Ayurvedic training

reorientation courses should then be of- fered to the different categories of tradi- tional practitioners . For example in the training programme for birth attendants, emphasis should be on basic education regarding pregnancy and child birth , hygiene, gynaecological complications and the basic principles of infant and child care . After providing appropriate training, all this medical expertise can be absorbed into the main stream of general health services for the rural population , so that the largest number of people can benefit from an effective and person- alized service. These traditional practitioners com- mand the implicit faith and confidence of their rural clientele, as they form an integral part of the village life. They can treat most of the common ailments which constitute almost 80 per cent of diseases. Treatment in these systems is much cheaper, and is especially effective in dealing with chronic ailments, allergic conditions and psychosomatic diseases. They make use of locally available herbs and other ingredients in their day-to-day practice, and often write out prescrip- tions with detailed instructions for pre- paring the decoction to be taken by the patient. The services of traditional heal- ers and practitioners could therefore be utilized with advantage at primary health centres in remote rural areas. If the health care delivery system is to reach the maximum number of people in the shortest possible time , and is to become a real instrument in alleviating human suffering, an open-minded ap- proach devoid of rigid dogmas is called for. No single system can thrive or be useful to all irrespective of its origin , location or merit. Anything that is good in all these systems should be made available, while false claims or ineffective practices and faulty approaches that may be currently in vogue should be eliminat- ed through intensive and systematic research . In our anxiety to make an effective, comprehensive community health service available as soon as possible to the max- imum number of people, the available material , financial and manpower resources that are rooted in traditional medical practices should not be over- looked. In order to reach the masses in the developing countries, there must be proper planning as well as a building up of health care facilities with all the lim- ited resources available . Against this background the traditional systems of medicine and their rich heritage can play a vital role as an additional or alternative approach in a country's Health Delivery Programme. • Ayurvedic tra · • BY 1(. N. UDUPA I India is one of th e few As ian cou ntri es w here Ayurveda has bee n given due recog -niti on as a system of medi -c in e for prov iding hea lth care to th e people Alth oug h there are refe rences to Ayurvedi c prin ci - pl es in Vedic li terature w ritten about 2000 B C. th e prese nt available li - terature on Ayurveda starts with Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Sam - hita . co mpiled some t ime dur ing th e fifth Century B.C From these ancient documents it appea rs th at edu cat ion in th is sc ience wa s initiall y imparted to highly se lected groups of stu - dents. In more recent ti mes it has taken more th an a ce ntury fo r a stand ard - ized and acceptabl e trai nin g pro - gramme to be introd uced in most of th e Ayurvedi c coll eges in Ind ia . Th e admi ss ion standard . and th e durati on of th e course and intern ship training . are quite simila r to th e trai ning in modern med ica l co lleges Thus afte r 1 2 yea rs of educat ion in scie nce and humanities. five years of train ing in vari ous Ay urvedi c subjects are en- visaged Peculiar to thi s training is a tho roug h grou nding in bas ic princi - pl es- the phil osophica l as pects of life. th e body -mind re lati onship. th e " humours" of th e body and th eir fun ct ion. inc luding the best meth ods for leading a healthy life accord ing to the body's constitut io n and the tem - perament Th e technical meth odology of c li - ni cal exa minati on is similar to mo - dern med ic in e. th e primary meth ods being th e c lini ca l history and a fi ve - fo ld phys ica l exa minatio n usi ng th e fi ve senses. However. greater em- phasis is given to th e constituti onal as pects of patients. their nutriti onal statu s and th ei r psychoso matic in - tegrity The pulse exa minat ion forms an impo rtant part of th e c lin ical methodo logy. The pati ent is exa mi - ned and treated as a w ho le. unlike the modern medical approach w here a larg e number of speciali sts may be invo lved simultaneously in such an examinati on. Th e undergrad uate curri culum compn ses radi o logy, path ology, parasito logy, microbio logy and prac- tical laboratory instruction . Th e Ayurvedic principl es of surgery. gy- naeco logy, child health and oth er allied su bj ects are also taught Th e train ing in surg ery in c ludes th e prin - c ipl es of management of different types of fracture. and various opera- tive and palliative procedures for such conditions as urinary stones. piles. f istula e. go itre. lymphad eniti s and hern ia Stud ents w ant ing to und ertake furth er studi es are admitted to post - gradu ate co urses leading to the award of a Doctorate of Ayurved ic Medic in e. These co nsist of three years of postgraduate train ing In the f irst yea r. th e postgraduates recei ve advan ced training in applied basic med ica l sc iences. both Ayurvedi c and modern . In th e seco nd and thi rd years they are all owed to spec ial ize in on e of th e f ive majo r disci plines- intern al medicine. Ayurvedi c surgery. obstetri cs and gyn aecol ogy, materi a med ica or the bas ic principl es of Ayurveda Doctor of Philosophy degrees in va rious specia li t ies ca n also be ob - tained at so me uni versi ties. Th is has led to co nsiderable output of re- sea rch materi al w hich co uld prove very useful in moderni zing Ayurved ic investi gati on and treatment Thu s train ing in Ayurveda . both at the und ergraduate and postgraduate level . has underg one a rap id change in recent yea rs M oderniza t ion co nti - nues and in due co urse th e d iffer- ence between the pattern of modern medi ca l training and Ayurvedi c trai n - ing w ill be minimal. to th e point w here trained Ayurvedic and modern doctors shou ld prove co mplementary to each other . Their services co uld then be utili zed fo r health care at variou s levels. and a better coopera - tive attitude between the two types of practitioners should contribute to - w ards improving th e health care of Ind ia 's vast populatio n both in urban and rural area s. • 15