Research should be need based: NITI Aayog member to medical fraternity

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 16

“Medical faculty will become obsolete if we don’t keep pace with advancement in science and technology,” said Dr Vinod K Paul, member, NITI Aayog, while emphasising on the importance of research in the medical sciences.

“The research should be need-based so that outcome is used for the benefit of mankind,” he said, while presiding over the second annual research day function of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here yesterday.

Prof BS Chavan, Director Principal, GMCH, informed Dr Paul that the GMCH was ranked among top 10 medical colleges of the country with intake of 150 MBBS, 128 MD/MS seats, 79 paramedical and 16 MPhil students.

Dr Chavan said in the last one year, the GMCH attended to approximately eight lakh patients in OPD and 1,40,000 patients in emergency. He said with two major projects of 200-bed emergency and trauma block and 300-bed mother and child block, the GMCH would become the first medical institute in the country with full time independent faculty and staff for the care of emergency patients which would reduce the mortality rate.

In addition to Dr Paul, Prof Raghuram Rao, Director, NIPER, spoke about multi-disciplinary and multi-scientific research and emphasised on the importance of research conducted world over at multiple centres.

Prof Om Prakash Katare, University Institutes of Pharmaceutical Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh, demonstrated how patenting was important in the field of medicine.