PUNE: Postgraduate allopathy doctors will soon mention the short form of graduation degree (MBBS) before the post-graduation degrees (MS/MD).
The Maharashtra Medical Council — the governing council of allopathy doctors in Maharashtra — will issue a directive in this regard to help people make an informed decision while consulting a specialist doctor. Shivkumar Utture, the president of MMC, said, “In a general body meeting on Monday (December 7), we discussed this. The MMC will issue an advisory/directive in this regard in a day or two.”
The move is set to be effective in the wake of the recent Union government notification allowing ayurveda postgraduate doctors specialised in shalya (surgery) and shalakya (diagnosis/prevention) to perform 39 general surgery procedures and 19 other procedures involving the eye, ear, nose, throat (ENT) and bone.
The allopathy doctors’ postgraduation degrees are Master of Medicine (MD) and Master of Surgery (MS). Incidentally, the postgraduation degrees of ayurveda doctors are also named as MD and MS.
“It is now imperative that postgraduate allopathy doctors should differentiate by mentioning the MBBS degree before their postgraduate MS/MD degrees,” Utture said.
All MBBS doctors get registered with the MMC based on their medical degree (MBBS). Their postgraduation and other higher qualifications are considered as additional qualifications by the MMC. Close to 1.45 lakh allopathy practitioners in Maharashtra (MBBS and above) were registered with the MMC, Utture said.
Calling it a much-needed and welcome move, Sanjay Patil, the vice-president of the state chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said, “In rural parts, an ayurveda degree holder simply writes the abbreviation of doctor (Dr) before his/her name. He/she never writes her degree, which is misleading. Again, postgraduate ayurveda practitioners deliberately writing MS or MD is also very rampant. It creates a false impression in people's minds. There is less awareness about the degree nomenclatures among the masses,” Patil said.