Great news for 'doctors' including oncologists and hepatologists. The Government of India is preparing to start a new medical educational course. Doctorate of Medicine or DM (equivalent of advanced fellowship) in the field of Ayurveda. This degree will be offered for Ayurveda practitioners after their specialization (MD training) - they can choose advanced specialization in oncology (cancer management), hepatology (caring for advanced and complex liver disease), geriatrics (specialized care for the elderly), psychiatry (management of mental health disorders) and orthopedics (complex diseases of bones and joints). But Ayurveda practitioners themselves say that this is a bad move. Why? Because there is nothing to specialize in Ayurveda. The whole of Ayurveda is based on texts written 2000 years ago that has not changed at all. For examples: - for cancer, they teach application of honey over the tumor where flies come and lay eggs and maggots will eat the tumor from within. - for alcohol-related disorders, the treatment was to spend time with sexy voluptous women and drinking light wine, while leeches will suck out bad blood from your system. - for manic-depressive disorder, the patient was placed inside an isolated well and then beaten with sticks made from feathers of birds and forced to inhale smoke from burned snake skin. - for foreign body in bone, the treatment was to tie a horse or donkey to the foreign body and make the animal pull it out. - for elderly patients, to become healthier and well, they were advised to have sex with younger women. [These are all mentioned in the classical Ayurveda texts - Caraka Samhita, Ashtanga Hrydaya, Susruta Samhita - you can read about it, some versions are free online] I have never seen a more insecure group of people than Ayurveda policy makers and Ayurveda practitioners. Instead of improving science-based educational infrastructure and catering to primary care and improving specialists care by and large, they meddle in these absolutely wasteful activities that destroy the nations scientific temper, medical care quality and global-stage credibility. This government may be excellent at winning elections and especially hearts of brainless people, but they are the worst that has happened to this country since the British. Ayurveda practitioners raise concern over DM courses deccanherald.com/health/ayurved…
