Dr. Abdul Rashid Badoo
Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a rapid transformation processes in almost all spheres of Governance. Health and Medical Education is one such sector which is evolving and transforming in terms of access to affordable quality health- care for the residents of the Union Territory. The establishment of nine Government Medical Colleges (GMCs), viz., Anantnag, Baramulla, Doda, Handwara, Jammu, Kathua, Rajouri, Srinagar and Udhampur, two Dental Colleges, viz., Srinagar and Jammu, SKIMS Srinagar and the two upcoming AIIMS are acting as vehicles of change in the historic transformational journey in health-care service delivery. It was felt imperative at the policy level to reengineer certain unattended areas of the Health and Medical Education Department at the policy level.
Primarily Medical Education in JandK aims at teaching, Research and Patient care. The ultimate aim is to add to the pool of Medical Graduates, who would provide health care to the community. Research and patient care in Associated Hospitals of GMCs compliment and facilitate the pursuit of excellence in Medical Education by thriving learners and graduates. It is imperative that Medical Colleges develop and maintain excellence in the quality of their academic standards and research. Thriving learners and graduates, impactful research and healthcare demands a cooperative work culture in medical colleges. The teaching faculty must work in the spirit of partnership, cooperation and respect to deliver integrated excellence in teaching, research and patient care. The organizational structure within a department in a medical college must allow optimum interaction among the various units and divisions and promote debate and cross-learning in the academic environment without bias on any ground.
In order to maintain the spirit of the pursuit of excellence in governance in Health and Medical Education Department, Government is taking a slew of initiatives. Under the guidance and leadership of Lieutenant Governor and under the dynamic initiatives of the Secretary Health and Medical Education, the department has embarked upon the path of achieving excellence through consultative mechanisms and brain storming about critical and grey areas which have plagued the department in the past. A few milestones achieved in the last one year are, establishment of 2 New Medical Colleges, viz., Handwara and Udhampur have been made fully operational, in a historic decision more than 250 faculty members in different GMCs have been promoted in one go, State Cancer Institute in Jammu has been operationalized, Human Resource Augmentation has been done in all the GMCs, Departmental Promotion in respect of Chief Medical Officers has been done after almost a decade, engagement on Academic Arrangement basis has been streamlined by issuance of a Uniform Selection Criteria across all Medical Colleges.
One of the reformative initiatives of introducing Rotational Headship was long-awaited which has been introduced as a reform with the key aim of ensuring sharing of fresh ideas and infuse innovative thinking in the organizational proceedings of the Medical Colleges. As per the rotational headship reforms, the post of the Head of the Department shall be rotated among the Professors every 2 years amongs the Professors of the Department. The past practice in the Government Medical and Dental Colleges of JandK with regard to Headship was conventional and bereft of any regulatory framework. By convention, the senior most faculty member held and remained Head of a Department till his/her retirement, sometimes for as long as 15-20 years, barring the prospects of rise of other equally qualified faculty members. In new GMCs, established in the last five years, the senior most faculty member among the entry level appointees would remain HoD for almost his/her entire career spanning over more than two decades while as his/her immediate junior, who may have got appointed at the same point in time, is not able to function as HoD during his/her entire career. The past practice vis-à-vis Headship prevented other senior faculty members to act as a collective resource in providing undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate education and continuing Professional Development. In fact, the post was not even a promotional or selection post under Recruitment Rules.
Moreover, Professors would like to contribute to research and other related areas, if they continue to hold the extra responsibility of administrators (HoD) for several years, their touch with hardcore academic work and quality of researchers/PGs get diluted. The intent behind this reform in medical and dental colleges of JandK is to bring equality, shared responsibility and cooperative culture in teaching, research and patient care, as there is limited scope for debate, dissent and difference in the academic environment under prevailing structure/ practice. In the previous system, the HoD would be dictatorial in his functioning and also give way to favoritism within the ranks. As per the Rotational Headship reform, the post of Head of Department will be rotated amongst the Professors of the department every two years as per seniority.
Pertinently, as per University Grants Commission regulations, central universities have already adopted Rotational Headship. Several prestigious medical institutions across the country have also switched over to Rotational Headship since last one decade. Prominent medical institutions that have adopted Rotational Headship include Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) Puducherry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bengaluru, Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), BHU, Varanasi etc. Even in Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management, which are research and teaching institutes of excellence, Rotational Headship has been adopted. Besides, in JandK, University of Jammu/Kashmir and Agriculture Universities have already adopted Rotational Headship..
Rotational Headship in Government Medical and Dental Colleges will help in making medical colleges in JandK as centers of excellence in teaching, research and patient care. This reform shall create an ecosystem of creativity, debate and innovativeness, which are essential elements for creating Centers of Excellence. This reform will provide thought leadership and direction; will help in optimizing the organization or practice by centralizing resources with unique knowledge or skills and streamlining their contributions across a wide range of areas and help identifying and reducing duplication of effort across initiatives within the practice.
The other anticipated futuristic reforms of the HandME department include appointment of Principals on analogy of AIIMS/SKIMS to attract the best talent, separation of post of Principal GMC and Dean GMC, establishment of Medical University in view of increased number of medical and Nursing colleges, introduction of uniform tier system (3 -tier) across all medical colleges, career advancement scheme for the faculty members of Medical Colleges, Ban on Private practice and introduction of Non Practice Allowance for faculty members of Medical Colleges.
(The author is Retd. Professor and HoD, Bone and Joint Hospital Srinagar.)
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