A shift in medical studies....!

HYDERABAD: With people switching over from traditional to alternative therapies, aspiring doctors too have changed track. Allopathy is no more the in-thing for wannabe doctors or so it seems if the rising popularity of Unani, Homeopathy and Ayurveda courses in Hyderabad is anything to go by.

Believe it or not, there are as many as 10 students vying for each seat for these courses now, while in the previous years many seats were left vacant. This year, officials of NTR University of Health Sciences say that all the 121 seats in the two Unani medical colleges are filled. Of the 211 seats for homeopathy (BHMS) 203 are filled and out of 220 seats for the Bachelor’s course in ayurveda, 205 are filled.

Though surprised, the officials are glad that such a shift has taken place. “The students are now interested in courses which will fetch them good earnings. The students who specialise in these medicines also look at them as an easy ticket to go abroad. Many know that one can earn big money with alternative therapies abroad,” N Venugopal, registrar, NTR University told ‘TOI’. While many of them have dollar dreams, there are also those who chose to stick to traditional medicine to cater to some people who still believe in the natural healing process.

“Unani is very much the most needed medicine in some parts of Hyderabad. The medicine requires knowledge in Urdu and not many people know to read and write the language now. One needs some kind of expertise to carry the tradition forward as it is in demand even now,” Venugopal said.

Students said that many of them opted for the course out of love for the subject. “I never wanted to go for an MBBS course. Unani was my first choice while my brother opted for homeopathy. There are many people who know that allopathic drugs do not give lasting solutions for diseases,’’ said Ahmed Fahad, a student of Nizamia Tibbi College. He said that he even went for coaching to clear BHUMCET to get into one of the colleges. Unlike the previous years, where there were hardly 200 students applying for the course, in 2009 admissions the number of applicants doubled.

According to others, there are more takers for alternative medicine as allopathy has failed to offer solutions for many new diseases. Besides, with various big brands in natural therapies joining the field, the career path has become very lucrative, say students.

Source: Times of India

I always used to say "the time is changing and it is the era of natural medicines/healing".... I am happy for Ayurveda.

Bravo Ayurveda !