BITS Pilani offers collaborative programs with Top Healthcare Institutions in India today

PRLog (Press Release) - May 02, 2009 -
Since 1979, BITS has been participating in the human resources development activities of various organizations through several degree programmes by integrating the working environment of the host organization with the learning environment required by the Institute.

The Birla Institute of Technology and Science popularly known as BITS which is one among the top ranking universities in India today offers degrees in various disciplines presently at Pilani (Rajasthan), Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad campuses and recently the National Assessment and Accreditation Council NAAC reaccredited BITS with 3.71 CGPA out of 4 and awarded “A” grade “Very Good” status.

For millions of people around the world, receiving quality eye care is an enormous struggle. Lack of good educational programs in Optometry and poor practitioner-to-patient ratio adds to the woes of developing countries. With nearly 25 % of the global blindness data, India has just about 3,000 Optometrists which is highly inadequate.

For every 100,000 population in India, we have 1.50 Ophthalmologists to 0.60 Optometrists while Australia has 3.30 : 12.50, Canada has 3.30 : 10.26, New Zealand 2 : 10, UK 1.06 : 13.27 and USA 5.70 to 10.99. This shows where we stand in quality eye care. Blindness prevention needs Optometry and with the population of India hitting the billion mark, approximately 100,000 more Optometrists are needed to adequately care for those in need.

In the mid 60s, the Physician Assistant (PA) program was developed by Dr Eugene Stead, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Duke University, North Carolina, USA to train health care professionals for rural areas which faced dwindling numbers of physicians and nurses. Physician Assistants are medically trained professionals who by working closely with their supervising physicians can provide comprehensive health care services and quality medical care and be important members of the health care delivery team of any nation.

BITS Pilani offers eight - semester B.S. Optometry programme which is conducted at Chennai in collaboration with Sankara Nethralaya - Elite School of Optometry, and at Hyderabad in collaboration with L.V.Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) - Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry. BITS Pilani offers eight – semester B.S. Physician Assistant programme which is conducted at Chennai in collaboration with Madras Medical Mission as well as with Frontier Lifeline – Dr. KM Cherian Heart Foundation. Input Requirements for the B.S. Optometry and B.S. Physician Assistant programme is Pass in 10+2 from Central / State Board or its equivalent with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics/ Biology.

With input requirements as B.Sc. in experimental sciences with exposure to Biology and Chemistry, or equivalent BITS Pilani offers six – semester M.S. Medical Laboratory Technology programme which is conducted at Chennai in collaboration with Sankara Nethralaya - Medical Research Foundation.

With input requirements as B.S. Optometry of BITS or equivalent, BITS Pilani offers a four – semester M.Phil. Optometry programme which is conducted at Chennai in collaboration with Sankara Nethralaya - Medical Research Foundation.  

For the above programmes, application form and programme details can be downloaded from the BITS web-site http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/dlp-home and the deadline for submission of duly completed application form (alongwith the requisite processing fee of Rs 1,000/- to be paid as per procedure specified in form) to The Dean, DLPD, BITS, Pilani 333031 (Rajasthan) is June 20, 2009. In addition, the candidates for the above programmes should be prepared to appear at Chennai / Hyderabad for a Test / Interview at their own expenses, for which details will be put up in the BITS website after the stipulated deadline.

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