Therapist Jay: Fake or Real? A Question to Ponder Upon

• The present controversy surrounding Therapist Jay is a reminder that we need to properly evaluate our decisions of whom to give the right to take care of our health. We should also be vigilant to the things happening around us in our vicinity. For this we need to properly equip ourselves with adequate knowledge to ward of these kinds of situations which have been coming up in the Nagaland health sector for quite some time. Recently, with the increase in popularity of AYUSH sector many have started to join this popularity and a lot of quakes, fake doctors are also coming up riding on the popularity trend.
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• Screenshot of certificates produced by therapist Jay.
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• AYUSH system is an acronym for A-Ayurveda, Y-Yoga & Naturopathy, U-Unani, S-Siddha Sowa Rigpa, H-Homeopathy but general public knows only Ayush. Each of this is a five-and-a-half-year course, in which four-and-a-half-year is dedicated to study and one year of compulsory Rotatory Internship.
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• For getting admission in this Ayush courses, we need the education Qualification of 10+2 (Science) with NEET-UG Qualification marks in the Exam conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA), only then an individual is able to take admission to AYUSH courses. Previously, after completion of the course and the internship, an individual was eligible to register in State or National registration board to practice in Ayurveda, but recently, the National Commission of Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has introduced The National Exit Test (NExT). The test is mandatory for licensing and enrollment in State or National Registers by Ayurveda graduates after completing a one-year internship, and the structure is problem-based examination featuring clinical case scenarios, images, and videos to evaluate practical skills. Only those who clear this test will be able to practice Ayurveda. This are all the pain a student has to take to study Ayurveda and get a degree in Ayurveda which spans approximately six years.
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• Also, some Para-Medical courses in Ayurveda recognised and run by institutes under Ministry of Ayush are enumerated in the table below. All these courses are job-oriented and recognised courses:
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• Clarification on Diploma & Degree of Therapist Jay:
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• The present case of Therapist Jay aka Md Babul Ali, a resident of Choonsali, Noonmati Kamrup Assam, is an example of playing with the life of many people. His audacity of setting up a clinic, teaching and giving letters so that they can open massage centres, as said by him, raises serious questions in every aspect. His claims of having Diploma certificates are questionable. A few points observed in the certificates as presented by him are enumerated in the tabular form given below.
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• A Panchakarma therapist is a person who has to work under an Ayurveda Doctor (B.A.M.S) and take instructions from the doctor to conduct the panchakarma procedure. A therapist cannot open his clinic or train someone as he/ she is to work under an Ayurveda doctor. These are some of the problems related with diploma and certificates of Therapist Jay
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• Clarification on Permission to Start and Run a Clinic by Therapist Jay:
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• Each and every state has different steps of opening a clinic. The first step is to have a trading license under the name of the clinic to be run along with all the credentials of the concerned doctor obtained from the concerned Municipal and Certificate of Registration under Clinical Establishment Act of the concerned State. It is to be checked whether all these documents have been obtained by therapist Jay prior to opening of the clinic. These are some of the problems related with permission to start and run clinic by Therapist Jay.
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Conclusion: There is a great saying “Health is Wealth”, so to take care of our health is an important subject. A lot has been said and done but the question still remains: Is therapist Jay Real or Fake; is he eligible to run a clinic; is his Degree Valid; can he Train or Teach or issue letters to open massage centres? The answer is No. All degrees produced by therapist Jay do not fulfill the criteria of a Diploma. Neither the name of the courses is in alignment of recognition from a Certified Body. Regarding opening of a clinic, the answer is, he does not have a requisite degree to do so, neither the permission, as he has to work under an Ayurveda doctor. A humble request to all social media influencers and YouTubers, that before promoting any healthcare professionals, it’s always better to get a background check and get the documents verified from authentic sources.

 

Dr. Imlikumba

B.A.M.S, MD (Panchkarma)

North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Folk Medicine Research

Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh

(An Autonomous Institute under Ministry of Ayush, Govt. of India)

 

Disclaimer: The views presented here is that of Dr. Imlikumba’s and it does not reflect the views of his affiliating institute or the organization he belongs to.