With its cutting-edge medical technologies and latest advancements, the US might be a haven for ambitious Indian doctors.
But there are signs of a possible change now, albeit for an entirely different reason. In what seems to be a reversal of trends, young Indian doctors born and brought up in the US want to come to India for valuable practice.
The huge differences in medical-care facilities between both the countries and the sheer number of patients here offer doctors a tantalising mix of professional challenge and rich experience.
In fact, the American Association of Indian Origin, an umbrella organisation of various Indian doctors’ associations in the US, has started providing scholarships to Indian students brought up in the US who are interested in practising here. “We have started providing scholarships after receiving several requests. Last year, we managed to provide 10 scholarships and will continue with it this year as well,” AAPI president Dr Narendra Kumar said.
“If you are a young doctor in the US, you might see a maximum of 10 patients a day. But if you are a doctor in rural India, the number of patients and the kind of diseases that you deal with is of a completely different scale. This is among the main highlights why the doctors choose India,” says Dr Durgesh Mankikar.
Doctors say that the sheer variety of diseases found in large numbers in the country is also a reason for the keen interest students show towards the country.
“The applications are mainly for dealing with diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases which can be seen in large numbers in the country. There is also an interest in fields areas community medicine,” say Dr Kumar.
The Central Government’s move to allow Indian doctors abroad to practise in India without undergoing screening tests is expected to boost the number of Indian doctors coming to the country.