CMC trains medical teachers for new MBBS curriculum

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 13

The MBBS course is going to have a new competency-based curriculum from August 1. The Medical Council of India (MCI) is training medical teachers for implementation of this curriculum.

The MCI Nodal Centre for Faculty Development in the Christian Medical College and Hospital is training allocated medical colleges by conducting a three-day programme “Curriculum Implementation Support Programme (CISP) from July 11-13.

Dr William Bhatti, Director, CMC, Ludhiana, inaugurated the programme and emphasised the shift in curriculum based on the changing needs of the professions and society. He added that the CMC had taken a lead in training the teachers of medical colleges.

Dr Jeyaraj D Pandian, Principal, CMC, welcome all participants, including senior teachers and administrators of the medical colleges.

Dr Dinesh Badyal, Convener of MCI Nodal Centre, informed that the present curriculum was implemented in 1997 and now after 22 years, the MBBS 2019 batch would have a new curriculum based on integrated teaching and early clinical exposure. Dr Badyal, who is also a member of the MCI expert group on implementation of new curriculum, added that all medical collages were being trained so that the implementation of the new curriculum happened smoothly and phase-wise. This training is mandatory for all teachers in medical colleges. The earlier batches will continue to have the conventional curriculum, and for the next four years, these two curricula will run parallel.

The CISP training has sessions on integrated teaching across various subjects, early clinical exposure starting from year one, skills acquisition and development of skills and simulation labs, electives in various specialised areas, changes in examination system and introduction of new methods in teaching, learning and assessment.

Each medical college is required to develop skills and simulation lab by the end of this year. Medical students graduating under the new curriculum will be known as Indian Medical Graduate (IMG). The IMG has five roles that include clinician, communicator, life-long learner, leader and professional. Each of these roles are to be achieved through various competencies which have been defined by MCI and are available on the MCI website.

One of the major additions is a one-month foundation course where students will learn about professionalism, language, computer, stress management, time management, national health policies, family medicine and relevance of proper documentation. This is targeted for overall development of the graduates.

Graduating students will be called IMG

Medical students graduating under the new curriculum will be known as Indian Medical Graduate (IMG). The IMG has five roles that include clinician, communicator, life-long learner, leader and professional. Each of these roles are to be achieved through various competencies which have been defined by MCI and are available on the MCI website.