaneously migration of all AYUSH graduates from own system to allopathy.  

The AYUSH institutions thereafter will be producing graduates in AYUSH to practice allopathy.  But still the ignominy and discrimination would continue.  If the AYUSH vaidya continue as pure AYUSH vaidya, they will be respected well because the therapy that the patients expect from AYUSH, the AYUSH vaidya alone can provide if they practice own system without diluting or muddling their philosophy with modern medicine.   

In all likelihood, the content of bridge course will not be as elaborate or as detailed as MBBS.  However the over adventurism of AYUSH vaidyas in private practice in remote villages cannot be controlled.  The legalization of cross pathy in fact would encourage illegalization of the medical practice.  

The impact of bridge course on those in government service is also quite quixotic and obvious.  

When the AYUSH vaidyas are empowered to practice allopathic drugs in PHC’s etc., and allopathic drugs are most wanted to treat the medical problems, then a natural question would raise, why the Government must procure various AYUSH products as drugs and dispense all such products freely to patients and what benefit all such products offer to patients?  

The AYUSH vaidyas working in the government establishments may not able to defend or justify why government must waste money in procuring various AYUSH products for free distribution and instead why not such money shall be used for improving the infrastructure of the primary health centre or procuring more allopathic drugs.   This possibility certainly the bridge course may create.

As a filter down effect of the above confusion due to bridge course such as, the AYUSH products may not be required in PHC’s because the AYUSH vaidyas in all such government primary health centres are trained to practice allopathic drugs and all those trained by bridge course in private practice also when choose to practice allopathic drugs, then why the government must support various research institutions of AYUSH shall be the next question, AYUSH may face.  

All those AYUSH vaidyas in private practice who celebrate and demand bridge course are short-sighted and may be looking for short gains from cross pathy to their life than cared the least about how the system may vanish due to the above proposal.