Maharashtra is a state with maximum number of Medical Colleges, maximum new enrolments to medical courses each year and maximum registered qualified doctors in any state of India. The tally of doctors in Maharashtra today stands at around 70,000. But still the doctor to population ratio in the State is around 1:1500, which is good in comparison to the national average of 1:1800 but falls way short of the US average of about 1:353. However the availability of doctors through the Government Hospitals and Polyclinics is far less and you will find interminable queues in all hospitals, be it private or Government. India is one country where Apollo Hospitals is doing a roaring business as can be seen from the share graph which is always in the grip of bulls.

Establishment of Mahrashtra University of Health Sciences

The State had numerous Medical Colleges and Institutions and were running rudderless, without proper controls. The graduate doctors were being churned out with good theoretical knowledge but hardly any professional or practical experience. The University was established on 10th June, 1988 with a view to reform the teaching practices of medical institutions within the state and have a uniform standard with adequate autonomy for the member institutions. Today it is the largest medical university with six faculties and about 200 institutions affiliated to it. There are 11000 new admissions each year to these institutions of which 4500 are MBBS doctors.

University Campus

The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences is landscaped on 51 acres of land near the Nashik-Dindori road in the Nashik district limits. The University campus is located near the famous Jain Mandir in picturesque hilly settings. The administrative building with a huge hundred thousand square feet of space is magnificent. The campus has a separate library building well stocked with latest books and medical journals. The staff quarters, guest houses and the well developed infrastructure of the university is a pride for Maharashtra.

The Development Agenda for the University

The university had a multi-pronged agenda set for itself. Apart from the academic reforms it embarked on the plans to establish medical colleges in rural or less developed areas to provide educational and quality medical facilities to these regions. The rural urban divide is more pronounced in Maharashtra with 70 percent of doctors available in the urban areas worth 20 percent of land area of the state. The university has been successful in establishing colleges in less represented areas and has outlined more colleges in their Perspective Plan 2006-11.

Admission and Educational Reforms

The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences streamlined the admission process to the medical colleges by bringing these colleges under a Common Entrance Test (CET). The worries of applying to all the colleges and shelling out fees for numerous entrance tests is a history, thanks only to the steps taken by the University. The new academic policies like compulsory class/clinic attendance, internal assessment program, upgradation of syllabi, common examination pattern and streamlined examination process have reinforced faith of common man in the medical education in Maharashtra. The stress on research is also a welcome step in the right direction.

The future of Indian Medicine is bright and as such India is attracting a huge number of medical tourists for various ailments. But what about those serpentine queues outside the hospitals, is the health cover adequate for common man?