MCI curriculum -2019

Dr Shashiraj H K

Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Sri Siddhartha Medical College & Research Centre, Agalakote, Tumakuru
E-mail: shashirajhk@gmail.com

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        The present medical curriculum as proposed by MCI which is being followed by all the Medical Colleges of India has produced numerous medical professionals who have excelled in various fields of Medicine by catering to the various health needs of the community.
        The present curriculum as it stands today still has intra and inter-state variations which has led to the dilution of teaching and assessment methods. Inspite of several cosmetic changes medical education has remained highly fact oriented. The stiff competition for entry into medical colleges further encourages rote-learning by rewarding students with the best recall of information. I feel one of the responsibility of medical school teacher is to restore the sparkle in students, rekindle the originality and creativity in students at the beginning of the course as it is the best time to initiate the process of change. The students should be encouraged to pursue any queries and this intellectually honest process should make the learning process a pleasure.
        The proposed new curriculum titled “ Competency Based Medical Education” framed by a group of highly committed medical professionals provides an effective outcome based strategy to create a competent Indian Medical Graduate (IMG) possessing essential knowledge, expertise, attitude and responsiveness so as to enable him or her to function appropriately and effectively as a primary care physician of first contact, while being globally relevant.[1]
        CBME by its focus on desired and observable ability in real life situations has identified certain goals for the Indian Medical Graduate in which he should function in the role of a clinician who understands and provides preventive, promotive, curative, palliative and holistic care with compassion. The Indian Medical Graduate as proposed should assume the role of a leader and the member of the healthcare team to assemble, peruse, synthesize and liaise health data appropriately. The proposal also includes the graduate to play the role of a communicator who is eloquent to communicate with patients, families, colleagues and community regarding the modalities of patient care and treatment. The goals for the IMG includes him to be a lifelong learner committed to continuous improvement of skills and knowledge and be a true professional committed to excellence.
        The proposed introduction of early clinical exposure, electives and longitudinal care provides an opportunity for students to train in a more outcome driven module of curriculum to provide the orientation and necessary skills for lifelong learning.
        A longitudinal programme based on attitude, ethics and communication (AETCOM) competencies will add to make the students realize the importance of ethical values and to be more responsive to the needs of the patient.
        Emphasis placed on the importance of collaborative and inter-disciplinary team work will infuse much needed professionalism and altruism with due sensitivity to difference in thought, social and economic position.
        An attempt has been made to allow students from diverse educational streams and background to transition appropriately through a foundation course and with impetus given to self directed learning and co-curricular activities will look to add to multifaceted learning. Formative and summative assessment have been streamlined to achieve the objectives of the curriculum increasing the involvement of curriculum committee and medical education units.
        Integration as a learning experience as described by Pigdon and Woolley allows learners to traverse, congregate, process, refine and present information about topics they want to investigate without the constraints imposed by traditional subject barriers and make the learning experience more purposeful and relevant.[2] The proposed change looks to encourage integrated teaching between traditional subjects using a problem based learning approach which starts with the clinical cases and then looks to explore the relevance of pre and para clinical disciplines to understand and resolve the clinical problem.
        Competency based medical education (CBME) as suggested by an expert panel looks to bring a change in the medical education with more emphasis on application of knowledge and improved communication in real life situations rather than acquiring loads of theoretical knowledge.
        With over 500 medical colleges in the country the implementation of CBME is a daunting task as it requires training of the curricular committee members of respective colleges which is being primarily carried out at the level of various regional centres and it also requires greater degree of commitment from each faculty member to implement the same at the level of individual institute irrespective of their position and added responsibilities.
        It is suggested that student enrolment into medical colleges should also include assessment of attitude and make them undergo an observer ship program prior to admission into colleges so as to ensure that only students who are interested and self-motivated join the medical course as medical education though it requires robustic acquisition of knowledge, it also requires appropriate attitude to meet the demands of such a society oriented career.
        We hope the proposed change in curriculum with implementation of CBME which includes designing and implementation of medical education curriculum which focuses on the desired and observable ability in real life situations will make the young doctor better suited to meet the ever changing healthcare demands of the community and be globally relevant.

Acknowledgement: I acknowledge with thanks Dr Manjunatha G N, Professor & Head, Department of Pharmacology, SSMC Tumkur for his valuable guidance and Dr. Kavitha B S, Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology for her support.

References:
1.     Medical Council of India, Competency based undergraduate curriculum for the Indian Medical Graduate, 2018.Vol.1; p.11-20.
2.     Pigdon K, Woolley M. The Big Picture. Chapter 1-3. Victoria : Eleanor Curtain Publishing. p.10-12.