MCI proposes incentives for specialised courses teachers

While some disciplines like anatomy have enough seats per year, many seats in specialised courses are vacant and hence shortage of teachers persists, the MCI observed.

Therefore, there is a need for more incentives like differential pay scales, special pay or accelerated promotions for teachers in these subjects, it has said in a note sent to the Health Ministry.

In some areas such as anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, one may also have a cadre of non-medical teachers, it suggested. To attract medical graduates to subjects like anatomy they may also be given the opportunity to work as part time in clinical departments and these streams can be collaborated with short-term specialised courses such as genetics in anatomy, criminal forensic pathology, infection control with microbiology, waste management with community medicine, pharmacology with therapeutic drug monitoring or pharmaco vigilance.

Similarly, for basic sciences and para-clinical sciences, need assessment has been made based on number of teachers required in medical college. Numbers have been doubled to take care of other health care facilities and dental and nursing colleges. To promote research it is desirable for any postgraduate in basic sciences (pre and para clinical) to have at least two publications during this tenure, the note said.

Besides this, the regulatory body has suggested that there should be involvement of all medical undergraduate and postgraduate students in the community-based health programmes initiated by the institute or at the national level.

The problem of shortage is not only due to lack of seats but also due to the lack of popularity of courses amongst potential candidates. Hence private institutions are hesitant to start courses in basic specialities. Special incentives may need to be given to these institutions for this purpose, it said.

Making projections for the number of doctors who would be available in the future, the MCI says that passing rates are up to 70 per cent in MCI courses and 50 per cent in National Board courses.

Hence the number of doctors available will be about 70-80 per cent of the projected numbers every year with approximately 20 per cent being lost due to failures in examinations and migrations. With the suggested increase in numbers of outgoing postgraduates, the concern for faculty development becomes much more critical, it said.

The quality of output will be far from desirable unless measures in this direction are immediately initiated. Thus faculty development programme should be made mandatory at all levels of teaching, the note said.