CRISIS IN INDIAN MEDICAL EDUCATION Time to verify the Issues

1. 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. Some 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produce substandard Doctors who are outdated even for today's needs.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,
so the young Doctors are resenting to do rural services. In allopathic system of Medicine we are
teaching on evidence based protocols, proving good in theory and poor in practice, making MBBS
degree as licence to appear for postgraduate entrance test. 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, many
students from even Government colleges cum up on their own, as rapid expansion made many
Doctors as teachers without passion for teaching imparting poor knowledge to the students. It is
long term observation many teachers survive just because they are postgraduate guides and
Examiners, otherwise ……? The greatest down fall of our degrees lies with poor practical assessment
of our students. Much private management asses the teacher's capability 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

2. 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 things right, as the patients are becoming conscious about health and costs of treatment. 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 ours as healthy Nation will be an unachievable dream. Dr.T.V.Rao MD professor of
Microbiology and Free-lance writer
(Article published in www.articlsbase.com@ Dr.T.V.Rao MD)