Plans to extend MBBS programme duration
India Government is planning to extend the five-and-a-half year MBBS by one year. In a meeting held on 4th February, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Medical Council of India (MCI) discussed amending the MCI Act. This act would make a one-year rural posting mandatory for all MBBS students before completing their degrees. The proposal was first declined by former health minister A Ramadoss in 2007.
In a TOI report, MCI chairman Dr K K Talwar cautioned the decision to introduce the six-and-a-half year MBBS course from next year is not yet final. The proposal is still in planning stages now. A module on how we can make MBBS doctors go and work in rural areas will be prepared in two weeks time. After that, the ministry will take a call. If the proposal is cleared, India's 40,000 students will be utilized for a year in the National Rural Health Mission, added Talwar.
India is experiencing a severe deficiency of human resources in health which is being faced by the flagship NRHM, and the vulnerable population in rural, tribal and hilly areas is extremely underserved. The TOI report also included a study where it is found that only 26% of doctors in India lived in rural areas, serving 72% of the population in 2006. The urban density of doctors was about four times that in rural areas, and that of nurses about three times higher. As of March, 2010, undue delays in recruitments resulted in vacancies even in available posts at health centers. Over 34% of male health workers, 38% of radiographers, 16% of laboratory technicians, 31% of specialists, 20% of pharmacists and 17% of ANMs and 10% of doctors' posts were lying vacant. (Read more...)
According to a Planning Commission study, India lacks six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons, leading to a miserable doctor-patient ratio.
In a ministry report released earlier, only 6.3% of the posts for doctors were vacant on paper, a staggering 67% of them played truant. Earlier, MBBS students were given incentives if they worked in rural areas for a year. This helped MBBS students in getting a better chance of getting a post-graduate (PG) medical seat. Those who participate in the rural service would sit for the PG exam with an added advantage of 10-30 marks guaranteed.
Azad had said 50% seats in PG diploma courses would be reserved for medical officers in government service who had served for at least three years in remote and difficult areas.
However, Dr. Talwar reveals that none of these incentives have paid dividends till now. (Read more...)
Please share your views regarding the extension of MBBS duration.
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