Challenges in Medical Microbiology – Crisis in Medical Education In India 

                                              Basic sciences, including Microbiology are foundations of Medical knowledge to make better Doctors. However it continues to expand with many chapters with arrivals of emerging and remembering microbes. The Universities and Medical council of India too modified syllabus with great efforts, they made a Major question on Applied Microbiology with will help a medical students to solve a clinical problem puzzled with some signs and symptoms. If we realise the importance of Microbiology, if one is good in basic aspects of Medical Microbiology they will continue to be good in Community medicine, Medicine, as major topics are related to Microbiology, and all other clinical subjects, even the sub specialities as ENT and Ophthalmology contain a Major question on Infection related problems. Many teachers have not tuned to realities of Microbiology and its onward importance as Infectious diseases. When I interacted with many Medical students, they say, do not remember the taxonomy, and Biochemical reactions, I think it is unnecessary to emphasize its importance, as it is important for the practising diagnostic microbiologists, being a Post graduate examiner  many post graduates in Medical microbiology in colleges and institutes with poor standards, and questionable reputation, cannot answer the types of E.coli and do have  no basic knowledge in Enterobacteriaceae, and   are successfully getting MD degrees and  become teachers, as many private and some Government colleges are pushing to society poor knowledged, MD’s and are in great demand because of the Rapid expansion of Medical colleges, It is not just Microbiology every subject in Medicine, many Deemed Universities have become centres of Give and take degrees. Many Teachers wish to become examiners without having one round teaching in  the subject , to enjoy the Hospitality  in Private Medical Institutes,   Indian system of Nursing education too suffers from pushing unnecessary topics on Microbiology in the 1^st year of Nursing, loaded with several subjects in a prescribed period of less than year, there are no minimal qualified teachers, really it is  tragedy in many private nursing institutes nobody knows how they are trained, Majority fail when there is no copying or malpractices in the University  and no university analyses why they are failing, losing the valuable time of Human resource. I think if the nursing students are made for Indian conditions and should delete unnecessary topics as uncommon diseases, even beyond understanding of a MBBS graduate. It is high time that we should realise and change the syllabus of nursing students in Microbiology. I think we senior teachers too contributed to deteriorating standards in every aspect of Medical education, we only blame the politicians for the corruption and many ills, even today many touts, or even the staff members collect the money to bribe to examiners in final year clinical subjects, the good students who cannot contribute become the victims in the game of malpractices, I am happy there are least chances to do such mal practise in Kerala state.  It has become survivals game for the honest teachers, as we have little place to survive as teacher.   Many times I am reluctant to be an examiner to postgraduates as our students are  good in theory but an average post graduates are not able to give a reasonable comment on Gram’s stain which is just alphabet A. Many MD’s and M.Sc.’s facing the threat of good technicians in Microbiology due to lack of knowledge in minimal skills and fundamentals in Diagnostic Microbiology. Every person who joins Microbiology should or will realise their real threat is not from students or administers but their own Technicians. The Medical education is going through commercialization and marketing of the results, which is going to affect the nation’s health, and they are future Professors and administrators of many medical colleges. Students too are active to assess our knowledge and commitment, it is question many substandard teachers will grace music of Darwin’s theory, when they fail to face the realities of the Society and should not forget many good students are still the part of the system.                                                                                                                                                    Dr.T.V.Rao MD professor of Microbiology (email; doctortvrao@gmail.com )