Medical education's reform vision can be fulfilled only when Medical Colleges are active partners: Mandaviya
Jan 05, 2023
New Delhi [India], January 5 : Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday interacted with representatives of around 150 Private Medical Colleges at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Mandaviya said that "the aspiration and vision of Govt for medical education reform can be fulfilled only when the Medical Colleges are active partners. To create this atmosphere, consultation and 'Samvaad' is very important.
"There is a need to create an eco-system and environment where NMC and Medical Colleges share a goal for superior quality medical education," he added.
In the first of its kinds of interaction, the Union Health Minister spent almost three hours listening to the feedback, suggestions, insights and queries of representatives of private medical colleges.
The representatives thanked the Union Health Minister for interacting with them and for providing this opportunity to share their feedback, insights and suggestions on crucial aspects of medical education.
During the 'Samvaad', the representatives from private medical colleges raised issues and proffered suggestions related to NEET PG, NEXTT, admissions, the retirement age of faculty, journal publications, bond for rural posting, district residency program, super speciality courses, an internship in community medicine, less faculty in some streams such as forensics, etc.
The Union Minister urged the private medical colleges to come forward in a spirit of partnership to co-create a vibrant and energetic medical education sector in the country.
Mandaviya exhorted the representatives of medical colleges and said, "Let us create the 'India Model' of Medical Education that defines the paradigm of accessible, affordable, credible and quality Medical education". He referred to the new initiatives of "Heal in India" and "Heal by India" where "India envisions to lead in the global arena on the strength of its medical sector not only to meet the domestic requirements but also meet the global demand of highly skilled and trained manpower, and quality medical and healthcare and wellness services.
Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, MOS highlighted the image of Indian doctors abroad has strengthened the recognition of the medical education sector of India.
"India's remarkable growth story has raised expectations from various sectors of India of which health forms a critical component," she said.
On the sidelines of the event, various initiatives taken by NMC for reforming medical education at the UG level were presented to the participants. This included steps for equal distribution of colleges following Prime Minister's vision of 'One District, One Medical College'; introduction of yoga module; village outreach through Family Adoption Program; medical education in bilingual languages; anti-raging cells; academic calendar for 2022-23 batch.
The issues, regarding Medical Assessment Rating Board, covered themes such as recognition of backlogs and clearing renewals; friction-free assessments; assessment in a window period or timeframe; reduction in a mismatch between assessor and speciality; availability of teachers in pre and para-clinical courses etc., were also discussed.
Dr Manohar Agnani, Addl, Secretary, MoHFW, Dr B N Gangadhar, President NMC, Dr Aruna Vanikar, President UGMEB (UG Medical Education Board), Dr Vijay Oza, President PGMEB (PG Medical Education Board), and other members of NMC were present at the interaction, along with senior officers of Health Ministry.
