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The first time I heard of a scope was in my childhood. We had a small dispensary in our village, Muthukur, and a young and friendly LMP, Ishwar Reddy, manning it.
There were no MBBSs then in our villages. My Uncle was then doing his MBBS and I was curious what it meant and was intrigued (still) by the inversion in its nomenclature. I asked Father what LMP meant and he told me that it stood for Licensed Medical Practitioner. And he was particular to mention that LMP is much below MBBS in the pecking order of doctors.
When our LMP got transferred, the newcomer had an LIM following his name. Another question to Father and another reply: LIM stood for Licentiate of Indian Medicine. This was curious stuff since it begged the question what was Indian about his medicine.
This Indian thing became a joke by the time I joined IIT KGP...students, called 'dehati' then, meaning perhaps rustic, were supposed to be so ignorant of their IIT that they used to reply to their seniors during their orientation that 'IIT' expands to:
"Institute of Indian Technology"
Anyway, this LIM chap also got transferred soon enough and was replaced by a GCIM. Another question to Father who was my walking dictionary. Father was a sincere and solemn teacher (unlike me) and so kept silent instead of bluffing.
I Googled for G. C. I. M. just now and found that there are hundreds of thousands answering to this acronym but only one of them relevant:
1947 In accordance to the recommendations of the Usman Committee, Chopra Committee and the Pundit Committee of Government of Madras and Government of India, the character of the institute was changed, upgraded and named as College of Indian Medicine. The College gave the degree as G.C.I.M.
I guess the grand G. C. I. M. stood for: Govt College of Indian Medicine...I don't know.
Every doctor, whatever his degree, was allowed to wear a stethoscope which was their status symbol. While I was living in Vizagh much later, there was this King George Medical College in our neighborhood (or the other way round). And it had, attached to it, The Andhra Medical College teeming with students. And I learned that these students were not allowed to wear a steth on their necks till they passed their non-clinical subjects (after many attempts) and entered the clinical side of the hill in their 3rd year.
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The first time I heard of a scope was in my childhood. We had a small dispensary in our village, Muthukur, and a young and friendly LMP, Ishwar Reddy, manning it.
There were no MBBSs then in our villages. My Uncle was then doing his MBBS and I was curious what it meant and was intrigued (still) by the inversion in its nomenclature. I asked Father what LMP meant and he told me that it stood for Licensed Medical Practitioner. And he was particular to mention that LMP is much below MBBS in the pecking order of doctors.
When our LMP got transferred, the newcomer had an LIM following his name. Another question to Father and another reply: LIM stood for Licentiate of Indian Medicine. This was curious stuff since it begged the question what was Indian about his medicine.
This Indian thing became a joke by the time I joined IIT KGP...students, called 'dehati' then, meaning perhaps rustic, were supposed to be so ignorant of their IIT that they used to reply to their seniors during their orientation that 'IIT' expands to:
"Institute of Indian Technology"
Anyway, this LIM chap also got transferred soon enough and was replaced by a GCIM. Another question to Father who was my walking dictionary. Father was a sincere and solemn teacher (unlike me) and so kept silent instead of bluffing.
I Googled for G. C. I. M. just now and found that there are hundreds of thousands answering to this acronym but only one of them relevant:
Government Kilpauk Medical College and History of its existence
1925 - In response to the feeling of Nationalism and keeping
alive the ancient systems of indigenous medicine the school of Indian
medicine was started. The degree conferred at this institution was
L.I.M.
1947 In accordance to the recommendations of the Usman Committee, Chopra Committee and the Pundit Committee of Government of Madras and Government of India, the character of the institute was changed, upgraded and named as College of Indian Medicine. The College gave the degree as G.C.I.M.
...wiki
I guess the grand G. C. I. M. stood for: Govt College of Indian Medicine...I don't know.
Every doctor, whatever his degree, was allowed to wear a stethoscope which was their status symbol. While I was living in Vizagh much later, there was this King George Medical College in our neighborhood (or the other way round). And it had, attached to it, The Andhra Medical College teeming with students. And I learned that these students were not allowed to wear a steth on their necks till they passed their non-clinical subjects (after many attempts) and entered the clinical side of the hill in their 3rd year.
Stethoscope, along with the clinical thermometer, is one of the few implements that refused to die or be overtaken by hi-tech gadgetry for a couple and more of centuries. Its design and shape and size have withstood the onslaught of electronics and computers...it still remains a sound sound-pipe.
But not its status...nowadays everyone who is anyone connected with medicine flaunts it. The reason is the advent of the mouth-filling word: sphygmomanometer...my Blogger's spell-check gives a red underline beneath it and suggests the nearest right word: spectrophotometer...that about sums up how dumb computers are.
Anyway, this long word for the short BP Kit has been a grand leveler. When I used to visit the neighborhood Apollo Medical Shop in Banjara Hills area, I saw a smiling girl of about 16 without the pretense of any expensive medical education, wearing a steth and checking the BP for free of old and retired folks who revel in anything free...manned by girls.
She also checked their weight on bathroom scales and height on a wooden scale for free and their spot-sugar for a nominal fee which the retirees were unwilling to pay...and haggled.
Retirees are queer indeed...
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3 comments:
Regarding LIM, it is equivalent to a diploma. I heard that there used to be Laximipathy college in Madras in 1920s which used to award. I also heard that it was difficult to get dead bodies for anatomy studies.I think LIM diploma was offered until late 50s.With LIM, one could become head of rural (moffusil) dispensaries. These LIMs were good at giving (eastmon) coloured mixtures which were bitter than bitter gourd!
There were RMPs too. I think RMP stands for Registered Medical Practitioner. It is probably a notch above LIM and LMP. I know of an RMP relative who served in Italy and Abyssinia (Ethiopian Empire) during Second World W.ar
No. RMP s are just above quacks. Any one those days can register and call themselves RMP. You don't need to study any course or pass to get RMP tag! Usually compounders who worked for some time with either LMPs or LIMs or GCIMs use to register and then practice in villages as RMPs. Some RMPs mysteriously cure diseases but most didnot know what they were doing.
In contrast to RMPs, LMPs and LIMs have to attend colleges (in Madras those days) for 2 -3 years and obtain a diploma. They were trained doctors but most used to confine themelves to medicine not surgery. GCIMs were full fledged surgeons those days. But there were cases when LIMs and LMPs were doing cataract surgeries etc. in some towns very successfully!
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