NEW DELHI: Days after the new medical education regulator, the National Medical Commission (NMC), came into existence, it has proposed to formalise the hiring of non-medical grads — those without MBBS — as teachers in medical colleges.
As per the latest “minimum requirements for MBBS admission regulations 2020”, released for public feedback, non-medical teachers can be recruited in six departments — anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and microbiology, biochem and statistician — in the department of community medicine.
Already, up to 30% faculty for first and second year students of various medical colleges are said to comprise those who are not undergrads in medicine because the Medical Council of India (MCI), the previous regulator, did not clearly define it. It all began several decades ago when there weren’t enough PG doctors to serve as faculty, official sources explained.
That was when the MCI allowed MBBS degree holders with a general masters in science to be hired as teachers in medical colleges for non-clinical subjects. “Later, even those without an MBBS degree and holding just an MSc or PhD in life sciences, were hired as faculty in medical colleges in states but the MCI simply ignored the issue,” said a source.
Meanwhile, Dr Satendra Singh, a senior faculty with the University College of Medical Sciences in Delhi, said the advent of competency based medical education meant that the course will now be clinically oriented. As such, teachers must undergo revised basic training, but it has not been explicitly mentioned in the draft rules, he pointed out.
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As per the proposed norms, every medical college should mandatorily have a physical medicine and rehabilitation department. This branch of medicine, which was optional earlier, aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. The draft norms also say that the department of emergency medicine will be mandatory for all medical colleges with effect from the academic year 2022-2023.
Also, the live streaming of both classroom teaching and teaching hospital, shall be integrated as part of the Digital Mission Mode Project of the Commission. Further, the department of radio-diagnosis with MRI machines should be available in all teaching hospitals when annual MBBS intake is 200 or more. The commission, in its maiden proposal has also suggested that all medical colleges will have to make provision to provide accommodation for at least 75% of all students enrolled and interns, and all girl students who request for it.
Dr Singh, meanwhile, also expressed disappointment that there was no mention of diversity and inclusion unit or equal opportunity cell, mandated by the University Grants Commission for students with disabilities, transgender and those from marginalised communities. “Also, there is no provision of counsellor for medical students even though mental health conditions are rising among medical students,” he pointed out.
Public health researcher Dr Oommen John stressed that while impressive advances have been stipulated for recasting medical education and training to enable future medical graduates to discharge their duties in the changing context, several of the requirements are still process oriented and not outcome based. “It is unclear as to how learning outcomes based on core competencies will be evaluated and how the necessary infrastructure will create an enabling environment for the same,” he said. H e added that while the prime minister launched the national digital health mission recently, the NMC’s minimum requirements do not mention the need for an electronic health record system or electronic prescription system.