Vardhman Mahavir Medical College, Safdarjung Hospital begin DM Nephrology Course
New Delhi- Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VNMC) and Safdarjung Hospital have started the Doctorate of Medicine (DM) in Nephrology training program from the 2025 session. With this, VNMC has become the third medical institute in India; this course was earlier taught only in AIIMS and RML Hospital.
On this, Safdarjung Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Sandeep Bansal confirmed the allocation of three annual seats for DM in Nephrology. He said that all three seats are being secured by candidates who are in the top 10, reports TOI.
Meanwhile, VMMC Principal Dr Geetika Khanna expressed pride in starting the course. She emphasised the need for an additional workforce through postgraduate programmes, citing the substantial number of patients.
Dr Himanshu Verma, head of the nephrology department at Safdarjung Hospital, said that about 6,000-7,000 kidney patients come to the hospital for treatment every month. Due to the increasing number of kidney-related health problems, there is a huge shortage of nephrologists and dialysis specialists in India.
Statistics show that 10% of Indians suffer from kidney diseases. The number of chronic kidney disease patients in the country is constantly increasing, with around 175,000 new end-stage renal disease cases being reported every year.
Dialysis and transplant treatment in India is costly. On this, the government's Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Program helps financially weak patients. Despite having excellent nephrologists and transplant surgeons, India needs more specialists to handle the growing population of kidney patients, especially given the size of the country. Qualified nephrologists are essential to reduce healthcare costs through early detection and prevention of kidney diseases.
