Medical Education Special OPINION
T
he National Medical Com-
mission (NMC) Bill aims at
addressing a number of con-
cerns in medical education, pro-
vide strategies to address shortage of
trained doctors and medical caregivers,
and restructure the medical regulatory
authority of the country, clearly defin-
ing jurisdiction and responsibilities.
According to the government, when the
NMC is established, it is ‘supposed to
eliminate’ corruption in medical regu-
latory bodies. Despite these claims, the
bill has drawn flak and protests from
doctors across the country.
Replacing Medical Council of
India (MCI)
The NMC Bill proposes to replace the
MCI, which has been accused of cor-
ruption on many occasions, with a new
regulatory body. According to the bill,
the new regulatory body will be set up
under the chairmanship of an individ-
ual nominated by the government and
the members will be appointed by a
NATIONAL
MEDICAL COMMISSION
BILL: PANACEA FOR
ALL ILLS?
India’s medical education sector might see major changes
when the NMC Bill which had lapsed with the dissolution of
the 16th Lok Sabha gets reintroduced. A renowned academic
shares his perspective...
Dr. M C Misra,
President-cum-Vice
Chancellor,
Mahatma Gandhi
University of Medical
Sciences &
Technology;
Former Director,
AIIMS, New Delhicommittee headed by the Cabinet Sec-
retary. The Indian Medical Association
(IMA) and doctors across the coun-
try fear that this will make the regu-
latory body a government controlled
one instead of a democratically elected
one. The needs of the people across the
country will not be addressed if this
comes to pass, they say.Role for alternative medicine
practitioners
Medical education is one area that shall
be greatly altered if the NMC Bill is
passed. The ‘bridge course” suggested
by the bill will allow homeopaths and
ayurveda practitioners to prescribe a
limited range of allopathic drugs while
clearly specifying the symptoms, diag-
nosis and circumstances of issuing such
a prescription. Their sign boards and
prescription pads will also clearly men-
tion that the treatment system they are
trained in and indicate the clearance to
prescribe the said drugs. What the bill
overlooks, however, is the widespread
exploitation of patients, particularly the
poor and illiterate. Medical abuse will
be rampant if the bill is passed, fear
critics.Licentiate examination
Section 15 of the NMC Bill further says
that it will be mandatory for medical
students to take a licentiate examina-
tion after gaining the MBBS degree. Ifthe student fails to clear this examina-
tion, he or she will not be enrolled in the
National Medical Register and will not
be permitted to practice medicine.Is MCI alone to blame?
MCI cannot be blamed for all the
ills affecting health sector. The rapid
growth of private medical colleges
across the country over the past two
decades brought about a lot of subop-
timal and substandard medical educa-
tion because of these private entities
not following even the basic minimum
standards when it came to faculty
strength, infrastructure issues, running
of the 700-900 bedded hospitals with
extremely low occupancy. How the
NMC bill going to address this phenom-
enon is unclear. We also have to look
from the perspectives of private medi-
cal institutions in the states of Karna-
taka and Maharashtra and even in other
states that are owned by politicians.
When we look at state-owned medical
education institutions, the situation is
no better. There have been large num-
ber of vacant posts of faculty and other
staff in most of the institutions. A huge
number of clinical and other depart-
ments have been run by contractual
staff ( both faculty and the other staff ).
Even if one looks at upcoming new
AIIMS (announced in 2004), the fac-
ulty strength at best is at 50 to 60 per-
cent. Where is the core faculty to man