EDITORIAL

Dr. Nikunj Jani,

Joint Editor

FIRST STEPS AND A LEAP OF FAITH

On a cold winter night, this popular song sung by The Carpenters does bring warmth within! At JISH, as we continue our journey, we wish to elaborate on the impact of Homoeopathy in diverse areas. A good beginning always brings about a lot of positivity and hope; after the release of our inaugural issue, we received a lot of support, wishes, accolades, and positive feedback from all corners of the country. These have helped strengthen our resolve to strive to bring better evidence-based material, which will benefit the entire profession at large.

As Martin Luther King once wrote- “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” And now as we take the leap of faith, we know that the voice of JISH now has a much larger audience waiting to listen. We ask ourselves- To what extent can we expand the horizons of scientific and evidence-based Homoeopathy? And how best is MLDMHI working towards these endeavours? This issue highlights some of these advancing frontiers.

The most effective way to showcase these is by doing research. This, unfortunately, is much easier said than done. In spite of the formal subject of Research Methodology and Biostatics at the PG level, there is a fear and aversion to undertake research among not just the students but also the faculty of Homoeopathic colleges. In this issue, we have an original research paper on educational research by Devangini et al which has been phenomenally successful in creating an impact as well as in bringing about a change in the curriculum at the university level.

Research cannot be introduced at the PG level till the real future of Homoeopathy, the UG students and interns, are not sensitized to it. When efforts are released in that direction, the results can be stunning and will help not only in igniting the spark of evidence and research based Homoeopathy in the young students, but also assist us in doing better therapeutic work too. The interns in our UG College of Gujarat, Smt. Malini Kishore Sanghvi HMC,  bring out this aspect when ably supported by their faculty coordinator and our Research Department at the MLDMHI, Palghar.

“Publish or perish” is the slogan that rings true throughout the academic and clinical world. The only way to demonstrate to the world the efficacy of Homoeopathy is through publication of well-written scientific papers. How to write a good scientific paper is unfortunately not taught to a majority of us. In continuation of the series begun in the last issue, we bring to you part two of the paper on scientific writing by Mrs Belsare. This will definitely serve as a great guide to all of us.

We have an interesting set of case reports from our tribal Bhopoli centre and MKSMC Hospital, Karjan, Gujarat. Both  are focussing on important ailments of paediatric age group- malnutrition and autoimmune joint disorders of children. We are able to see an application of Homoeopathic Philosophy and Materia Medica in both of these. In addition, those who have gone through the Research article on Malnutrition in our first issue would note the nature of evidence which helped us to analyse the clinical experience and produce that paper.

Worldwide, developed countries are grappling with the issue of managing age-related ailments and building sustainable Health care Institutions. Our experience of application of Homoeopathy to the health problems of the elderly has convinced us that Homoeopathy has a great role to play in geriatric care. Our efforts at Palghar to green the campus has borne fruit and we wish to put down the vision that led to both these efforts. We have an article by our Director, Dr. Anand Kapse on the efforts taken by Rural Homoeopathic Hospital, Palghar in establishing a Geriatric and Sustainable Health Care Centre.

There is an ongoing debate on the issue that Hospitals are getting increasingly commercial, while the trust and sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship is slowly diminishing. Contrary to this trend, we have a paper that demonstrate the impact of sustained and sincere efforts undertaken with the community which helped in reviving the MLDT Malad centre and also increased the involvement of the community in helping the centre carry out its vision and mission.

Holistic care can be administered only by those who are ready for holistic personal development. The report by Dr. Albert, our PG student at MLDMHI, Palghar, shares his experience of volunteering in the medical team involved in being a team member in the professional Kabbadi league and his interesting experiences of application of Homoeopathy in sports medicine and the profound learning that he carried home from this encounter.

The virtual age and technology have made a huge difference in homoeopathic education and training. Homoeopathic teaching is now not just confined to classrooms; internet has brought seminars right on to our computers and phones in our houses. We have an article from Dr. Latha from Bengaluru that highlights the learning through the Mental Health webinar series and how this medium is going to change Homoeopathic education.  Along with all this, we also have interesting camp reports, Alumni news, Seminar Reports, book reviews, and much more.

As we come towards the end of the Old and await the light of the New, we all have some plans, vision, aspirations, and goals to be met in the New Year. At this juncture, I am reminded of this beautiful painting titled “Peace” by a contemporary American artist Diane Leonard.

Image courtesy: http://www.dianeleonard.com/content.asp?page_id=9)

This painting has won several awards in national juried art competitions, and images of this painting are sought after by many collectors. “Peace” was created on a beach in Mexico, the artist Diane Leonard describes the painting in her own words– “I found these vintage lanterns and wanted to capture the special light that happens when “twilight” arrives with its golden hues. There is only about a half hour of twilight before it starts to get dark, and as you wait for it, you can see the glow start to do its magic. The reflections on the wet sand are the most beautiful colours I have ever seen. The beach brings me peace, and so did this painting. It is hanging in the mansion of the woman who wrote “The Secret”, Rhonda Byrne — I created the painting especially for her. My intention was to have the viewer feel the beach and feel at “Peace”. Anything is Possible!”

All of us at JISH believe that sky is the limit to expand horizons of Homoeopathy and we hope the coming New Year will bring a lot of newer possibilities in your life. Wishing you and all your loved ones a very Happy New Year filled with lots of love, joy, and peace!

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