Alternative Medicine: Fees, Admission 2023, Syllabus, Top Colleges, Top Exam, Salary, Scholarship, Cutoff

Alternative medicine is a study of natural medical practices that makes use of ancient techniques to heal the body. It focuses on medical products and practices that are outside the conventional clinical care. Alternative medicine includes dietary supplements, vitamins, natural products, herbal recipes, massage therapy, magnet therapy, and spiritual healing. The effectiveness and scientific relevance of these systems of medicine make them a popular stream of study among young aspirants in India. Some of the popular alternative streams of medicine are Homeopathy, Unani, Ayurveda, and Naturopathy. There are a number of alternative medicine colleges in India offering the course at diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Eligibility Criteria for Alternative Medicine

It is required by the candidate to complete regular 10+2 education in school with science as a major subject to take admission for Alternative medicine course. The rule applies for Diploma, Undergraduate and postgraduate courses. For admission into undergraduate degrees such as BAMS, BHMS, BUMS, BNYS, students should have more than 50% marks in Science stream (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology). Some of the Indian states have their entrance examinations and students are given admission based on their cut off marks in these entrance tests.  There are three postgraduate courses available as well, namely

• MD (MD in homoeopathy, MD Ayurveda), etc.
• Master’s degree program (Master of Naturopathy and Masters of yoga science
• PG diploma certification (PG diploma in Alternative Medicine)

Required Skillset for the Course

Alternative medicine course demands its aspirants to have sound knowledge about the basic structure and the functioning of the human body. They should be able to find the problem and its origin exactly so as to suggest treatment modalities. They should have patience in treating the clients as the disease and wellness outcome takes longer than allopathic medicine. They should have high levels of empathy to understand the psychological trauma of the clients. Other general skill sets that are mandatory for a student of Alternative medicine are,

• General proficiency in English
• Ability to converse in an empathetic tone
• Clarity of speech
• Ability to explain the treatment modality and its outcome with clarity
• Confidence
• Good presentation skills
• Follow strict aseptic protocols during treatment

Course Curriculum

The stream of Alternative medicine at the undergraduate level is divided into four streams namely Bachelor of alternative medicine and Surgery, Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery, Bachelor of Unani medicine and surgery and Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic science. The semester wise split-up of subjects for all these courses are as follows and the course duration for all these specialities is 5 years

After successful completion of the course, it is required by the graduates to complete one-year compulsory work in the stream of alternative medicine in a hospital, attached with a medical college or other approved hospitals. Such internship programs are called as compulsory Rotatory residential internship.

Specializations performed in the course

Job Profile with Annual Salary for Alternative Medicine Graduates

Top Recruiters for Alternative Medicine Professionals

These practitioners of Alternative medicine are in high demand in Government AYUSH centres and in alternative medicine wing of PHCs. They are also recruited by the government and private clinics, private agencies such as Patanjali, rehabilitation centres, Pharmaceutical industries such as Hamdard, life science industries, etc. Most of these graduates adapt to independent practice and start their own clinics and centres.