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Indian Medical CollegesTHE NATIONALMEDICAL JOURNAL OF INDIA VOL. 9, NO.1, 1996

Medical College, Baroda

AMIT A SHAH, SHAUNAK SHAH

BACKGROUNDBaroda has been known for its educational activities even beforeIndependence. It was the only princely state in India whereprimary education was compulsory and the library movement hadreached even the remotest villages. Maharaja Sayajirao Ill (1875-1939) was a visionary and a great promoter of education. Heimported western ideas and technology for the overall developmentof the then Baroda state. Even though there was no medicalschool, medical facilities had reached every corner of his domain.When the local students were denied admission to other medicalcolleges in British India, the Maharaja decided to establish amedical college in Baroda. Bird and Tetloc, a well-known Britishfirm which specialized in planning and building medical schools,was commissioned. The company sent equipment and evenconstruction material; the first consignment of which rests at thebottom of the sea as a result ofthe second world war. After the war,however, there was rapid progress in the construction of themedical college building, and the first batch of 40 medicalstudents started their career in 1949, a year that also saw thebeginning ofthe Maharaja Sayajirao (M.S.) University of Baroda.

The MB,BS degree of the M.S. University of Baroda has beenrecognized by the Medical Council of India ever since the firstfinal MB,BS examination, held in April 1954. Presently, 140undergraduate students are admitted each year through opencompetition.

SRI SAYAJI GENERAL HOSPITALThe small Dufferin Hospital had delivered medical aid to thepeople of Baroda since 1886 and was later expanded to the presenthospital and renamed the Sri Sayaji General Hospital. Though itsofficial bed-strength is 1200, the hospital has about 1400 inpatientsat any given time. The outpatient department serves more than2000 patients every day.

There are special hospitals inBaroda for tuberculosis, infectiousdiseases, leprosy and psychiatric ailments, which impart trainingto both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

TEACHINGIn addition to the MB,BS, the college offers postgraduate coursesin various clinical and non-clinical specialties. There are 52 seatsevery year for the postgraduate courses. The only superspecialtydegree offered by the college is in Plastic Surgery.

In 1968, the Physiotherapy Department of the hospital wasupgraded to aPhysiotherapy School which now admits 25 studentsannually. Three years of training at this school qualifies a studentfor a bachelor's degree.

AMITA SHAH 14-B, Dutt Vihar, Race Course, R.C. Dutt Road,Baroda, Gujarat, India

SHAUNAK SHAH Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, SGPGIMS,Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India

© The National Medical Journal of India 1996

EDINBURGH PLANWith the help of the World Health Organization (WHO), aninteresting experiment in medical education was started in 1963,involving the Edinburgh Medical School in Scotland and theBaroda Medical College. The aim was to create a strong medicalcentre, both for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education,blending international medical trends and local health needs, toserve as a model for other colleges in the state as well as in the restof India. Under this project, a team of six visiting professors indifferent specialties was deputed annually from the University ofEdinburgh and teachers from Baroda visited Edinburgh. As aresult of this exchange, which ended in June 1970, an infrastructurehas evolved for comprehensive patient care, teaching and research.Another outcome was a new surgical block with operation theatreson each floor.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The Curative and Preventive General Practice (CPGP) UnitA large number of patients with minor ailments report to thehospital outpatient departments where interns, under thesupervision of a senior colleague, screen and treat them. Thosewho require specialized care are referred to the specialty units.This unit was started in 1965 and the Chatterjee CommissionReport in 1975 recommended the institution of such CPGP Unitsin other medical colleges as well. Even the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences, New Delhi has felt the need for such a system. I

Rural orientationIt is mandatory for the intern to spend at least three months of hisor her training in a primary health centre. A mobile camp is

FIG 1. The main building of the medical college

INDIAN MEDICAL COLLEGES

FIG 2. The obstetrics and gynaecology ward which was earlier theDufferin hospital

organized every year to carry medical and surgical aid to the tribalareas of Dhod and Chhotaudepur and Deogarhbaria.

Some public sector undertakings around Baroda have providedfinancial support to help start open heart surgery facilities in thehospital.

A 'psychosomatic medicine and hypnotherapy clinic' wasstarted jointly by the Departments of Physiology and Psychiatryin 1987. It is the only clinic of its kind in a government hospitalin this country.

PROBLEMS

FinancialFinancial constraints and the ever-increasing cost of medicaltechnology have resulted in most departments being unable tokeep up with the recent advances. Similar reasons can be cited forthe low research output." Most of the funds are spent on basicpatient care (which is provided free) and the salaries of employees,leaving little for newer equipment, buildings or projects.

Honorary v. full-time facultyEarly in the history ofthe college, Dr Jivraj Mehta, the then ChiefMinister of the composite state of Bombay and former Diwan ofthe erstwhile Baroda state allowed private practice. Faculty thenmigrated from Bombay and thus brought in the era of the honorary

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FIG 3. The paediatrics ward. In the foreground is the statue ofMaharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III

teacher system. This was an incentive for good doctors who didnot wish to leave an established practice for an attachment to ahospital. While the demerits of such a system are obvious, thepositive aspects should not be overlook.ed. Prominent among thelatter were the exemplary teaching and technical skills of some ofthe 'honoraries'. Many brought their own expensive equipmentfor the treatment of patients at the general hospital. The honoraryteacher system is no longer encouraged. A reappraisal of thesystem is now necessary, particularly in view of the fact that thegovernment cannot possibly fund most new technologicalinnovations.

The college has been an important medical school in westernIndia but it remains to be seen whether it will continue to be a'premier' institute in the twenty-first century.

ACKNOWLRDGEMENTSWe thank Dr C. P. Munshi, Professor Emeritus of Medicine, MedicalCollege, Baroda who gave invaluable suggestions and Dr Milind Nene whotook the photographs.

REFERENCESI Bijlani RL. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Natl Med J India

1993;6:181-5.2 Reddy KS, Sahni P, Pande GK, Nundy S. Research in Indian medical institutes. Natl

Med J India 1991;4:90-2.