In a bid to upgrade proper medical skills among young doctors studying post graduate (PG) course like MD and MS, respectively, Medical Council of India (MCI) has directed teaching hospitals across the country to arrange orientation programme so that the PG students can get maximum exposure to broad and super specialist streams in different streams~ general medicine, gynaecology, ophthalmology, cardiology, neurology, urology, nephrology etc.

An advisory issued by the MCI on 13 February has directed the principals of all medical colleges saying, “Post Graduate Medical Education Training is based on the principle of affording as much exposure as possible to all the related specialities/streams that form a part of their parent speciality discipline.”

“Students undergoing PG training in broad specialities, therefore, must be exposed to related super specialities and or even other broad specialities,” Dr R K Vats, secretary general of MCI, has stated in the advisory. “Hence, it is imperative, for example, that the MS surgery students should rotate through Paediatric surgery, Neurosurgery, urology etc, the students of MD (Medicine) should rotate through Cardiology, Neurology, Endocrinology etc and likewise, the students of MD (Paediatrics) should rotate through Neo-Natalogy etc. The same principle applies to all the other broad specialities,” Dr Vats stated clarifying the advisory.

“Hence, the medical colleges/ institutions are hereby directed that PG medical students in all broad specialities must be rotated through all related super specialities as well as the related broad speciality subjects, if they exist in respective institution,” he said. The concerned medical colleges which do not have the necessary broad and super specialist departments could arrange the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with other nearby teaching hospitals equipped with such speciality disciplines so that the PG students can undergo as much exposure as possible to upgrade their medical skills, according to the advisory.

A principal of a government medical college in the city felt the usefulness of the MCI advisory. “This kind of exposure for maximum medical training for doctors doing MD and MS courses will develop their skills. For instance, a PG student in general surgery should also learn about surgical skills in neuro-surgery, uro-surgery or paediatric surgery,” he said requesting anonymity. “A PG candidate in medicine should also learn about the development in cardiac medicine otherwise he or she would face difficulty if any cardiac seeks medical advice in crisis,” he felt.