AYURVEDIC EDUCATION IN CRISIS

Dr. Remya Krishnan MD PhD

Science is taught as

literature

The science of Ayurveda is documented in

sanskrit does not mean that Ayurveda is

literature and not science .

Language of sanskrit should be taught with the

perspective to learn and comprehend science

and not sanskrit mahakavyas .

Applied learning of sanskrit must be primarily

focussed on Ayurveda, not Laghu siddhantha

kaumudi or Reghuvamsha

USE OF LANGUAGE

Sanskrit in Ayurveda colleges must be taught

be Ayurveda faculties themselves who

possess indepth knowledge and qualification

in Ayurveda and Sanskrit as well.

Teaching must inspire students to recognise

their responsibility in learning and

comprehending a Medical science which

considerably differs from any other branch of

science and arts.

FACULTY RECRUITMENT

Faculty recruitment must be entirely based on their credentials and performance and completely unbiassed .

Screening of faculties for their knowledge, skills , aptitude and attitude before recruitment irrespective of their experience is inevitable for development of institution and professional development of students.

Constant faculty empowerment programmes in academics and clinical skills in teaching institutes.

Lack of proper introduction

Proper introduction about the scientific outlook , attitude and approach of science of Ayurvedais hardly conveyed to first year students.

Teaching on a. What is science ?b. How and why Ayurveda is science ?

c. What is Science Based Medicine ?

d. How Ayurveda is Science Based Medicine ?Etc. considerably augment the professional

attitude and aptitude of Ayurveda students.

Faculties lack confidence in knowledge

Most of the faculties are working for status and money and do not care about strengthening their knowledge and skills.

They dangerously mislead students that success in practice has no real connection with acquiring knowledge.

Students find themselves completely lost through out the curriculum .

Most of them lose confidence and commitment when they become professionals

Examples of certain misled

notions

Doshas are “imaginary” concepts .

Nothing is certain in Ayurveda.

Anything could be right and wrong in

accordance to their view points .

Theory is absolutely contradictory to clinical

practice

Experienced people are always correct . One

should not argue with them .

General problems in today’s

academics

The definitions and interpretation of the scientific terminologies in the new generation books of Ayurveda are wrong, misleading as they are deviated from the intentions in Basic science.

They are full of contradictions and uncertainity .

Students have to depend on these books as they have no other alternatives .

Thus they go wrong from the early learning stage itself

More dangerously, they are ignorant of their ignorance and misled knowledge and grow up to be the next generation of misled faculties and physicians .

No standardised evaluation in

examinations

No science based standards are followed in evaluating the student answer sheets in clinical case examinations.

The faculties adopt no fixed science based guidelines as yardsticks and instead stick on to their “logic and experience “ rather than standardised “logic of science ”.

No uniform system of assessment as no uniform standards of what is right and how -is not yet fixed at all .

Need of Science Based evidence

Based Ayurveda oriented training

Faculty orientation in SBEBA is required FIRST

All definitions and implications of Basic science is

to be clarified for faculties and implemented

standardised .

The faculties must recognise their weakened

areas of knowledge and skills themselves and

must constantly improve in Science Based

Evidence Based Ayurveda.

Class room and OPD Teaching should be entirely

based on Basic science - not tradition,

experience or anecdote

There must be science led connectivity

between what faculties learn themselves,

teach students and practice .

They should appraise their quality constantly

by checking whether their patients are getting

“intended” results

They should also appraise themselves

whether they succeed in communicating the

scientific basis of treatment with their students

and co faculties

Required modifications

Start by acquiring accurate knowledge of

definitions, theorems , principles , their

implication and applicablility in SBEBA.

Sharpening interpretation skills of self and

student by constant practice of techniques of

SBEBA .

Include projects with emphasis to real patient

situations rather than data

Enhance student communication skills to

enable them to express what they learnt

Required modifications

Encourage them to learn and adopt Ayurvedic

science based research and clinical

methodologies to solve clinical questions and

problems .

Train them to understand and interpret human

subjects and not data .

Culture a healthy competitive spirit to make the

patient health possible at minimum cost and

time by the right science based evidence

based management

THANK YOU