Dr. Megha Sheth is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy and has over 20 years of teaching experience. She has done her graduation in physical therapy from KEM Hospital, Mumbai in 1989, and her post-graduation in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation from SBB College of Physiotherapy in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation. She also holds a DNHE from IGNOU. She is a postgraduate and Ph.D. guide, for Gujarat University. She is an International Health professional from India in Post-Polio Health International’s post-polio directory, since June 2014. She has co-authored the Effect of Lifestyle modifications and exercises on fatigue in subjects with Post-Polio Syndrome. She has attended and been a speaker at national and international conferences with paper presentations. She has over 100 publications to her name. She has conducted many workshops and seminars on Research in Physiotherapy and topics related to orthopedic rehabilitation.

S.B.B. College of Physiotherapy

Being a Faculty of the Community Health Department, what are your responsibilities towards the students?

As a faculty, I make them aware of the community’s health and geriatric department and familiarize them with the procedures and equipment which are used in our department to treat patients. And on a regular basis, we take up patient evaluations, correct students in the process and discuss the management of the patients. We also teach them about regular follow-up and to make necessary changes and progress with the treatment. We have regular case discussions at a class level as well.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

I firmly believe that regular, transparent and respectful communication is the best way to establish healthy relations with anyone. As a faculty, it is important to be approachable for all problems, whether college-based or personal. Happy students are the strength of a college and regular social activities can also help.

How do you introduce a practical and industry oriented approach towards subjects?

The strength of our college and department is the presence of patients in our college campus itself as it makes various things easier for students. All our students get a practical exposure to all kinds of indoor and outdoor patients having musculoskeletal, neurological and cardiopulmonary conditions. We have two big hospitals including SVP Hospital and VS Hospital in our college campus, so from a practical point of view, everything becomes so easy for us. During internship they are made responsible for their patients and are very much oriented to the physiotherapy industry when they leave college.

Which best practices are offered by your department to students to help them gain necessary skills?

Our students learn physiotherapy skills in class and whatever they learn theoretically in a particular academic year, they apply to patients in the clinics the very next year. And in the final year, they are allowed to assess the patients and apply their knowledge for the management as well. Apart from all this, clinic-based discussions are arranged throughout the year, where theoretical knowledge is discussed in relation to patients' conditions.

How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it befitting for the students?

The curriculum is updated by the well-known Gujarat University to which our SBB college is affiliated. We update the annual plan every year before the academic year begins, so lectures, exams, and holidays are planned along with cultural activities, academic visits and conferences. The syllabus is divided among available staff and all topics are completed on time. Because we are attached to a medical college and hospital, medical subjects are taught by the best teachers. The anatomy, physiology and non-clinical subjects are conducted by the departments of the NHL municipal medical college.

What are your views upon the placements and higher education about the students from your department?

"Our Alumni helps us a lot to educate our students on admission procedure of foreign universities"

Due to the support of our eminent Alumni who are studying and working abroad, most of our students are already aware about the admission process of many foreign universities and colleges. Also, we regularly organize Alumni Talks to guide the out-going batch of students about possible career and higher education opportunities which are present in the outside world. Our college also conducts mock interviews, training programs and personality development sessions during internship in order to make our students placement and future ready. 

How do you prepare your students to cope up with this competitive world?

SBB college is a brand name itself, and our students' achievements are enough to describe us. We keep encouraging our students and ask them not to compare their individuality with anyone as each of them are unique and have some built-in skills. Apart from this, we motivate them to set realistic goals for themselves so that they can track their own progress and define the route for them.

Which extracurricular activities are organized in college to enhance the skills of students?

We do organize a wide variety of co-curricular activities in our college such as debates, quizzes, conferences, seminars and cultural events and performances. In addition to this, National days are also celebrated with full enthusiasm in our college and the specialty of the events is that most of them are organized by our students. 

What challenges are you facing to uplift the education of your department? 

Lack of awareness among the students and their parents regarding the physiotherapy field and scope it offers is a real roadblock for us. The absence of discipline in students is another hurdle in front of us because our college considers discipline a very important virtue in building the character of a student and to prepare them for the future.

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When you joined S.B.B. College, what was your vision for it and how are you trying to achieve the same?

I joined SBB 20 years ago, after having 10 years experience in private practice, so my vision at that time was not very broad. But gradually I wanted to grow at both personal and professional level and aspire to be the best teacher in SBB. I have constantly strived for professional education upliftment and development while working with the amazing team of SBB college.

How does the curriculum of your college ensure the best practices of industry?

We follow the curriculum designed by the University and hence industry practices get included regularly by the experts itself. We do have patients having different diseases in our campus hospital itself which saves our students time of traveling and they do not need to travel to various clinics or OPDs to see patients. The internship is also completed at our college, and is stipendiary at par with government scales, unlike other private colleges. 

How does your college enhance the skills of faculty and prepare them as per industry standards?

The thing which makes us unique in comparison to others is our team of highly qualified and experienced staff. We have teachers with Masters and PhD qualifications and some of them are PhD guides as well at Gujarat University. And we always encourage them for continuous professional development and organize events like seminars in collaboration with industry experts and eminent academicians to make them aware of the latest technologies and teaching methodologies. Lastly, our Faculty are invited for talks at various conferences which itself is a proud feeling for the institute.

What approaches do you bring in apart from curriculum to teach the students?

Besides academics, our college conducts awareness seminars and camps to make people aware about good health and to treat patients. In addition to this, events for disabled children are also organised by us on a regular basis. 

What do you see as the greatest strengths of S.B.B. College of Physiotherapy?

Our highly experienced and senior teaching staff with each having expertise in their respective fields, our well-equipped physiotherapy department which is attached to tertiary care hospital and medical college in the same campus, huge inflow of indoor and outdoor patients which are referred for physiotherapy management, all of them together makes us strong and resilient.

Any valuable advice which would you like to give to the students to have a prosperous career ahead?

As we all know that Physiotherapy is associated with the medical field and there is no defined and complete syllabus in medicine. So I would like to advise my students that in clinical practice, the betterment of patients should always be your goal and if you cannot do good, do no harm to anyone. There are multiple opportunities available in the outside world for you, explore them.