While the Vision 2015 has neatly laid out the plans for bringing the
archaic Indian Medical Education system at par with the rest of the world,
there are some nagging issues which are still left unclear at the MCI
proposal.
As a medical student in this system, a lot needs to change to compete
with the sophisticated course design and use of technology in medical
colleges around the world. We are still stuck in the age of relying on
didactic lectures by our teachers and textbooks as the sole point of
reference. The proposal promises to change all that introducing electronic
learning resources at every college, designing a smart curriculum focusing
more on the clinical side which is so often neglected here due to the
single minded focus of memorizing information without really thinking of
how to apply it.
However the points which have made this document a talking point all
over the country among the medical fraternity is
1. Abolishing year end exams and focusing on 2 exams in the entire
MBBS curriculum. One to be taken at the end of 4 years and another 1 year
later at internship.
The MCI through this wants to stop half baked doctors passing out who
under the current system focus more on studying for PG exams during
internship than on the job at hand. However if this end exam is a theory
exam then there is no point at all. What the MCI needs to do is make this
a clinical skills assessment exam say similar to the international exams
and then it can truly be useful.
2. MCI proposes to include a compulsory diploma in Medicine at the
end of MBBS. This is to cater to the rural parts of India who are facing
severe shortage of skilled doctors. However, there is great doubt whether
this can actually be forced upon the doctors as such.
3. Increasing the number of Medical Students in the pre-existing
colleges without infrastructural support will lead to calamity, as anyway
in the present scenario, most colleges are understaffed and lack proper
infrastructure. What MCI needs to do is increase the number of colleges as
well as improve the infrastructure in the present colleges.
Once the contentious points can be ironed out through discussions not
only with doctors but also with the student fraternity this can herald a
new age in the Indian Medical Education scenario.
Rapid Response:
Vision 2015 : Some contentious points
While the Vision 2015 has neatly laid out the plans for bringing the
archaic Indian Medical Education system at par with the rest of the world,
there are some nagging issues which are still left unclear at the MCI
proposal.
As a medical student in this system, a lot needs to change to compete
with the sophisticated course design and use of technology in medical
colleges around the world. We are still stuck in the age of relying on
didactic lectures by our teachers and textbooks as the sole point of
reference. The proposal promises to change all that introducing electronic
learning resources at every college, designing a smart curriculum focusing
more on the clinical side which is so often neglected here due to the
single minded focus of memorizing information without really thinking of
how to apply it.
However the points which have made this document a talking point all
over the country among the medical fraternity is
1. Abolishing year end exams and focusing on 2 exams in the entire
MBBS curriculum. One to be taken at the end of 4 years and another 1 year
later at internship.
The MCI through this wants to stop half baked doctors passing out who
under the current system focus more on studying for PG exams during
internship than on the job at hand. However if this end exam is a theory
exam then there is no point at all. What the MCI needs to do is make this
a clinical skills assessment exam say similar to the international exams
and then it can truly be useful.
2. MCI proposes to include a compulsory diploma in Medicine at the
end of MBBS. This is to cater to the rural parts of India who are facing
severe shortage of skilled doctors. However, there is great doubt whether
this can actually be forced upon the doctors as such.
3. Increasing the number of Medical Students in the pre-existing
colleges without infrastructural support will lead to calamity, as anyway
in the present scenario, most colleges are understaffed and lack proper
infrastructure. What MCI needs to do is increase the number of colleges as
well as improve the infrastructure in the present colleges.
Once the contentious points can be ironed out through discussions not
only with doctors but also with the student fraternity this can herald a
new age in the Indian Medical Education scenario.
Competing interests: No competing interests