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. 2024 Jan-Feb;49(1):11-17.
doi: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_125_23. Epub 2024 Jan 12.

Strengthening of District/Taluk Level Hospitals Through Implementation of Post-graduate Medical Courses in Karnataka, India

Parimala S Maroor  1 , B S Pushpalatha  1 , Sangeetha Kodkani  1 , Lourdu Shruthi  1 , Damaraju Ashwini  2 , Anjali Sharma  2 , Himanshu Negandhi  2 , Suresh S Shapeti  3 , Sanjay P Zodpey  4
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Strengthening of District/Taluk Level Hospitals Through Implementation of Post-graduate Medical Courses in Karnataka, India

Parimala S Maroor et al. Indian J Community Med. 2024 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the requirement of human resource for health (HRH) stands at 44.5 skilled health workers per 10,000 population. WHO recognizes India as one of the countries which has HRH crisis. Karnataka, a southern state in India, has the highest number of medical colleges yet faces the shortage of specialists in the public hospitals. We conducted desk review to understand the HRH crisis, particularly the medical specialists in India. Simultaneously, we conducted secondary research to explore the initiatives taken by the Government of Karnataka (GoK) to mitigate the shortage of medical specialists in the rural areas. GoK scaled up the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) postgraduate and super-speciality courses such as Diplomate of National Board (DNB), Diploma, and Doctorate of National Board (DrNB) in district hospitals (minimum 250-500 bedded) and taluk hospitals (minimum 100 bedded) by utilizing the existing resources. Karnataka is the first state in India to expand the NBEMS (DNB and Diploma) courses in taluk hospitals and to begin DrNB courses in district hospitals. The paper documents the process of implementation of the NBEMS courses at district and taluk hospitals of Karnataka, which has supported in strengthening these hospitals in the state.

Keywords: Delivery of healthcare; health care facilities; health workforce; manpower and services; medically under-served areas; public hospitals; teaching hospitals.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Coverage of DNB/Diploma/DrNB courses in Karnataka
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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