First of its kind Pan-India “Certificate Course in Evidence Based Management of Diabetic Retinopathy” Announced

Applications invited till 15th January 2016 for this unique 4 months executive on-the-job program with 10 centres in India aiming to train and develop competencies of Primary Care Physicians to improve patient outcomes by enabling early diagnosis and evidence based treatment in management of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Recognising that Diabetic Retinopathy is likely to pose a public health challenge in India coupled with the associated complications of diabetes, the first of its kind “Certificate Course in Evidence Based Management of Diabetic Retinopathy (CCDR Cycle I)” was announced today.

The course is designed, delivered and implemented by Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), along with academic partners Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Education Academy (DMDEA), Chennai; Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai and supported by an educational grant from The Queen Elizabeth Diamond  Jubilee Trust (QEDJT) with funding from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), one of the foremost causes of blindness world-wide, is a neurovascular disorder that affects minute blood vessels of the retina and eventually causes painless loss of vision and blindness. DR accounts for 3% of blindness in India. It is now among the most important causes of visual loss during the productive years of life. DR occurs both in type 1 and type 2 diabetes and studies have shown that nearly all type 1 and upto 80 % of type 2 diabetes will develop DR after 15 years duration of diabetes.

Announcing the first cycle of the Diabetic Retinopathy course, Prof D Prabhakaran, Vice President – Research, PHFI said, “There is a high burden of Diabetic Retinopathy in India, which is under-addressed both within the population level (rural-urban) and also the medical fraternity level too. Early diagnosis and treatment is the cornerstone of management of Diabetic Retinopathy, hence there is an urgent need to build capacity in this area as DR has become a serious health threat with exploding population. With an aim to make an impact on diabetes and its related complications such as Diabetic Retinopathy, PHFI along with its national and global partners announces the pan-India DR course that will ultimately benefit patients with Diabetic Retinopathy.  This course is a well-designed compendium that will help tackle the challenges of disease detection, management, and further familiarizing primary care doctors with advancements in the subject.”

Prof GVS Murthy, Director Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad (IIPH-H) and Principal Investigator of the Certificate Course in Evidence Based Management of Diabetic Retinopathy said, “Diabetic retinopathy is one of the important causes of preventable blindness especially in the productive years among Indians. The increasing incidence of diabetic blindness is a major public health concern hence there is an urgent need to address this ever increasing health hazard. To manage, treat and to prevent the complications of DR we need a trained set of doctors who are equipped with the latest technology, and follow the cutting-edge international and national guidelines. At PHFI, IIPH, and our partner organisations Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Education Academy (DMDEA), Aravind Eye Care System, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the endeavour is to help strengthen education, training, and research in the area of public health. The announcement of the 1st Cycle of Diabetic Retinopathy course is a step further to tackle the rising prevalence of diabetes and its related complications, aiming to strengthen the capacity of primary care doctors to deal with the enormous challenges that Diabetic Retinopathy poses, with the ultimate aim of improving the health outcomes of people.”

The Certificate Course in Evidence Based Management of Diabetic Retinopathy is a four modular course (February 2016 – May 2016) spread across 9 states and 10 cities in 10 regional training centers across India. With designated two regional faculty (1 Diabetologist or Endocrinologist and 1 Retina Specialist) at each centre, the primary objective of the course is to enhance knowledge, skills and core competencies of practicing Primary Care Physicians in management of Diabetic Retinopathy. The course further aims to develop a standard teaching protocol and module for evidence based learning on Diabetic Retinopathy, update practicing/primary care physicians with the latest advancements in the field of Diabetic Retinopathy and ultimately build a network of Primary Care Physicians and specialists in the field of Diabetes and Retinopathies. The minimum eligibility for admission in course would be MD/DNB (Medicine or Internal Medicine or Family Medicine) or Medical graduate (MBBS) with minimum 3 years of clinical experience. The criteria for award of certificate is -- participation in all the four monthly contact sessions (Including the pre-test and post-test of each module), completion of assigned course work (two descriptive assignments based on completed modules to be submitted during II and III module) and appearance and clearance of final written examination in the form of MCQ’s in an hour, along with Module IV ( minimum of 50% score to clear the examination).

Last date to apply – 15^th January 2016.

To download the application form, please click on the link: http://www.ccdr.org.in/downloads.php