Medical Observership
Mission
To provide unique shadowing experience at Kailash Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (KCHRC), a hospital run by a renowned NGO in a clean, tranquil and serene campus with world-class facilities in the heartland of rural India.
Objectives
- To enable medical students to observe clinical care of patients by attending Outpatient Clinics, watching procedures and surgeries, attend patient rounds, lectures and related events
- To see how a not-for-profit hospital can provide the best medical care at affordable rates to a vast number of people.
- To help students get a glimpse of the rural/tribal community and their lifestyle.
- To create appreciation of how a not-for-profit organization can provide Urban amenities in a rural setup.
- To expose the students to an integrated approach (education including vocational training, healthcare, childcare, care for the disabled and the elderly, women empowerment, sustainable agriculture and organic farming, and innovation in renewable energy and recycling of waste) taken towards the development of the rural society.
- To learn India's culture in an Ashram setting that India's forefathers envisioned.
- To explore different medical specializations as a career path mainly Oncosurgery, Medical Oncology (Chemotherapy) and Radiotherapy.
- Provide comfortable and clean on-campus lodging & boarding facilities so that the students can focus on learning.
What KCHRC offers
KCHRC provides complete allopathic (mainstream) medical treatment with the exception of cardiology. Some of the departments at KCHRC are:
- OPDs, e.g., Physician, family care, ENT and Head And Neck Surgery, Gynec, Paediatrician, Skin specialist, Psychiatrist, Dentist, Ophthalmologist, Orthopedic, Oncologist
- IPD - 200 beds
- Full Pharmacy
- Radiology - X-ray, Mammography, CT, Sonography
- Operating Theaters - 5 major and 5 minor OTs with state-of-the-art equipment
- Medical ICU
- Surgical ICU with complete and remote monitoring
- Laboratory - Histology, Pathology, Genetics, microbiology, blood centre
- Clinical Research
- Oncology modalities
- OPD
- Chemotherapy
- Nuclear Medicine - Gamma Camera, PET scan
- Surgery - 10 OTs +2 OTs for future Cath Lab
- Radiation Treatment - Brachytherapy, "True-beam" Linac
- Bone-marrow transplant (coming in 1Q2018)
- Cyclotron (coming in 1H18)
Program Structure
Students may elect one or more of the specialization areas for their observership. They are requested to contact Dr. Shehnaz Kantharia (Head of the Clinical Research and Medical Education) to develop a detailed observership program.
Students may want to spend evenings and Sundays to interact with other focus-areas of Muni Seva Ashram, i.e., Education, Social Care and Sustainability, described below. This will be done after arrival at the Ashram.
Education
- Experience the day-to-day life of students by visiting them at residential schools (Gujarati medium Primary school, Gujarati medium Secondary school, English medium Secondary school and Vocation Training Center).
- Spend quality time with children and participate in some of their activities to help broaden their worldview.
- Participate in Yoga Exercises.
- Teach selected subjects like English, computers and basic medicine/Hygiene.
Social Care
- Spend quality time with the children of the orphanage, elderly of the old-age homes and the specially-abled at the home for mentally challenged women to understand their needs and the services provided by the Ashram to support them
- Participate in activities or programs to help the residents grow and develop physically, mentally or emotionally and spiritually.
Sustainability
- See how solar energy can be harnessed for cooking food, generating electricity and even to create air conditioning for the hospital.
- Learn how bio-gas is generated. Visit the compression facility where it is compressed into cylinders ready to be used for cooking and as fuel in farm vehicles
- Visit plantations and farmlands to understand the use of organic fertilizers generated from bio-gas plants and vermicomposting
- Visit the gaushalas (cow-sheds). Experience feeding and milking the cows.
What students can expect and should be ready for
- Students receive no privileges to participate in clinical treatment of patients, to assist in any medical procedures, test or surgeries
- Students do not receive any academic credits. However they can be given certificate of participation which may meet requirements of some medical colleges.
- MSA is located in rural India. There may be intermittent loss of Electricity that can last from few minutes to few hours. It should be noted that air-conditioners or fans do not work without electricity.
- Hot water for bathing is provided during the morning hours.
- WI-FI is provided in some areas of the ashram from where Internet can be accessed on students’ laptops and smartphones. Because of its rural location students may experience intermittent loss of connectivity.
- Students are provided air conditioned accommodation. Typically two students of same sex are housed in each room.
- Vegetarian food - some of which is organically grown at Ashram - is provided Milk and milk products come from cows at Ashram.
- Laundry facilities are provided.
- Meat, liquor and tobacco of any kind are prohibited.
- Ashram premises are periodically fumigated. Mosquitoes are not a problem at Ashram, however students are advised to bring mosquito repellent.
Recommended Age Group for Medical Observership
Any undergraduate or postgraduate pre-medical or medical student in India or abroad
Duration of Observership
Recommended duration is one month to gain maximum benefit. However, we can customize it for duration of 1 to 8 weeks.
Program Fee
Please write to medical.education@greenashram.org for details on program fees.
Registration:
Kindly enter your contact info by clicking here to express your interest.
Testimonials
My name is Viktor Laskov. I was born near Siberia in Russia, I grew up in several Eastern European countries like Ukraine, Hungary and Latvia. I am currently pursuing medicine at University Hospital Vinohrady at Prague in Czech Republic.
I started planning my trip to India almost 6 months ago. My primary goal was to get a different type of experience in medical field. The secondary objective was to get a bit acquainted with Indian culture and people. I thought that the best way would be by going to some rural area of India. Fortunately, Drs. Rajesh and Shehnaz Kantharia at the hospital suggested that I should go visit them in Kailash Cancer Hospital at Muni Seva Ashram (MSA).
If you've heard that visiting India would be a journey to another world you would be doubly convinced when you step into Muni Seva Ashram. This is an amazing and magical place, which is thoroughly imbued with the best human qualities and energy of amazing people.
Muni Seva is an organization based on charity and help. You get the distinct feeling that you are at a special place. Beginning as a small village school, the ashram grew into a magnificent organization standing on 4 pillars: education, healthcare, social work, alternative energy. Each of these areas are successfully implemented at the ashram. And that's all thanks to people perfectly managing this big organization according to their dreams, principles and one simple concept "to help people".
I came to Muni Seva for a two-week internship in surgery - specifically to improve my knowledge and skills in difficult cases of cancer surgery. In just one week I've seen more than 20 different surgeries. I spent 40 hours in OT (operation theater), 10 hours in OPD (out patient department). I got rotation through all the modalities involved in cancer patient treatment. I've been able to follow patients' case through the entire healthcare process - from begging in OPD, to radiology department, to OT, then at pathology with specimen, and chemoradiotherapy at the end.
Being here, I see that local people coming here are provided the care and support that they so badly seek. Kailash Cancer Hospital with limited resources and in the middle of rural India, provides highly specialized healthcare to an incredibly large number of cancer patients. Doctors have excellent knowledge in their fields and relate to their work with the soul, trying to provide the best possible medical care.
And with all this, Kailash does not forget to develop, work on new medical researches, working on projects about expanding and implementing new technologies into practice.
To summarize, I'd like to say that I received here an invaluable professional and personal experience. I hope that this is not my last visit to the Ashram and I'm looking forward to cooperation in future.
Viktor Laskov
Czech Republic