Podiatric progress in India

11 Jul 2018

Professor Stuart Baird, International Associate Director, Dr Siva Davamani, Senior International Advisor and Professor Jayalal President of the Tamil Nadu Indian Medical Association joined by the joint faculty of our College and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and the participants of the first Clinical Skill Course in Management of Foot Pathology at Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute June 2018.

The College’s Faculty of Podiatric Medicine has partnered with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Tamil Nadu (TN) to help address the growing need for education in podiatric medical education in the country. Although podiatric medicine is not currently recognised by Medical Council of India as a specialty, there is a growing demand to manage a range of foot pathologies including diabetic foot disease amongst the region’s thirty thousand clinicians. Diabetes is fast gaining the status of an epidemic in India where more than 62 million individuals are currently diagnosed.

The partnership started in Sept 2017 and in June 2018 the first round of educational activity was accomplished. Nearly fifty students completed a combination of online learning and tutorials on subjects such as the evaluation of local and systemic pathology with particular regard to diabetes, musculo-skeletal management and vascular disease. The appraisal and interpretation of diagnostic images from a range of imaging modalities as well as guidance as to the interpretation of kinetic and kinematic assessment to inform patient management.

This was followed by the delivery of a clinical skills course in partnership with Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (SRMC), Chennai (Tamil Nadu). This course built on the academic content of the online course by teaching practical skills to participants.

The two courses are the first steps on a pathway towards completing the MPFM exam, which will be held in September 2018 (Part 1) and March 2019 (Part 2). Candidates who successfully sit the exam are eligible for membership of the College’s Faculty of Podiatric Medicine. The College hopes that this pilot programme will allow us to reach and engage with a growing audience of members and potential members in the region, which already has one of the highest concentrations of College memberships in India.

Announcing the successful partnership, Professor David Galloway, the President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow said:

“This partnership has been a great success in a number of ways. Not only has our College supported a core group of clinicians down the path towards gaining accreditation in Podiatric Medicine through the MPFM exam, but we’ve been able to support our partners in India to directly address this growing need for developing podiatric skills required to combat this growing health problem. We’ll now look to expand this model to other parts of India, including West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. It’s been good for our College, has strengthened our partner organisations and will support better care for patients.

“I look forward to seeing further developments in this area in the months and years to come.”

Category: Engagement