‘Charak Shapath’ instead of Hippocratic oath by 1st year MBBS students stirs row, Dean removed

Chennai: A needless controversy has surfaced in Tamil Nadu when the first year medical students were made to take the Charak Shapath oath (sanskrit) during the induction ceremony at the Madurai Government Medical College yesterday, instead of the conventional Hippocratic oath, following which the College Dean was sent on compulsory wait, on Sunday.

At the traditional oath taking ceremony, the first medic gets his/her white coat.

While Tamil Nadu ministers Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Ma.Subramanian expressed shock, the Directorate of Medical Education termed it a "needless deviation" from the protocol.

Dean Dr A Rathinavel told TV channel that "the students' cabinet secretary prepared the oath, taking it from the website. We were not consulted. If we had been consulted this unnecessary controversy could have been avoided".

The State government, in an official release here on Sunday, strongly condemned it and relieved the Dean from the post and put him on compulsory wait.

Health Minister Ma.Subramanian has directed Directorate of Medical Education Dr Narayana Babu to conduct a departmental inquiry into the incident.

The government also issued a circular to all medical colleges that in future only Hippocratic oath should be administered after the medics get their white coats. (UNI)