Medical students to learn pandemic management in MBBS curriculum due to impact of COVID-19

New Delhi [India], Aug 28 : Medical students will now study pandemic management along with its social, legal and other aspects during their MBBS course, as the Board of Governors (BoG) in Supersession of the Medical Council of India (MCI) is introducing fresh chapters in the curriculum.
The move comes in the wake of the situation created by COVID-19. A detailed document 'Pandemic Management Module' has been prepared by a group of experts and academicians to train a budding medical student as "a doctor, leader and healer" during a difficult period of a rampaging pandemic.
The medical students will be taught infection control, disease management, epidemic management, research, communication, intensive care and palliative care during a pandemic.
Dr VK Paul, Chairman of BoG in Supersession of MCI, has said in the foreword of the document that the Medical Council of India has prepared revised regulations on graduate medical education and competency-based undergraduate curricula, accompanied by detailed guidance for its implementation.
"One of the desirable outcomes of the competency derived education programme is to enable the Indian medical graduate to be prepared for the unknown - to be able to understand, investigate, treat and prevent new and emerging diseases as a clinician, community leader and scholar. The emergence of COVID-19 and its rapid spread across the globe has further underlined the need to develop these skills in our graduates," the document says.
It says that the pandemic management module is designed to ensure that the MBBS student acquires competencies in handling not only the illness but also the social, legal and other issues arising from such disease outbreaks.
The document also notes that pandemic or disease outbreak calls into play all the five roles envisaged for the Indian Medical Graduate (IMG) viz. clinician, communicator, leader and member of the health care team, professional, life-long learner.
The longitudinal module extending from foundation course to the final year undergraduate programme is expected to help in ensuring the creation of an IMG who will serve humanity as "a doctor, leader and healer in bleak times such as the occurrence of a pandemic".
"The impact of COVID-19 infection is being felt severely in the health sector. An acute necessity is being felt to maximise the health care facilities available in the country particularly the availability of trained health care workers to meet this unexpected health crisis," said Dr RK Vats, Secretary General of MCI in a foreword.
"The competency-based undergraduate curriculum was designed to enable the Indian Medical Graduate to be prepared to meet new challenges - to be able to recognise, diagnose, investigate, and treat newly emerging diseases as a clinician and community health leader; the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has provided this opportunity," he said.