Madras Medical College launches Certificate Course in Diabetes for Rural Doctors

Madras Medical College launches Certificate Course in Diabetes for Rural Doctors

Madras Medical College has launched a six-month certificate course in diabetes, aimed at rural doctors. The course will dwell on the current trends in treating diabetes. The course will help train rural doctors and eliminate the need for patients to come to tertiary hospitals for treatment. The course, to be taught in distance mode, will be handled by trained diabetologists. N. Rajendran, head of Diabetology department, Madras Medical College, says the Government General Hospital attached to the college receives 1,000 - 1,500 patients every day, in addition to those referred to the tertiary hospital. MMC was the first college to start a diploma course in diabetology and scores of doctors have been trained by the hospital since then. But, the Medical Council of India's recognition for the course came only six months ago. The hospital has an exclusive 30-bed ward for diabetology since it deals with complications referred by other departments in the hospital and across the state.

"We have only 60 qualified doctors but this number is not enough to cope with the burden of the disease. If untreated, people with diabetes could develop vascular complication, damage to eyes and kidneys, stroke, or heart attack.

They may need dialysis or transplant leading to additional complications. for foot wounds, patients need to be hospitalised for three months, putting a burden on the government," he says.

"If doctors in rural areas are trained then incidences of complications due to diabetes will also come down. this will eventually bring down the expense for the government."

The course is especially expected to benefit doctors in the remote areas from where the patient inflow into city government hospital is high initially, the course will be offered at MMC, Kilpauk Medical College, and government medical colleges in thanjavur and madurai.

Contact classes will be held for two days in a month at the stipulated colleges.

Madras Medical College launches Certificate Course in Diabetes for Rural Doctors

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