BENGALURU: The move by National Medical Commission (NMC) to replace the Hippocratic Oath with Charak Shapath has drawn flak from a large section of the medical fraternity as it’s being seen as a step towards mixing ayurveda with modern medicine.
TOI had reported in these columns on Friday that at a virtual meeting held on February 7, NMC directed medical colleges to do away with the Hippocratic Oath at the white coat ceremony for the new batch of first-year MBBS students beginning February 14, and replace it with Charak Shapath. However, NMC has not yet issued any notification on the Shapath, nor has its content been made public.
Dr Aruna S Vanikar, president, Undergraduate Medical Education Board, NMC, said: “There is no notification. Once things are finalised, it will be crystal clear. No comments at this juncture.”
Condemning the NMC move, the Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra branch, said in a statement that the commission should behave as a guardian for modern medical science. “The move so far appears to be a clear attempt to demean modern medical science and give backdoor entry to unscientific mixopathy and crosspathy. NMC fails in its function as a parent body to safeguard modern medicine. It is a very clear, biased and intentional agenda to demean modern medicine,” said Dr Suhas Pingle, president, IMA, Maharashtra.
IMA Karnataka president Dr Kateel Suresh Kuduva said the move is an assault on modern medicine. “When NMC was constituted, there were apprehensions about it being undemocratic as it largely had nominated members. Our fears are coming true. We oppose this move,” said Dr Kuduva.
Dr Srinivasa Kakkilaya, physician from Mangaluru, said the NMC move is a cover-up for the bigger agenda of contaminating, disrupting and destroying modern medicine in India. “As per the highlights of the NMC meeting, students of modern medicine have to now perform yoga, participate in Yoga Day and also plant saplings of herbs, and these are to be done by spending extra hours, even during weekends. Shapath is only a diversion to take the attention away from the real deviation from the path of modern medicine in India. These new doctors, with such training, can neither work here nor anywhere,” opined Dr Kakkilaya.
“And as for the Shapath, let the government and NMC show the courage of publishing it as it stands in Charaka Samhita, let alone expect anyone to practise it,” Dr Kakkilaya said.
‘Hippocratic Oath not mentioned in regulations’
“If at all NMC wants to bring about any changes, it can’t be an overnight decision. Let NMC discuss it with all stakeholders and invite objections and recommendations,” said Dr Babu KV, activist and founder-member, Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare.
According to Dr Babu, in Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, which are being followed currently, there is no mention of the words ‘Hippocratic Oath’, but it’s a declaration that is administered to medicos by faculty. “To that extent, what is said to be recommended by NMC is not a replacement of Hippocratic Oath,” he said. The declaration currently being followed by medical colleges is neutral and rational, added Dr Babu.
“This declaration has been called Hippocratic Oath in practice. But the same is not there in the rulebook,” said former dean of a medical college.
