25th Sept, 2020, will be marked as the day the Medical Council of India, established in 1934 finally got buried. The process had started sometime back but the Gazette Notification finally laid to rest what had become a ‘den of corruption’ as the SC called it. 1/ #NMC #MCI #MedEd
Since a few years, I have written a few pieces on the medical education regulator in India. Good time to share a few of them. This piece in DailyO “Reviving MCI and med schools: How India can end its crippling healthcare crisis” is from May 2016: https://www.dailyo.in/politics/medical-council-of-india-healthcare-mci-doctors-wanted-india/story/1/10483.html">https://www.dailyo.in/politics/... 2/ #NMC
Once the NMC Bill was introduced I wrote on two contentious issues that were present in it, that of the exit exam (NEXT) and Bridge Course. In Hindustan Times @livemint, “A bridge course will not legitimize quackery” https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/21RJUIYrSd5PcJyby97KXL/A-bridge-course-will-not-legitimize-quackery.html">https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/2... #NMC #BridgeCourse #MedEd
& also in @Mint_Opinion on the national exit exam for MBBS meant to create uniform standard of graduate, “Is NEXT the panacea for medical education woes?” https://www.livemint.com/Education/MkZvFhKf39vIbKXmlDEfwK/Is-NEXT-the-panacea-for-medical-education-woes.html,">https://www.livemint.com/Education... both pieces were with @AnantBhan. #MCI #NMC #MedEd #exitexam #MBBS
In @epw_in we wrote a research paper on the issue “Whatever NEXT?” https://www.epw.in/journal/2017/52/commentary/whatever-next.html">https://www.epw.in/journal/2... , which was even featured as headline in that edition of the journal. I wrote in @thewire_in on the confusion around NEXT “What& #39;s NEXT for the NMC Bill? Confusion.” https://thewire.in/health/nmc-bill-mbbs-exit-exam.">https://thewire.in/health/nm...
In Pragati, I wrote on the humongous litigations that medical colleges and the regulator gets into, the messy world of "inspections". In this piece, “Who Will Inspect the Inspector?” I dealt with ways in which technology can mitigate some woes. https://www.thinkpragati.com/opinion/5991/who-will-inspect-the-inspector/">https://www.thinkpragati.com/opinion/5... . 6/ #NMC
In May last year I wrote in @thewire_in on why bridge courses should be tailored, monitored and regulated to benefit people, “It& #39;s a Bad Idea to Outright Reject Bridge Courses for Healthcare Professionals” https://thewire.in/health/its-a-bad-idea-to-outright-reject-bridge-courses-for-healthcare-professionals">https://thewire.in/health/it... 7/ #bridgecourse #NMC #healthcare #MedEd
Wrote a comprehensive long article in @TheIndiaForum, along with @sanjaynagral, “The National Medical Commission: A Renaming or Transformation?” where I trace history of #MedEd in India and we raise concerns whether things will change. https://bit.ly/3kH0VTC ">https://bit.ly/3kH0VTC&q... #NMC #MCI
And beyond writing, a podcast with @zeusisdead on the issues of medical education in India and would #NMC be the panacea it is thought to be. https://www.thinkpragati.com/podcast/the-pragati-podcast/8020/medical-education-india-nmc-act/">https://www.thinkpragati.com/podcast/t... #podcast