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The students graduating from the medical colleges in the country from 2019, will not only turn out to be good clinicians but also they’ll be good communicators. India has revised its medical curriculum after a gap of 21 years. The MCI Board of Governors on Friday finalised the new undergraduate curriculum that acknowledges the importance of ethics, responsiveness to the needs of patients and their families, and communication skills.\nThe Board of Governors has approved the document which revisits the 1997 syllabus in the context of emerging diseases and scientific advances. It is for the first time that India\u2019s MBBS curriculum acknowledges the importance of ethics, responsiveness to the needs of patients and families and fine communication skills to engage the ailing. The new curriculum, known as the \u201cCompetency-based UG Curriculum for the Indian Medical Graduate\u201d, marks a considerable shift from old times when the norm in MBBS training was rote and classroom learning and stress on the doctor-patient relationship and medical ethics negligible. Dr VK Paul, MCI BOG chairman said that a course called Attitude, Ethics and Communication (AETCOM), which will run across all the years of MBBS is a new addition to the syllabus. \u201cThe emphasis now is more on training students in communicating effectively with patients and counselling people for organ donations or other challenging procedures. For example, they will be assessed on how well they handle patient relations in sensitive situations, offer care, and obtain consent. All these things will count along with competencies and skills,\u201d he added. Also, the curriculum introduces outcome-based learning enlisting what skills a medical graduate is expected to have. Another element of the new curriculum is the introduction of elective subjects, which means students can pick subjects of their choice. Dedicated time will be allotted for self-directed learning and co-curricular activities and the emphasis will be more on mental and public health.
\n\u201cIn a first, the new curriculum provides clinical exposure to students in the very first year instead of the second. A month-long foundation course has been introduced to help students from diverse backgrounds transition better. The foundation course seeks to prepare students for the MBBS duration,\u201d Dr Paul said. The new curriculum also encourages the use of medical mannequins and models for clinical learning. But the use of human cadavers for anatomy training will continue.
\n\u201cIn particular, the curriculum provides for early clinical exposure, electives and longitudinal care. It also reinforces skills training by necessitating certification of certain essential skills,\u201d experts say. Use of skills labs, simulated and guided environments has been allowed for this purpose.
\nIn India, the doctor-patient relationship has been unequal so far. According to the experts, the introduction of early clinical exposure and electives, apart from the focus on the doctor-patient relationship, will be a game-changer.<\/p>\n