Becoming a specialist physician is quite possibly the easiest in Bangladesh with doctors merely needing an MBBS degree, the experience of attending a few short courses and having enrolled in one or two medical courses.
The economic angle of the story is that if one could so easily become a “specialist”, earning millions of taka without having to spend millions more in obtaining “real” medical degrees from reputed medical institutions abroad, also becomes equally easy.
These so-called specialist doctors can be found these days around the corner of every other street. Many of these doctors have name plates and visiting cards that contain all sorts of English alphabets followed by brackets – PGT, BHS, “FCPS (part 1)”, “FCPS (part 2),”“MD (in course),” “MD (part 1),” “MD (part 2),”“MD (thesis),” “MD (last part)”, “MS (in course),” “MS (course completed),” and so on.
According to existing regulations, PGT, or Post Graduation Training, is just a training course and is not enough in any way to qualify someone as being a specialist doctor.
Regulations also suggest that FCPS, which stands for a Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, cannot be used in visiting cards or name plates unless someone has fully completed the degree. “FCPS (part 1)” therefore means that the person has not completed the degree; all he or she has done is complete the first stage of the two-part degree.
The same regulation applies for other degrees such as MD and MS.
Moreover, visiting cards and name plates of many doctors contain expressions like “Fellow (Mumbai, Australia, London)”, “Trained in Child Health”, “DTCD”, “DTSI”, “MPH”, “DTM&H”, “FKIT (Korea)”, “MD (PGI)”, “DM (Cardio)”, and so on.
Experts say that these letters represented nothing but short courses or seminars that these doctors might have attended abroad and therefore does not qualify them as specialists.
Common patients, most of whom have no idea about what these abbreviations mean, often consult these doctors thinking they are specialists and get cheated.
Such deceptive practices are not exclusive to the capital either, unscrupulous doctors can be found all over the country against whom there are allegations that they unlawfully and unrightfully prescribe high dosages of antibiotics and unnecessarily refer patients to private diagnostic centres for meaningless pathological tests.
These doctors have under-the-table deals with diagnostic centres that pay them a commission, upon having a patient referred to their centre, for pathological tests.
There are also allegations that many of them, with just MBBS degrees, charge patients an awful lot of money for visits and even perform operations falsely claiming that they are
specialists.
Health experts have expressed resentment, saying that many young doctors these days want to become rich through unethical ways, and never care for pursuing the basic duty of learning.
According to existing arrangements, the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) is the only rightful authority in the country that can recognise and approve higher degrees earned from institutions abroad. Anyone with a higher medical degree must get registered with BMDC, otherwise that person cannot claim to have obtained that degree.
Experts said that despite knowing, concerned authorities like the health ministry, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the BMDC turn a blind eye towards such malpractices due to strange reasons.
BMDC sources said that there are also directives for doctors for mentioning their registration numbers in their prescriptions.
But most doctors do not follow such directives, resulting in the fact that many fake doctors are now getting the chance to practice and cheat people.
According to BMDC, until June 12, the number of registered doctors in the country stood at 63,859.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, BMDC Registrar Dr Jahedul Haque Basunia regretted that the number of fake doctors had been increasing alarmingly as of late. Since the registered doctors often did not mention their registration numbers in prescriptions, fake doctors get the chance. These fake doctors often forge real registrations and certifications of other doctors in their favour, he alleged.
A number of universities in the country, including the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), offer MD, MS and various diploma courses.
Besides, the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS) offer FCPS and MCPS degrees.
Sources said the BMDC authorities had, in the past, issued a number of notices through newspapers, asking doctors to not put in the name of any degree in visiting cards unless all the formalities of that course had been completed.
Such warning notices were also issued through the BCPS and BSMMU authorities, which however, the so-called specialists never heeded.
BSMMU Pro-VC Dr Ruhul Amin Mia told the Dhaka Tribune, that practising as a specialist without having obtained any degree is utterly immoral.
He said that BSMMU authorities have issued numerous notices for students enrolled in MD and MS courses to not use these abbreviations in visiting cards or name plates.
Admitting that some of their students have not abided by these notices, he assured that appropriate measures would be taken if there was to be any specific allegation against any of them.
Professor Dr Kamrul Hassan, vice-president of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), said the amended BMDC Act also barred doctors from using the name of degrees in cards or signboards without having obtained them.
He said the BMA as an organisation of professional doctors could play an important role in preventing such malpractice.
