Indian Board of Alternative Medicine

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by koreanrainbow, Oct 20, 2011.

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  1. koreanrainbow

    koreanrainbow New Member

    Hello All,

    I am considering taking a course in Naturopathic or Alternative Medicine (probably the PhD) from the Indian Board of Alternative Medicine. From all appearances, they seem to be properly accredited with Indian government recognition. I would like to hear from the experts here concerning IBAM accreditation. Please help me out in reference to the recognition of their accreditation in India and, conversely, if the degree would be recognized as accredited in the USA. Thanks.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    The most important thing for you to understand is that there is no one on this board that could be legitimately considered to be anything remotely akin to an expert on Indian accreditation. Then you need to look at the Indian Ministry of Education website (or whatever it's called) and try to determine if this school is legitimately accredited by the Indian government. If it still looks good at this point then you can begin to feel good but I wouldn't stop there. I'd look at who owns the school, who runs the schools and who teaches at the school. Are their credentials legitimate?

    People will come along after me and post opinions and that's a good thing but are you going to enroll in a doctoral degree program just because someone on the internet said it was a good idea? Start digging kr. Do some research and then come back and tell us that you've discovered a great new program.
     
  3. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    I agree with Kizmet. On top of that, go to the UGC (University Grants Commission) web site and see if the school is completely recognized. They have a data base.

    The other thing is that you are getting into an interesting area if you are claiming any sort of degree that smacks of a medical field so I would be cautious after you get it in terms of what you do with it (ie do not represent yourself as in the medical field) in the US. There are some approved Naturopathic Schools (or whatever they are) in the US but I think NONE of them are distance learning. They are plenty of distance learning ND programs of er....umm.....varying perception in terms of credibility. It generally is a field that people conjure up images of iridology, magnets, the silver remedy (cannot recall the name) and so on.
     
  4. msganti

    msganti Active Member

    Being from that country, and knowing the accreditation process, I could only say....STAY AWAY!!!
     
  5. dl_mba

    dl_mba Member

    If you are taking classes on-site and the school has its own hospital where students do their practical work and if the school is UGC/AICTE approved.. i would say go ahead. But none of the medical degrees from India are recognised in USA. You still need to pass USMLE exams. Make sure you talk to the right accreditation body here to see if the degree from the school in india will be eligible to take USMLE exams and get board certified in USA.
     
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    She's talking about naturopathy and stuff like that. That sort of stuff will never qualify her to sit the USMLE series.
     
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Here's an article about somebody in the US with a degree from the Indian Board of Alternative Medicine - and getting into a whole lot of trouble with it. Not a recognized board, per the State. This person also had other questionable degrees.

    Marijah McCain Curbed by Arkansas Attorney General

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 21, 2011
  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 21, 2011
  9. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

     
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    It oughta be in the DEEMED MILLS section! :)

    Johann
     
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

     
  12. msganti

    msganti Active Member

    Flash back to 20 years - one of my close friends (of that time, and in that country where this institution operates) did an RMP Certificate course (I couldn't recall whether it stands for Rural/Registered Medical Practitioner) by "correspondence".

    His main reason for doing this was to fulfill his aging and dying mother's last wish- to see her son as a doctor - a medical doctor that is, not a PhD. He claimed that he can treat minor ailments (like flu and fever, may be) and issue medical certificates (which are mandatory for government employees applying for medical leave) - but can not attend major treatments and surgeries, though I do not have anything to validate this claim.

    One thing for sure - this institution IS NOT AUTHORIZED by any accrediting organizations in India to grant degrees.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I was curious. As I like to look things up, too - I did. RMP is indeed an abbreviation of "Rural Medical Practitioner." In the bit of reading I did, the most common synonyms for RMP were "problem" and "quack." I read that they generally (attempt to) practice modern allopathic medicine with no training in it. How dangerous is that?

    One of my quick readings suggested that around 78% of medical attention in rural West Bengal is delivered by these unqualified individuals. I only hope your friend's mother was unaware that her son had, in fact, become a "certified" quack. Perhaps the initials should stand for Rogue Medical Practitioner.

    Johann
     
  14. msganti

    msganti Active Member

    Whatever....I heard (through other friends) that his mother died happily, and that he is doing some other job (for which he was qualified with an authentic degree from an accredited university) and have no intentions to "practice" using his certificate anymore - so no harm done.
     
  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I'm glad for three reasons.

    (1) Your friend made his mother happy before her death.
    (2) He decided not to "practise" with his certificate - thereby avoiding possible harm to others.
    (3) He's probably had a good career based on his authentic degree.

    Sorry if I offended you. That was not my intention. It's just that the idea of so many unqualified people doing doctors' jobs "pushes my buttons" and I tend to go "out of control". I realize that India has a "middle class" that numbers well over 100 million, but this rural lack of access to medicine reminded me yet again that many more millions, in and around India's 600,000-odd "villages," lead lives of desperation and too many are hardly better off than their ancestors of 2,000 years ago.

    That's not to say we don't have the exact same problem in North America - just to a lesser degree. We have nothing to be proud of, in that regard.

    Again - sorry if I offended you. Didn't mean to.

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 25, 2011
  16. msganti

    msganti Active Member

    No problem - I understand your concern. I am in North America too, so I understand both sides of the coin :)

    The point is, this institution is trying to abuse the "Scientific Societies Act". AFAIK, the act depicted that scientific societies can run educational programs (like certificates and diplomas, but NOT degrees) purely for educational purposes and professional advancement. Some of such courses (Operations Research Society of India, for example) are recognized as professional qualifications in the Industry as well as the academic world.

    The institution in question is definitely using it's political power and loopholes in the system. But irrespective of what they say and advertise, it IS NOT ACCREDITED and hence the degree they grant is not worth the paper it is printed on.
     
  17. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    It certainly is! And the "Literary and Scientific Societies Act" it is abusing is dated 1854! Perhaps it's time for a revision - hopefully one less amenable to abuse!

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 26, 2011
  18. colleen2468

    colleen2468 New Member

    Indian Board of Alternative Medicine is legit

    I can attest that it is a fine school with a fine curriculum which is Govt. approved. The Govt. of India does offer attestation of their programs as being authentic. Legally, alternative medicine is an exempt profession in India. Homeopathy and Ayurveda are not considered alternaative but rather traditional Indian medicine and allopathy being considered Western.

    [Link removed by Moderator]

    They offer distance learning as well as clinical training (minimum 7 days per month) in general Western physical examination and lab interpretation as well as practical training in special alternative therapies such as acupunture, chiropractic, herbalism, Traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy.

    Graduates are permitted to practice these anywhere in India.
    RMP (AM) is registered medical practitioner alternative medicine and is not to be confused with Rural Medical Practitioner.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 12, 2012
  19. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I removed the link from your post because it looked like spam to me. Can you make your case by using credible third party sources?
     
  20. rajiv_bhajanka

    rajiv_bhajanka New Member

    I would like to upload a file from the Government Body in India of validity of the programmes conducted by the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines. However i am unable to do so on account of file size being restricted to just 24KB while the file size that is to be uploaded is about 1100 KB.
    If anyone can help, would be highly appreciated.
     

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