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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 9
| Issue : 4 | Page : 133-134 |
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Reduction of Non-MBBS Teachers in Medical Institutions - A Widely Appreciated Decree of National Medical Commission
Kumar Satish Ravi
Editor-in-Chief, National Journal of Clinical Anatomy; Professor (Additional), Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
| Date of Submission | 25-Nov-2020 |
| Date of Decision | 28-Nov-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 02-Dec-2020 |
| Date of Web Publication | 7-Dec-2020 |
Correspondence Address:
Kumar Satish Ravi
Professor (Additional), Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/NJCA.NJCA_81_20
How to cite this article:
Ravi KS. Reduction of Non-MBBS Teachers in Medical Institutions - A Widely Appreciated Decree of National Medical Commission. Natl J Clin Anat 2020;9:133-4 |
How to cite this URL:
Ravi KS. Reduction of Non-MBBS Teachers in Medical Institutions - A Widely Appreciated Decree of National Medical Commission. Natl J Clin Anat [serial online] 2020 [cited 2021 Jan 24];9:133-4. Available from: http://www.njca.info/text.asp?2020/9/4/133/302574 |
Given a comprehensive gap between health professionals and healthcare delivery, our country is heading towards competency-based medical education (CBME), which emphasizes on providing society with a competent Indian medical graduate. CBME mainly focuses on budding doctors, acquiring predefined and desirable skills that are more apt for real-life situations. When modern medicine is reaching its new horizon, there is always a new demand to redefine the standards of medical education concerning functional requirements. For this, the eminent experts of various subjects have put tremendous efforts in defining the most possible competencies.[1],[2]
National Medical Commission (NMC) is a regulatory body with 33 members being chaired by Prof. Suresh Chandra Sharma, Formerly Professor and Head of Otorhinolaryngology, at AIIMS New Delhi, and Dr. Rakesh Kumar Vats, IAS, has been appointed as Secretary of NMC. The NMC regulates medical professionals and medical education in India. It replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI) on September 25, 2020; since then, it is working on providing accreditation to medical institutes by assessing their infrastructure, recognizing medical qualifications, and regulating medical practice in India.[3],[4] With an attempt to define a new standard in terms of the new paradigm, in its most recent “Minimum Requirements for Annual Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Admissions Regulations, 2020,” it has notified that in Anatomy and Physiology subjects, 15% of non-medical teachers can be appointed and there is no provision of non-medical teachers in the subjects of Pharmacology and Microbiology. For Biochemistry, earlier, the ceiling was the maximum, i.e., 50%; as per the present notification, the limit has been brought down to 15%. It has stressed the rationale of a medical undergraduate being taught by mentors with an MBBS degree in CBME.[5] Surprisingly, the recruitment rules applicable in the states such as Jammu and Kashmir give more weightage to non-medical candidates with Master of Science (M.Sc.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree, appearing for the post of Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, i.e., 45 marks, whereas Doctor of Medicine (MD) Biochemistry candidates appearing for the same gets 40 marks.[6]
Indeed, it is quite abstruse that in other alternate medicine courses in India such as Homeopathy,Ayurveda, Siddha etc. a basic degree in the concerned course is mandatory to teach and train the undergraduates. But in the modern allopathic medicine course in India presently about 30% of the strength of pre-clinical faculty members who teach Pre-Clinical subjects to MBBS students are non-medical teachers having M.Sc. and M.Sc., Ph.D. degree not the MBBS and MBBS,MD/MS qualified teachers. The provision of MBBS with M.Sc./Ph.D qualified teachers were allowed by the MCI owing to the non-availability of qualified teachers. It is saddening to realize that the initial provision of MBBS graduate with M.Sc. degree holders to teach the students in pre- and para-clinical subjects, over a while, these provisions were further modified as a result even a non-MBBS with M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree holders were allowed to be recruited in majority of medical institutions. Surprisingly in the subject of Biochemistry, the upper limit for non-medical teachers was allowed up to 50% in the following days.[5]
With the huge number of non-medical teachers being recruited in the medical colleges, it is disappointing to state that the regular MD/MS (Master of Surgery) well qualified faculty members of pre and para-clinical subjects are unemployed or facing employment issues. This has compelled MBBS graduates to think twice before opting for post-graduation in the pre and para-clinical subjects due to which quality of medical education and patient-care is deteriorating. Hence, various associations of doctors are constantly raising this issue and advocating to bring down the percentage of non-medical teachers in the medical institutions and same is being advocated by the stake holders. Members of the Society of Clinical Anatomists are of the opinion that M.Sc. and M.Sc., Ph.D qualified individuals may be employed in various paramedical institutions for paramedical courses as faculty or as scientists in various research laboratories or institutions whereas some of the members also expressed their views to stop M. Sc. courses in the subjects like Anatomy or pre and para-clinical subjects due to dearth of jobs.
Considering quality as the benchmark of new standards, it is indeed a very promising move by the NMC to reduce the existing ceiling of 30% of non-medical teachers in pre-clinical subjects and abolishing completely in para-clinical subjects. The Society of Clinical Anatomists welcomes the decision of the NMC to significantly reduce the upper limit of non-medical teachers from 30% to 15% in medical institutions to teach pre-clinical subjects.
One of the most significant features of newly introduced CBME is that it emphasizes on early clinical exposure, which aims at exposing the 1st MBBS students to the hospital set up and patient care since the commencement of the MBBS course. This also demands clinically sound and skillful pre- clinical teachers so that learning basic sciences becomes more contextual and relevant. Attitudes, skill and knowledge imparted during a MBBS degree course are essential prerequisites for a medical teacher in medical education environments where there is vertical integration of classes, early clinical exposure and values emphasized upon in the AETCOM documents are attempted. So such values cannot be inculcated among the MBBS students by the educators who have no experience of treating a patient. With all, it will be more welcoming and fruitful if the NMC abolishes the new 15% ceiling of non-medical teachers in basic sciences as well. Indeed, Its a much-needed and awaited step by the newly formed NMC to reform medical education.
| References | |  |
| 1. | |
| 2. | Supe A. Graduate medical education regulations 2019: Competency-driven contextual curriculum. Natl Med J India 2019;32:257-61.  [ PUBMED] [Full text] |
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| 5. | |
| 6. | Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission. Amendment to rule 51 of J&K Public service commission (Business and Procedure) rules,1980. Notification No.40-PSC/Exam/2017 dated 04.08.2017. Available from: http://jkpsc.nic.in/pdf/Business_Procedure_Rules_2016.pdf. [Last accessed on 25-11-2020]. |
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