Schooling the cadre

Fellowships for doctors and training programmes for nurses are a critical component of the Tata Trusts cancer care programme, the intent being to build a corps of skilled professionals who can serve the underserved. The need for such professionals is acute, given the low cancer specialists-to-populace ratio in India and the challenge of finding talented medical personnel willing to take up jobs in smaller cities and towns. The Trusts have in place an exhaustive sourcing mechanism for this purpose, with oncology fellowships and certificate programmes for professionals at apex partner institutes, and customised courses to cross-skill and up-skill nurses and technicians.