Sparking concerns about the quality of medical institutions in India, Indian Medical Association President Dr Sharad Kumar Agarwal said that more than 700 medical colleges are admitting 1.10 lakh students, however, around 50% of them lack sufficient faculty. Dr Sharad Kumar was speaking on the issues of Indian medical education system at the 13th ThinkEdu Conclave, presented by SASTRA University, in Chennai on Thursday. The comments of the medical experts during the conclave have nudged the public attention to the need to make reform

While speaking on the second day of the conclave, Dr S Sacchidanand, former vice-chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) noted the current gaps between the medical curriculum and societal needs. “There exists a disparity between the curriculum taught in medical colleges and the pressing societal needs. It is imperative to customise our curriculum to address the current challenges faced by the public. Issues such as malnutrition, anaemia in women, leprosy, and tuberculosis persist and demand focused attention in our educational approach,” Dr Sacchidanand said.

The discussion was titled “The Right Prescription: Revamping Medical Education” and included panellists such as Dr S Sacchidanand, Dr Sharad Kumar Agarwal and the Director of SASTRA University Dr Sudha Seshayyan.

In his talk, Dr Seshayyan further underscored the access constraints of the quality of health care facilities in rural areas. He also emphasized the need to have a value-based curriculum to encourage the graduates to work in rural areas. Dr Seshayyan said: “Managing patients individually in a rural setting differs significantly from supervising cases in a well-established setup. These are the aspects where medical education in India requires enhancement. We must inspire students to engage in rural practice, and there needs to be an inclusion of value-based education within the curriculum to facilitate this.”

Dr Sacchidanand talked about the importance of skill-based training and the need to cultivate the right attitude to dealing with patients. “In the past, medical education prioritised knowledge, followed by skills and attitude. However, I propose a reversal of this approach. We should now focus primarily on cultivating the right attitude. This way, we train our students not only in what they know but also in how they interact with patients. Moreover, we aim to produce doctors who are doers, emphasising the importance of training students in skill development,” he said.

Dr Agarwal also addressed the issue of the lack of faculty in medical colleges. “The biggest problem with medical education is that 50 per cent of medical colleges do not have sufficient faculty. We are very happy that we have 700+ medical colleges producing more than 1.10 lakh students, but do these colleges follow any standard operating procedures, do they check all the necessary landmarks?”