In the academic year 2022-23, a majority of the assessed medical colleges were found to have issues related to faculty attendance and emergency medicine departments, according to the National Medical Commission (NMC).

The NMC’s assessment revealed that most of the medical colleges had “ghost faculty” and senior residents, and none of these institutions met the requirement of a 50 percent attendance rate. The NMC also noted that faculty members did not regularly visit the emergency department because there were no personnel available in the emergency medicine department except for the casualty medical officer.

The Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) of the NMC further clarified that the posting in the emergency medicine department was intended to be a break period for students.

This information came to light in response to a grievance filed by the Associations of Emergency Physicians of India (AEPI) regarding the exclusion of emergency medicine as a requirement for new medical colleges. While the NMC had initially included emergency medicine as one of the 14 departments required for undergraduate admissions in its June 23 draft, it later removed this requirement in a recently notified regulation.

In its response to AEPI dated September 22, the UGMEB highlighted the disparity between the situation on paper and the reality of emergency medicine departments. The NMC’s evaluation revealed that all colleges had a 100 percent failure rate regarding faculty and senior resident doctors’ attendance, as required by the Minimum Standard Requirement (MSR) 2020. Many colleges either had “ghost faculty” or had not employed the necessary faculty at all.

The assessment of attendance was conducted randomly at any time of the year during working days over a two-month period. Despite warning colleges about their deficiencies and allowing them adequate time to address them, none of the colleges met the 50 percent attendance requirement. In some cases, there was zero attendance.

To assess the functionality of medical colleges and affiliated hospitals, the UGMEB relies heavily on artificial intelligence through the Digital Mission Mode Project (DMMP) installed in the NMC. This assessment includes evaluating attendance through the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), classroom teaching, and hospital functioning.

The number of medical colleges with functional academic emergency departments increased from 45 to 134, along with a corresponding increase in MD emergency medicine seats from 120 to 462, according to the NMC’s reply. In total, 246 undergraduate medical colleges across 27 states were assessed for recognition or the continuation of recognition for the academic year 2022-23.

The authorities visited these colleges and found that students did not regularly visit the emergency medicine department due to a lack of interaction with faculty members other than the casualty medical officer. The UGMEB also mentioned that the curriculum for emergency medicine ran into 300 pages and covered all aspects required in a hospital.

Despite these challenges, the NMC continues to work with colleges and universities to address issues related to emergency medicine departments and other concerns raised during interactions with participants from various institutions.

Source: PTI

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