FALLING STANDARDS IN MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

Dr.T.V.Rao MD
Our educational system is wonderful as we think and competitive and producing many graduates
and post graduates, however if you analyse our students they talk many things beyond what we can
do in our country. It means we are loading them with imaginary things drifting from realities, the
skills and performance. The story is told that the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi had a
ritual he performed on the first day of training. He would hold up a football, show it to the athletes
who had been playing the sport for many years, and say,* Gentlemen, this is a football! He talked
about its size and shape, how it can be kicked, carried, or passed. He took the team out onto the
empty field and said, This is a football field. He walked them around, describing the dimensions,
the shape, the rules, and how the game is played. This coach knew that even these experienced
players, and indeed the team, could become great only by mastering the fundamentals. They could
spend their time practicing intricate trick plays, but until they mastered the fundamentals of the
game, they would never become a championship team.*I think most of us intuitively understand
how important the fundamentals are. It is just that we sometimes get distracted by so many things
that seem more enticing. Today our students learn complex things beyond their need, our syllabus is
excellent everything is told as theory and I see even the post graduates in Medical microbiology
practice with least interest, the laboratory procedures, little knowledge in basics and many may not
be talented to do few basic things after even post-graduation, My learned Teacher told me that If we
cannot separate two bacteria one as Normal flora and other a pathogenic bacteria, it is not worth
passing the MD or MSc examination, Today many good students do not join MD, MSc Microbiology
as there isn't much to learn from outdated teachers and everything can be automated we just
remain as Undergraduate Teachers, and we have no way except manipulate the Thesis the papers
we publish, I wish we all read the Emerging Infectious diseases journal published from CDC
everything is Molecular and as Senior Teacher I find very difficult to understand the content. It is all
happened majority of the seniors never taken clues from many events, we after spending more than
> 9 years to be a Medical Microbiologist with MD, and another period of > 9 in waiting to become a
Professor goes into unproductive work without contributing much to patient care which makes the
Clinicians reluctant to accept us as a part of the system. This all happened with cumulative effect in
Microbiology the teachers once they become Associate Professors they read very little and leave the
Laboratory work to assistants spending Time with so called administrative work and Chasing
Examiner ships. If we think with consciousness many Clinicians do not dependent on Laboratory
reports as they are done by some technical staff and rarely Professors or seniors take any interest
in bench work and Medical Microbiology is influenced by many non-Medical personalities however
they work with much sincerity for survival competing with Medically qualified professionals , and I
am certain in future high tech laboratories in Town take over the diagnostic microbiology many of us
are silent spectators with only designations, However many problems in Microbiology department
are attributed with little productive work and as least work creates many conflicts and interpersonal
rivalries some Megalomaniac personalities never looked outside narrow minds and killed the
Departments without finding solutions to the existing ills, I think if you ask me what I can think
about to improve the profession the fact, many seniors should rethink what they know and how
much we practicing microbiology are we contributing anything to real care of the patients.
However there are great personalities in Microbiology who really work and aware of the lacunae in
the system, I have seen wonderful personalities however very few to count. Today Many students
do not like to join MD Microbiology as there are no Dedicated teachers to mould them and the
private managements are carried by business equation and least caring on academic matters to
improve the overall health of Profession, as done in Cardiology and Radiology I find that
Microbiology departments are least funded and in future to continue in Departments will be
disappointing, and in future many least interested people join the MD microbiology just for a job for
MCI regulations, and the Departments will be loaded with Mediocre teachers and future of the
Departments at stake ? . I always feel the real Microbiology in our hands how we practise our
knowledge, for betterment of the profession, or else we will be ignored in the system? II accept
today we awarding the postgraduate degrees for our survival rather than survival of the Profession
in a complex society loaded with many social factors and commercialization of the medical
profession. ? We need not feel alone every Medical speciality is facing the same fate with falling
standards in learning of basics and dedication leading to gross errors in diagnosis and Treatment. It
is up to junior and upcoming Microbiologists to think what is NEXT or else?
*. Vince Lombardi, in Donald T. Phillips, Run to Win: Vince Lombardi on Coaching and Leadership
(2001), 92.
Dr.T.V.Rao MD Professor of Microbiology Freelance writer