History

Prateek Nishant, student of 2011 batch then in 3rd Semester (2nd year), undertook this research project under the able guidance of Dr Rashmi Singh (Prof & HOD of Community Medicine) and Dr Ranjeet Kumar Sinha (then Assistant Professor of Community Medicine). 

After acceptance of protocol by the Indian Council of Medical Research vide Reg. no. 2013-04476 and approval by PMCH Ethics Committee, semi-structured self-administered questionnaires were filled by students of all undergraduate batches of the college during May-June 2013. The statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Excel, Access, and SPSS 16.0. A 31-page report was submitted to the Indian Council of Medical Research in October 2013. The project was awarded short-term studentship as part of the STS-ICMR programme.

14th World Congress on Public Health of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, Feb 2015, Kolkata, India

Above: Prateek Nishant delivering his oral presentation on the WCPH podium at the MN Saha lecture hall (S19), Science City Auditorium Complex, Kolkata, India on 11 Feb 2015 in the session on "Motivation and Migration of Public Health Workers (B)"

The findings of the project were first presented by Nishant (then a final year MBBS student) at the 14th World Congress on Public Health held at Kolkata, 11-15 February 2015, before >1600 delegates from >70 nations in a session chaired by Dr Francisco Campos of Brazil and Dr BS Akojan of India. The project was appreciated by all. This was a significant achievement as only 18% of the 996 abstracts received from >800 delegates of 54 nations were initially selected for oral presentation - an official figure informed by Dr Mengistu Asnake (President of World Federation of Public Health Associations, WFPHA), Dr Dipika Sur, chairs of the scientific committee, and organizing secretary Dr Madhumita Dobe. The schedule was later adjusted to accommodate 250 oral and 721 poster presentations (refer conference report).

Prof Dr Surendra Nath Sinha, Principal of Patna Medical College, announced the achievement in his speech at the 90th College Foundation Day cum Alumni Reunion Event held on 25th February 2015, and it was published in the College Magazine as well. In recognition of the efforts of Nishant in representing Patna Medical College on the international platform, he awarded him a trophy and a certificate from the college academic fund.

Annual Primary Care Conference 2016 of the Royal College of General Practioners (RCGP) UK, Oct 2016, Harrogate, United Kingdom

To present the applicability of the findings of the project across various nations, the research was taken further to include comparisons between the situation in India and the UK with Dr Helen Susan Crawley, international trainer of the Royal College of General Practitioners UK as the co-author, and inputs from Dr Elizabeth Goodburn (Medical Director for South/Southeast Asia) and Dr David Mannings (international trainer RCGP). After acceptance of the abstract by the scientific committee of the Annual Primary Care Conference 2016 of the RCGP UK, Dr Sandra Mather (Head of International RCGP) invited Dr Nishant to attend it through a support letter addressed to the British High Commission at Kolkata. Before Dr Nishant left for the conference, the achievement was also covered by local print media.

The project was thence presented as a poster in the conference entitled 'Energising Primary Care' held at Harrogate International Centre, UK on 6-8 October 2016. Dr Nishant (an intern, attendee number 1042), Dr Crawley, Dr Goodburn and Dr Mannings attended the conference (View poster, author credentials, contact details here). The poster was well-received by the international delegation of >1600 attendees, roughly comprising of General Practitioners (73%) and medical students (12%), among others

Above: Dr David Mannings, Dr Helen Crawley and Dr Prateek Nishant (Left to Right)  at the Poster display area of RCGPAC 2016, Queen's Suite of the Harrogate International Centre, 7 Oct 2016 In the backdrop: poster no. 915, category: International

Dr Nishant was invited by RCGP Junior International Committee to address the delegates on 8th October 2016 with the unique idea of his project as one of the five presentations selected for a special session by the RCGP Junior International Committee (JIC). The oral presentation of the project was chaired by Dr Elizabeth Goodburn, Dr Jill Edwards and Dr Win Zaw (Myanmar), and it became one of the most appreciated lectures of the session. 

Above: Dr Prateek Nishant delivering his oral presentation on the RCGP podium at the Ripley's Suite of the Harrogate International Centre Holiday Inn, Harrogate, UK on 8 Oct 2016 in the session entitled "RCGP Junior International Committee's Global Health Dragon's Den"

Prof Dr Surendra Nath Sinha, Principal of Patna Medical College, announced the achievement in his speech at the 92nd College Foundation Day cum Alumni Reunion Event held on 25th February 2017, and it was published in the College Magazine as well. This achievement was also highlighted in the 4th Convocation of the Aryabhatta Knowledge University, Bihar, in which Dr Prateek Nishant was awarded the Aryabhatta prestigious trophy and certificate of appreciation for academics, research and social work.

Information on Short-Term Studentship programme for MBBS/BDS students 

The Short-term studentship programme was launched by the Indian Council of Medical Research to encourage students to take up research and develop an aptitude for the same. Here is a brief guide to students who want to apply for the STS. 

The STS is a huge opportunity for research given to undergraduate students courtesy of ICMR. Successful students are considered a class apart from the rest, as the programme not only boosts Curriculum-Vitae, it is a proof that research undertaken by the student is recognized at the national level by a panel of esteemed experts.

The best time to apply for the STS is towards the end of the 3rd semester of the undergraduate course. Since the "second year" is actually one-and-a-half years (3 semesters), application towards the end of the 3rd semester allows students one full year before University Examinations/Boards come round the corner.

The student is required to choose a faculty member as guide (or vice versa) for the entire project period as well as for subsequent years. The guide and student should have good mutual understanding and the ability to co-operate despite individual busy schedules.

The applications open in October (all dates/months subject to change). After preliminary registration, students are required to prepare a proposal/protocol and submit it to ICMR before 25-27 January. For both the protocol and the report, versatile word-processing software like MS-Word must be used. The format should be completely formal and must not include fonts like Jokerman or Comic Sans MS. Standard typewriting fonts, like Cambria, Calibri, Georgia, Times New Roman, Bell MT, Century, Arial or Book Antiqua. A4 size page, and clearly visible font size with adequate line spacing (at least 1.15) must be used. Margins should be moderately wide. The identity of the student or the guide must not be revealed in the write-up.

The protocol must be in the format prescribed by the ICMR and must clearly mention the registration number on the top of the first page, and preferably mention it in the header of each page, along with the title. The student should perform a preliminary search for Background information on the topic chosen. One-day search on the internet should suffice in most cases. Study design should be accurately fitting to the research question/hypothesis/aims of the project. Mention of a statistical software like epiInfo, SPSS, PASS etc. boosts the protocol's validity, but the student must be able to use it when it comes to preparing the report. 

The format of the questionnaire, if any, intended to be used for collecting information, and of the informed consent form is to be included.

A PDF convertor like PrimoPDF, or PDF Printer software like Foxit Reader can be used to convert the documents from DOC/DOCX to PDF format, since submission is only valid in PDF format. Microsoft Print to PDF for Word 2010 onwards, or Downloadable PDF converting plugin for Word 2007 onwards are other options. Only online submission is allowed.

Results of acceptance are announced on the same website in about March-April. Upon acceptance of the protocol, students must obtain ethics approval from their institutional ethics committee (whose composition must be according to ICMR guidelines), and conduct their project investigations in two of three months - April to June. 

The write-up should again, be in the prescribed format, entirely formal, must include classy statistical analyses, and be about 20 to 40 standard typewritten pages in length (subject to change); however, anything about 25-30 is sufficient for most purposes. It must include tables and charts. Again, the identity of the student or the guide must not be revealed in the write-up.

Submissions open in August and continue till October. It is recommended to complete the first draft of the write-up by August, but submission is recommended in October. In the intervening months, the student should read the write-up again and again to correct any flaws, improve language, include better statistical results and validate answers to the research question based on them. The draft can also be given for peer-review. The need for consulting the guide at every stage is emphasized.

Moderating the size, as in megabytes, of the PDF file is a less-emphasized but important part. Quality can be easily downgraded by PrimoPDF and Foxit reader, but is difficult in other converters.

October 10: It is now that the student must submit the project to avoid last minute rush. Procrastinating may lead to a painful run to a cyber-cafe in case internet servers decide to shut down. Submitting over a broadband or 4G/3G connection is recommended.

After submitting the report, the student should forget about the project and study for University Exams. Results of the previous year are announced at about the same time as the protocol submission for the current year ends.

Students must recommend participation in the programme to juniors. Visit STS-ICMR Website to get details and apply for STS in subsequent years.