Dr.P.Sivasankara Pillai, (Ex) DME, Kerala: comments on vision-2015

To

Board of Governors,

Working Group for restructuring UG Curriculum - Vision 2015,

Medical Council of India, New Delhi.

Sirs,

The attempt at restructuring the undergraduate curriculum to suit the needs of the nation is laudable.

While forming the Working Groups BOG did not give adequate representation to the medical educationists drawn from different areas. The defect is glaring in the document due to inadequate representation. The Group /s was / were in a hurry to bring out a document, thus there are a lot of things which have to be clarified and detailed.

Competency Based Medical Education is ideal but in India where the admission criteria  arewide and varied due to socio -political reasons, the constant time frame fixed for attaining desired competencies would not tally with the learners of very different capabilities. Then how is it possible  to decide on 4 year duration for MBBS Course and increase in number of seats for MBBS Course ? A nation - wide detailed dialogue is needed. India is too big a country with a lot of diversity, for a limited group of Experts to decide the fate of medical education.

Experts like the Chairman of the UG Working Group ( Vellore CMC) and a few clinical / academic experts may not be able to understand the value or importance of forensic Medicine as a core subject in MBBS Curriculum. I remember Vellore CMC practice of managing Forensic Medicine Teaching & Evaluation through a designated Pathology Faculty Member from time immemorial. Profs. Mini Mathen, Joyce Ponniah, Juniors like Dr. Sarada etc., have been dealing with this all important speciality in a weak and casual manner. It is evident that CMC.,Vellore has  produced a number of eminent clinicians and researchers, but not even a single forensic medical expert. In these days of consumer protection and medical malpraxis litigations, complicated medico legal situations and even the ordinary basic medico legal services, the Document is a retrogressive one. We will not attain desired standards by 'aping' what is done in the West.  Basic training standards and infrastructure are very strong in those countries. BOG should know that a ' Basic Doctor' should be properly trained during the MBBS Course to enable him to discharge basic medico legal duties. Let the BOG discuss these matters with the Home Secretary and his minister ,  CBI and similar agencies in addition to veteran medical educationists, before writing off Forensic Medicine. Forensic Medicine should be made a Core Subject with formative as well as summative examinations. It is nice that judicious vertical and horizontal integrations are designed to teach Forensic Medicine effectively. Persons with just legal qualifications / experience cannot handle teaching / learning programmes in Forensic Medicine. I fervently hope that  the BOG, MCI would not become a party to nullify the healthy medico legal service system prevalent in India to nadir.

I am one of the senior most medico legists  in the country with sufficient credentials to offer these opinions.

Deliberate in detail, discuss without bias and arrive at logical conclusions, please.  Despite all sorts of globalisation and corporate culture, India is a vast country with a majority below poverty line.Medical / Health Care may be an Industrybut Medical Education is not..

Best Regards, 

Sincerely,

Dr. P. Sivasankara Pillai, MD.,DFM.,LLB.,

Director of Medical Education, Kerala ( Retd.).,

State Medico legal Expert & Consultant, Kerala ( Retd. ).
Dr.P.Sivasankara Pillai, MD.,DFM.,LLB.,
'Gayatri', 345 - Bapuji Nagar,
Pongummoodu,Medical College PO.,
Trivandrum -695 011.
Phone: +91 471 2442133
           +91 9947003382