CRISIS IN INDIAN MEDICAL EDUCATION

Time to Verify

Dr.T.V.Rao MD

Today there is a hue and cry when NEET was introduced in 2016 after

great struggles bring in uniformity and accountability in education as improving the health of a

common man is a Universal priority, every elected Government should fall in line to show the

citizens that health is a concern for them, they promise to find ways to improve it. India continues to

spend less on basic health care when compared with many of our neighbouring Nations. India with

mass population base of more than 1.3 billion can do little to date; the existing Governmental

system is compromised with politics, lethargy, and corruption. The vision to start many Medical

colleges in India in private sector has greatly changed the face of National health in the last three

decades. Some Institutes are recognized as centres of excellence and produced many competent

Doctors who are no less than Doctors created by the reputed Government Institutions Recently

there is sudden surge of several Medical colleges in private sector The challenges to run a private

medical college are many and much more difficult than running a Government Medical College. The

Medical Council of India regulates to build infrastructure, and bring in qualified and experienced

persons who are more of spent out force, few have current perceptions to build modern Institutions,

and many have to compromise with private managements. The Medical council is interested in

physical verification and head counting. Nobody asks about our vision to develop the Department or

College. If the present number of establishing Medical Colleges continues will produce substandard

Doctors who are outdated even for today's needs. The results are evident with mushrooming of

private Medical and Nursing College's producing less equipped, less productive and highly exploitive

doctors. But question remains who will bear the burden, the answer is certainly innocent public. In

spite of several difficulties the private medical institutes should create something more imaginative

so our students are prepared to improve the health system and adapt rapidly to changing health

scenario in the Nation. The present resentment of our young medical graduates to go to rural areas

exposes, that we have created Doctors for urban care and comforts, they are afraid to work alone

without guidance of seniors The major fault lies with us we are producing graduates in modern

medicine with modern facilities without teaching adoption to poor patients and rural need, so the

young Doctors are resenting to do rural services. In allopathic system of Medicine we are teaching

on evidence based protocols, proving good in theory and poor in practice, making MBBS degree as

licence to appear for postgraduate entrance test. The question comes are we elders justified in

blaming young Doctors who are not willing to go rural areas. Many policy makers have no idea of

rural life; make policies on paper which will never work. In next few decades only private medical

institutes will decide the future of Nations health. It is time that upcoming Institutes should decide

their priorities, can we do the best care of patients, create and encourage better teachers and save

many lives. Our less performing Medical graduate's lies with poor practical training, many students

from even Government colleges cum up on their own, as rapid expansion made many Doctors as

teachers without passion for teaching imparting poor knowledge to the students. It is long term

observation many teachers survive just because they are postgraduate guides and Examiners,

otherwise ……? The greatest down fall of our degrees lies with poor practical assessment of our

students. Much private management asses the teacher's capability to produce good percentage of

results, every sincere teacher is a loser in the present commercial system of education where

managements market results as source of their strength. There are several medical colleges started

in the last 5 -10 years, waiting for social judgments, and people are watching how they perform, and

many substandard students awarded degrees will spoil the reputation of their parent Institutions.

We are certain to see many Medical graduates produced in the substandard Institutes are harmful,

non-competitive and bring in dangerous trends in Medical Profession. Several medical institutions

which do not comply with ethics and integrity will certainly face Darwin's law waiting to set things

right, as the patients are becoming conscious about health and costs of treatment. It is time Medical

Council of India should monitor the events and start Academic grading and continued performance

based support in need of crisis in upcoming Medical colleges, otherwise vision of elders making ours

as healthy Nation will be an unachievable dream.

If the NEET is introduced in Private Medical colleges, and Deemed universities in 2016 there will be

less backdoor money and the admission have to be transparent and students have to pay more IN

FORM OF FEES, and if MCI imposes many regulations on Private Medical college which are many

Times running with less than 50% of the prescribed staff and rest are enjoying the MCI rules as Ghost

Teachers and just visiting Teachers just come to relax in many Medical colleges,

Hope Medical Council of India bring in some accountability tackling practical consideration,

REDCUING THE NUMBER OF SENIOR TEACHERS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

I think increasing age of retirement to 70 has not improved except for filling the B forms for MCI as

many are non-productive and leaving the matters to junior unqualified staff, or Non-Medical staff

HOWEVER NEET A BOON TO POOR A LOSS TO MANY PRIVATE COLLEGES, AND AT PRESENT THERE IS

GREAT CONFUSION FOR MANY STUDENTS

Dr.T.V.Rao MD professor of Microbiology and Free-lance writer

(Article ORIGINALLY published in www.articlsbase.com AND REVISED )