@marimphil wrote:
Am posting some points which i found valuable about this course procured from ex students and friend Pranab chatterjee from kolkata
1.This course probably has the highest attrition rates of any post graduate medically oriented course in India! With so many people falling out every year, there has to be something or the other wring with it!.As many as 20% of the batch may be whittled away by the end of the 2nd year of the course, if the words on the street are to be believed!
2.Meager stipend of 15 k..is it worth it to attract MBBS gradutes.Oh c’mon. Who’re you kidding here? In West Bengal, interns are paid close to Rs. 14,000 a month. In Delhi, a house staff gets Rs. 50,000 a month. In the central institutes (like AIIMS, PGI), Surgery residents get close to Rs. 60,000 a month. A simple MBBS graduate with working experience in an Intensive Care Unit may get as much as Rs. 200/hour in the private clinics in Mumbai.
3.This course is so radically non-clinical that it is most definitely a turn off for many medical students, who entered medical school with dreams of becoming doctors. Come on, it is best to face the truth. And the ugly truth is that it is really rare that anyone comes in with the aim of becoming a non-clinical researcher. In the pre and para clinical subjects taught in the medical schools at a post graduate level, people get to work in a clinical setting, working the bedside from the bench
No training and placement for the graduates here atleast for a past few years
5.The lack of trained physicians, rather clinicians, in the faculty does not inspire much confidence in the students. It is headed by Profs from other engineering branches, with loaned doctors on the faculty, who are mostly there on a part time basis. It is just conjecture, but, these sound to me like the IIT treating the SMST in a step motherly fashion.
6.What After?
The general conception in the Indian medical student psyche is that if one is to do basic science research or applied biomedical research, the best option is the GRE. Take it, ace it, skip the shores. I kind of see the point in it. I mean what better place to learn research than THE US of A, right? The fact that we do not see too many MMST guys around us but a lot of post GRE fellows thriving, pushes us towards the other side. We need to know what the prospects are. And not just theoretically. Show us the blogs of these MMST people.lol
7.No Idols/Role Models from the MMST Clans!
One important point i heard is that ,the department gets funds and is existing as such as it has doctors in it. and that the IIT uses the doctors training tag to get funds from the government
i thank the present students commenting in dis forum. but plz put more info abt
placements
projects
job prospects n career
how much pay to expect
staff support to students
n research going on there
by wat i got to knw existing students r havin trouble
n pay after dis is not much diffrent than with just mbbs
research might give a drive but wat abt bread
u need to earn ur living we r already old cant depend on parents anymore
plz plz plz give clear picture on forum like dis
dont misguide by tellin jus d positive points n not touching d negative points
ppl r confused here. its der life. dey need to decide...
it is frustrating without a pg n we sometimes feel like going anywhere there is light even a pseudo light. but thanks to mmst student i called i am clear of confusion
frnds MMST was my dream course.but dream wont satisfy the stomach. i thought i should make a comment after geting info from authentic source
i happened to contact two alumini of MMST who passesd out 1 year ago.I happen to understand the sad news that some are still jobless or dont have a fixed job.That MMST senior was very down n depressed.Course or IIT hav failed immensly to fullfill its promises written in the website of SMST.
I enquired with the help of my friend who is doing Mtech..He told 70% oF the IITians even donno about the course.
Mmst ALUMINI SAID "even if stipend is less,if placement or phd opportunity is good,i would have suggested you MMST.Even for phd students are writing GRE.Placement what they tell and collaboration use are in paper and website only.only one get placement in philips if luck is there.no other placement.course is new and wonderful,but it is not going well here...Its really risky..take if U r read to take risk of your 3 years.."
if the placement profile is good,My first preference would be MMST.
.if a guy after doing MBBS,then masters ,still if has to write GRE for phd..thats pathetic as far as i am concerned..One Current MMSTian refused to talk to me about this..he too didn deny it
Hi friends there was an enlightening post before in RXPG..It was deleted shortly..I got it online from a MMST aspirant,who stored the whole data before it was deleted from rxpg to confirm its authenticity from officials .That guy told me that he contacted IIT students,mmst alumini to know the reality.I haven't edited it..am presenting this for the whole students..U guys can confirm its authenticity from MMSTians or IIT faculties itself. This post doesn't belong to me.
"I contacted a present student of MMST, and I got some guidance. I have decided not to apply for the entrance. (He requested not to take his name in forums.)
a. MMST is not the right course if you have any, even if small clinical interest.
b. It seems the faculty their is of the opinion that the students who enter there have no other option and have come here, and also that they are clinically incompetent. Which is actually not the case.
c. Dr. Sangeeta Das who is a Johns Hopkins MD is not in IIT Kharagpur for more than 6 months, and she was one of the two doctors in the department.
d. Almost all the students are frustrated there.
e. Most of the faculty (other than doctors) have very poor knowledge of medicine (there are exceptions) and teach MMST students their half baked knowledge. Many faculty are into research and guide PhD students that they dont have much time for MMST students.
It seems that many faculty in IIT Kharagpur are REALLY GOOD in their research areas, but as such the SMST department has very few good teachers. He said ONLY FEW TEACHERS SUPPORT the students and help them for recommendations and all for applying . He sent me few slides of their courses, Programming and Data structures, Medical Imaging, Bio materials, Medical Electronics etc...
He also said that the course is not too packed and that they get a lot of free time in a day , but get frustrated as their is no good work to do. Joining labs it seems is a option, but not many interesting projects are going on it seems. And that they have to work with existing PhD students if they join the labs, most of them are being Jealous of MMST students, or hating them. Only handful of PhD students are said to be in good terms with MMST students.
he said he can give more info some time later, as he cant talk much at the moment..
f. Many courses are boring it seems and time waste, kept and running for name sake. It seems that their is not much of practical or hands on learning like we do in clinics. Its like they sit for classes from morning 8 to evening 5 or even 6 p.m. By the time they come to final year, It seems they forget a lot of things learnt in first year, as theoritical knowledge does not last long. More over it seems the companies people trained in hands on learning than who have listened to classes.
It is like many students who go to good places for PhD do it by their own effort and vision, not just by the virtue of the course. but they make use of the course and work hard. He said it is not a cakewalk, like you finish a medical PG and join a hospital etc..
g. Generally there is a bad perception among engineers and existing faculty about doctors.
h. It seems, there is a hospital attached to IIT where MMST students are supposed to work in evening time. Most of patients are said to be students, with cough and cold and that most of the students have a very bad impression about the hospital in the campus, as a student had died few years back in the hospital, which had become a big issue.
i. The clinical knowledge goes down in with a short t half, that by the time one passes out of course, it is difficult to even practice as a GP.
j. The institute runs department just for the sake of it. The stipend paid is Rs. 15000 which is very poor for a MBBS graduate. We get better stipend during MBBS internships in many places. The fee is said to be about 27000 Rs. per semester.
It seems, that they have spoken to the authorities regarding stipend, but nothing have turned so far. He also indicated that once the stipend is increased to the level of MD/MS, it might be a good time to go. Increase in stipend may indicate that the authorities are favoring the course.
He also said that it is difficult to expect from the existing administration, as their main focus is on undergraduate students. It is said that jobs are not easy to get after the course, as many companies so not know of the existence of such a course all.
h. Each semester lasts for 4 months, and there are 2 semesters per year. There is one month break in December and about 10 week break in summer. During this time, students can take projects it seems. They also have advantage of applying to internships in India and abroad it seems. But information is poorly available to the first year student it seems.
i. The proposed IIT hospital is still in paper it seems. He said it would take atleast 5 years more if things go fast. But in West Bengal it is difficult for fast paced government projects.
j. He suggested me to write GRE and TOEFL in case I am very much interested in biomedical, Bioengineering, Physician training program and apply for PhD programs abroad, like MIT, Johns Hopkins etc.. He said that I may need some publications and recommendation letters and to work for it. One way is said to join a institute where research projects are going on and get publications.
Even after MMST one cant get a post in any research institute easily it seems. and not at all in a government institute. PhD is necessary. So why waste 3 years in a ill structured poorly functioning course. Get some research experience by working for a year and apply for PhD abroad.
In abroad the PhD stipend varies from 2500-3000 USD in US, and about 1000 Euros in Europe it seems. with this one can save some 10- 30 thousand in Indian currency.
For PhD he said I must search and find my area of interest, which is supposed to take lot of time of reading and learning from wikipedia, free online courses like coursera , IIT lecture videos in engineering in youtube etc..
He also said that other than NIMHANS, nobody pay well for PhD students more than 40,000 Rs. Hence going for PhD abroad is better. And that although somewhat difficult it is lot lot better to directly enter a PhD than do MMST and then PhD.
He said that immediately after MMST, the best salary package (including HRA, Insurance, PPF, PF, etc..) is about 10-11 lac per year, which a MBBS doctor can earn easily after 3 years of experience. not a very good incentive for all the trouble taken.
h. He also told me that if I am interested in management side, better to go for MBA, after cracking CAT.
i. For public health, he told if I cant crack entrance, better to Join MPH courses abroad, although some money might be needed initially. It seems we can earn it back / find sponsors somehow.
For doctors with any clinical interest, he said better to GP than waste 3 years of life in a alien area for doctors.
he also said that If he had known all these things, he would not have entered at all...
hearing all this, I decided not to waste time writing entrance.
he also told me another fact : few students quit the courses in first semester itself. so although there are 15 seats, less than 10 students are their in each batch.
Its like the course is not comparable to MD/MS, and less than MD/MS in fact with the importance given to them, and obviously less than PhD. May be equivalent to M.Tech...
But M.tech is taken by engineers after 4 years of B.E or B.tech , we after 5 and half years of MBBS, there no point in joining a 3 year course where Doctors are treated badly. In fact he said, the teachers tell MMST students about the ongoing research or their projects only when the students ask / find details. he was emphasizing that good faculty are also frustrated with the system and they have fought enough and now mind their own work rather then trying to change the system. It seems lot of politics in the IIT system itself.
About stipend, He told that for the past 4 batches , they were told that stipend would increase but has not increased so far. It is like the administration is bothered in admission time and after joining MMST student is not given importance at all.
For the most of collaborations that are told about are in paper or have expired and only few are functioning now. The department is said to be in a underground with many civil building problems, where as most other departments have their own buildings, but this department is in a building having big classrooms and all...
He also told me to contact the people in company and in PhD programs after MMST to get a better idea, If I am still not convinced about the program.
this is all I can remember for now...
Another thing he told. One of the main reason why such a pathetic course is running is that The department gets funds and is existing as such as it has doctors in it. and that the IIT uses the doctors in training tag when it wants funds from the government hiding all the other facts.
he told one of the way to check about the fame of MMST is asking any B.tech student about the department or the MMST. He says hardly any B.Tech or M.tech student in campus knows about the MMST in first place even after more than 11 years of starting...”
I guess this information should be used for confirmation from MMSTians itself...I guess this post satisfies all the needy queries. I was really excited when heard about the MMST.. but now am in a dilemma
I am an ex mmstian.i had to drop the course coz of many reasons.I reckon that i was active in this page previously to get details of mmst..i lost interest after i drop out nd now i thought i should visit this page again,Hence i registered again since i lost old id.
I saw a lot of negative comments here.mmm..at last the reality is getting revealed to outside world..The same reality i faced back.I didnt get a source of info like this.I was excited to join MMST which i cleared.Some of the senior MMST students inspired me a lot.I can say a lot of false hopes about research oppurtunities abroad nd all. @raveendrap,its true that one batch of mmst has only 4 members.
After joining the course i had to face 90% of above mentioned negative comments.One thing i should say MMST students r good and brilliant.But platform is bad.I heard that HOD reads same proposal or hope agenda or exciting stories during the counseling of every batch.Those students will understand the reality after staying about 3 months in the dept.Till then like a new comer they will believ n listen to the inspiring speech of HOD.
I dont wanna hurt any of the MMSTIAN.I know they r nice nd excellent nd talented.If they were in an international school,they would hav excelled in colors.But i dont want any more victims whose dreams are shattered.MMST aspirants face the reality;join the course if you r ready to accept MMST after knowing the reality.Its will help to cope up to reality of MmST better in a better way.
I dont wanna mention the problems again,many r already written here ..If any student want clarification,i can give the info to my best knowledge,Cz i dont have any contacts in iit kgp faculty now,but have personal opinion and experience.I dont wanna blame this course,has to blame politics and poor excitement of authorities
Duke University Medical Centre, USA
University of Fukui, Japan
Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Japan
National University of Singapore, Singapore
United Bristol Healthcare, NHS Trust, UK
Do mmst students go there regularly for research work or job opportunities.My friends and relatives say that mmst course is a big bluff.I also want to support my family economically.i have been working in a private clinic to support my family along with pg preparation.Is it possible
.I also heard that HOD and faculty gives false hopes at the time of counseling for getting students in the course and latter they forget about it.i also heard that faculty thinks about MMST at the time of admission only to avoid the batch drop for their personal benefits.I heard A few mmst students also canvas students into next batch to avoid the stoppage of the course .Is this the current scenario in the dept.
pls give me a reply.I need your advise.cz i lov this course and am am confused wen i hear about the current scenario also.i cant waste time or depend on my family
There were good opportunities for mmstian till 2007,i guess.My batch onwards regression started.drop outs were common.
In 2010 Batch of mmst because of drop outs number was reduced to 4.Because course was less appealing and promises were not kept.More over as per IIT rule when number of members of a batch is less than 5,it has to be dissolved.In further batches reality was not revealed to students by dept or faculty thinking course will be dissolved.They continued to give enormous promises like foreign collaboration,job in philips,siemens and all during counseling to lure students ignorant about the current situation of the course. I am writing this part cz,i was attracted by same promises which latter i found was only in paper.
I am irritated by this point only.Y should the dept keep the students ignorant of the reality and latter leave them standalone.Being an mmst degree holder am ashamed of this attitude of dept and say sorry to students
Faculty started concentrating on Phd only for their promotions and stability.First Hod was a man of great persona.This is not the current situation.When were students we never let out any bad remarks about mmst thinking,dept will keep the promises and improve placement and phd options abroad.
I feel this accumulated frustration and depression; especially when being compared to other pg courses in clinical side like medicine,surg etc interns of earning,employment,stipend must have lead to this outburst of information.
I can say this because i have gone through these,struggled to settle down despite of having a degree from a good academic institution like IIT.
Guys i have expressed what i have to say,rest is upto the wishes and decision of students.I want that every one should be educated about the course before taking a decision.
After completing MMST;Currently am doing clinical practice here in my place.I earn my living like that.I wish to do phd abroad in good universities in my field of interest.
I am ashamed to ask money from my parents to phd.Because of recession getting phd with funding abroad is becoming tough ESPECIALLY IN USA.I tried a lot to get into good US universities..But coundnt.
I have to write again GRE to get into this.I need money to write even to write GRE.Its impossible to go to US and Europe my my own fund,coz of high standard of living of those countries.I need atleast 2000usd to live in us with accommodation . This comes around 1.2 lakh INR at the minimum.
Department of Medical science dosent provide or have funds or scholarships for students to help even 1 student to set career.Dear friend pathetic part was i couldnt tell my parents about the pathetic condition of the course,They expected that their son will get five digit salary after MMST. Now am struggling with it.
My suggestion for you will be try to get into any diploma courses even.Many institutes are having variety of diploma courses in clinical side,that u can earn your bread and butter after the course.CURRENTLY WEN I WORK AS A general practitioner,I FEEL I LOST THREE YEARS.I cant say i wasted ,because i love to go into research field.But i have to think about economic liabilities of my family.You can do research only wen u r economically sound or supported.As the time goes priorities changes.You needn't have to do Phd for that
If you want to phd in nonclinical science many institutes lik CMC VELLORE,NIMHNS,AIMS, etc are having such facilities.If you google you can have more options.
Currently i have contacts with MMST juniors who r very depressed and frustrated about their career and future.Department id not helping them and use them to say that a particular dept has DOCTORS in it.Teachers use this doctor tag for their benefits in terms of international relations,but no use to MMSTian.Currently no exchange program exists.
I have seen married mmstians struggling to run their family in my colleagues.
Department care only about PHDS now because promotion of professors depend on it.
I happen to hear from my junior that in 2014 entrance;less than 100 applicants are there.This itself shows the pathetic condition of the course now.
Classes of many profs are substandard since they dont have much time into mmst because of their struggle to make papers out of research.
I tried to be honest with you to the maximum.Now applicants can take their own decision.I guess if you need further details;you cant contact current mmstians via F.BOOK or at the time of counseling.They can give more info about the current sceanrio.
I blame the politics in the department and authorities who destroyed a wonderful course in a pathetic way AND authorities who misuse the name of "doctors" in the department infront of outside world saying this is an exclusive and "one and only course for doctors".I am revealing this because, as an ex mmstian, if i had got these details before,things would have been the other way round.I didn get it.Now you know every thing and based on the facts take a good decision.All the best for your career
@raschan
True buddie..financial constraints are hard nut to crack..i had two seniors who got into mmst in 2010...both of them dropped the course that year itself,coz of financial constraints..
I didn know that situation is this grave and pathetic in mmst.They advised me a lot regarding mmst,but i didn believ.But now i do believe.I have applied for mmst.
if applicants is less than 100,any one can get into mmst.
I donno y our prestigious institutions are regressing like this.Once again i thank all mmstians who dared to reveal the reality without fear to help us.Other wise dept would have fooled students like me easily..
A course with meager stipend,no or a few placement,no interest of authorities,must phd with GRE, False hope is hard to run...ALL THE BEST TO MMSTIANS AND ASPIRANTS.
As i already I have only one advise to mmst aspirants.. Think well before any action.Mny fall into mmst coz of "IIT TAG" and wonderful reception at the time of admission and promises of HOD..
Like
1.Foreign exchange programmes
2.Internships abroad
3.job in philips,siemens and all
4.Research in dept
Dear friends i also joined with this hope.All these were there initially.Now a days.these exchange programs are only in paper.Two senior batches of man which in know personally are struggling in mmst.
One student may get job in philips if he is damn motivated with not much appreciable salary package.One funny thing is that even after mmst ur salary option almost remain as that of mbbs..phd is a big must here(another 4-5 yrs)
They cant tell the reality outside cz outside world will laugh at them.mmstians have to do 8 hr duty in bc roy hospital.Even attenders and dont give due respect to u as a doctor in that hospital where u r considered as secondary.They dont count u even.I was hurted really by this.
Accommodation in quarters if you are married is a big problem..Had to walk hundred times to and from office of iit kgp and they will treat as a MSc student.
I guess i never got such experience ever in my life from any where else
And about RESEARCH...It is happening in many core departments of iit but in smst profs are interested only in phds and papers..Nothing else is happening..I often felt to be secondary in iit.Thats y i left this.Three of my colleagues have dropped at the same time.One sad thing i noticed is substandard teaching of faculties.Wen i enquired i hear that teachers of core depts are the best but in dept like smst,its pathetic.Many prof enter through lateral politics.I can give sample ppts of subjects if any one wants.
I came to know that these details are kept hidden from students at the time of counseling. I am also not against the course..but now its been destroyed by dept itself.
Take ambient decision after consulting mmstians and dont trust faculty and authorities that much
Two precautions to be taken as per my experience
Research is an excellent career but with chores,accept it like that.Take a decision after seeing the reality not in a dream world of words like research
2.Talk to current mmstians before any action,they know the reality in a better way.Pls dont trust faculties and authorities blindly.They are more prone to misguide as they are afraid of batch drop and create problems to their funds,projects,promotion,phd and paper.They are the one who are misusing title "doctors" for their benefits and their international relationships
I ws misguided by the authorities who promised placements in philips,GE,siemens and research opportunities abroad and latter i found that all these exist on lie in paper and website of smst.One prof of smst itself latter confirmed it
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