Medicos to be assessed for clinical skills

 The five-member study group headed by former vice-chancellor of Nimhans D Nagaraja has recommended that MBBS students’ practical skills, attitude and how safely they can manage patients in their care need to get priority during the assessment.

“Periodic internal evaluation and a common nationally applicable scheme of evaluation need to be evolved for each speciality. Professional bodies in conjunction with the Medical Council of India (MCI) must jointly formulate such evaluations” the report states.

The study group, which submitted its report earlier this month, was set up to evaluate current status of medical education and make recommendations for the orderly growth of educational programmes in the state. Besides reforms in evaluation, the sub-group had recommended that new courses need to be introduced in humanities, medical ethics, pain and palliative care, care of the terminally ill, and use of computers and software relevant to medical field.

The panel, has which has studied the medical and allied education scenario in detail has pointed out 16 specific lacunae in the current medical education scenario. The group has felt that there is excessive preoccupation with seat allocation and fee structure in the State which had diminished the attention to quality of training and supervision.  Teachers are not actively encouraged to improve their training skills and there is a lack of faculty development schemes. The group has identified medical internship is not efficiently used to build up sensitivities to community needs.