The MCI recommendations have evoked mixed reactions among academicians. Experts have suggested that the council should not go ahead and implement the proposals in haste.
Terming the MCI's reforms as ‘generally appreciable', P. G. R. Pillai, Dean of Medical Science and Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, told The Hindu-EducationPlus that the proposal to make subjects like forensic medicine, ophthalmology and ENT optional is not practical. Students should have the basic knowledge in areas like forensic medicine. The decision to encourage clinical orientation in the curriculum and promote inter-disciplinary studies is also welcome, he said.
Stating that the licentiate examination would help in plugging the different standards employed in evaluating graduates from various parts of the country, Dr. Pillai said that efforts should be made to admit all those who qualify the licentiate examination for postgraduate programmes.
Explaining that there are less than 12, 000 seats for postgraduate programmes against the 60,000 intake for undergraduate courses, Dr. Pillai said that people will experience a lot of satisfaction, if they are able to get a postgraduate degree.
Pointing out that the M.Med. course will help all candidates to get a postgraduate degree, Dr. Pillai said that care should be taken to ensure that the course will have seats in tune with the intake for MBBS programme.
Describing that the licentiate examination is not required in the Indian context, Sunny P. Orathel, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cooperative Medical College, Kochi, said that the learning process here gives a lot of focus on practical training.
Candidates face a tough examination before becoming a graduate. In countries like the U.K. and the U.S., students lack clinical examination of patients. They depend a lot on classes and demonstration using dummies. The law there also does not support clinical examination of patients while learning. Here, clinical examination starts right from the beginning of the course. A lot of focus is also given on evaluating their diagnostic skills, he said.
Reacting to the proposed National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to the MBBS and postgraduate medical programmes, Dr. Orathel said that the idea is good but doubts remain on how the authorities would be able to implement it considering the different rules and regulations existing in various States.
Many institutions have minority status. The Union government should enact a law to make it possible. The chances of managements approaching the court against the test are also high. The proposal could be introduced successfully, if there is a fool-proof agency to conduct it. The government should also have a clear cut policy, he said.
M. Sadarudheen Ahmed, Treasurer of the Kerala Government Medical Teachers' Association, said that the proposal to shorten the MBBS course to four years from four-and-half years would not be beneficial to the students. He said that the council will be forced to make a lot of compromises, if the duration of the MBBS programme is curtailed.
While pursuing our undergraduate programme, we used to get at least 18 months for learning anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. Later, it was reduced to 12 months. The reduction in the course duration will hamper the training and learning process considerably, he said.
Suggesting that students should know basic skills, Dr. Ahmed said the knowledge level will come down once the authorities decide to make subjects like forensic medicine, ENT and ophthalmology optional. He said the decision to introduce a licentiate examination would be beneficial for students in self-financing and private medical colleges that lack case materials for carrying out practical work. This would be useful, as an additional examination for them, Dr. Ahmed said.
