CRISIS IN INDIAN MEDICAL EDUCATION

Time to verify the Issues

Dr.T.V.Rao MD
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 1.2 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. Many 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produce substandard Doctors who are outdated even for today's needs.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,
In allopathic system of Medicine we are teaching on evidence based protocols , proving good in
theory and poor in practice 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, rapid expansion made many Doctors
as teachers without passion for teaching imparting poor knowledge. Some senior teachers just come
to enjoy the old age in the newly built Medical colleges and always planning for least work and
maximum salary because they are just needed for MCI regulations, I wish to say with what morality
we can create to New generation of Doctors, I know many teachers exploit the rich Medical students
in post-graduation to get all favours and to award a degree. The greatest down fall of our degrees
lies without poor practical assessment of our students. Many private management's asses the
teacher's capabilities 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 right things. 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 oars as
healthy Nation will be an unachievable dream. I wish that Medical Council of India should bring some
rules for the accountability of Teachers in particular senior Teachers, who should contribute
something to the new generation of work force or else we will we producing dangerous and
unproductive Doctors after spending so many economic resources. In my strong opinion I cannot
blame the fault lies with just Medical college managements the Unethical, greedy, substandard
teachers too contributed to down fall of the system of Medical education in India, Hope my voice is
heard in good light, we all elders wish to be treated by a competent Doctors.
Dr.T.V.Rao MD Professor of Microbiology Freelance writer