When I was a child many doctors had compounders who would make "mixtures" in a bottle, based on a note the doctors gave them. We would get the mixture and maybe powders and tablets with the prescription. I just checked online to see if there are doctors who have compounders now. Apparently some do! So can a compounder give medical advice or treat a patient?  To most people the answer is obvious - and the question is rhetorical. A firm no. And not just about doctors, but it is reasonably obvious that one needs a civil engineer to build bridges…

I am reading this book by Wayne Dyer – “Wisdom of the Ages” In one of the essays he says, “There is no such thing as failure. Failure is a label that we create, based on our judgement. There are only results we produce. And the question we should ask is – What do we do with the results we get”? In another course that I attended, the trainer said “If something does not work, try something else” I completely agree. In fact I always felt, that for any exam – there should be no label - “Failed”. The examinee…

Every medical teacher would have definitely seen the "AETCOM book" (2018). Brought out by the erstwhile Medical Council of India, it is now in the website of the newer entity - the National Medical Council. AETCOM stands for Attitude, Ethics and Communication (AETCOM) competencies. The booklet is a 94 page document prepared by the Academic Cell of the Council. The guide includes a bunch of new competencies to the existing ones, in preparing Indian Medical Graduates of high standards. The third section or Section 3 of the document is about "non-core competencies" that are considered highly desirable. Within this, Section…