Consultants, Specialists Can Now become Medical Faculty: MCI Gazette Notification

New Delhi: Suffering from the acute shortage of senior faculties required for setting up of Medical Colleges in the country, the Medical Council of India has now come out with a unique solution to enable the conversion of 300 + bedded government hospitals to be turned into medical colleges.

Through a recent gazette notification, the Medical Council of India with the previous sanction of the Central Government has made amendments the “Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998”, thereby providing a unique opportunity to senior Post Graduate consultants/specialists in various fields to be eligible/equated for faculty posts at setting up of medical college at the respective hospitals

The apex medical body has specified that this opportunity to equating a Consultant or Specialist to corresponding faculty positions will be limited to a specialist/consultant working at a minimum 300 bedded non-teaching District Hospitals owned and managed by State Govt/Central Govt, which are going to be converted into medical colleges and shall be based on the number of work experience and research publications as specified.

Professor 

In the “Minimum Qualification for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998” in Table I under the heading “REQUIREMENTS OF ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION AND TEACHING /RESEARCH EXPERIENCE” in the column of ‘Teaching and Research Experience’ against the “Professor”, for all the specialties, the following shall be added:

“The requisite experience for equating a Consultant or Specialist (after possessing postgraduate medical degree in the subject) working in the concerned specialty in a minimum 300 bedded non teaching District Hospitals owned and managed by State Govt/Central Govt. as Professor shall be more than 18 years with four Research  publication in indexed journal as Ist Author or corresponding author. Such Consultant or Specialist after joining a medical college shall be called “Designate Professor” and on completion of three years experience in the capacity of Designate Professor, such person shall be designated as “Professor”.”

Associate Professor

(ii) In the “Minimum Qualification for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998” in table I under the heading “REQUIREMENTS OF ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION AND TEACHING /RESEARCH EXPERIENCE” in the column of ‘Teaching and Research Experience’ against the “Associate Professor”, for all the specialties, the following shall be added:

“The requisite experience for equating a Consultant or Specialist (after possessing postgraduate medical degree in the subject) working in the concerned specialty in a minimum 300 bedded non teaching District Hospitals owned and managed by State Govt/Central Govt. as Associate Professor shall be more than 10 years with two Research publication in indexed journal as Ist Author or corresponding author. Such Consultant or Specialist after joining a medical college shall be designated as “Associate Professor”

Through a special note in the gazette notification, the council has clearly indicated that the above said notification shall be applicable, if in future if any 300 bedded non-teaching District Hospitals owned and managed by State Govt/Central Govt. is converted into a medical college/institute for imparting undergraduate medical education.

This would be only a one time provision for non-teaching District Hospitals owned and managed by State Govt/Central Govt. during the establishment of their medical college, subsequently, the appointment of any faculty would be as per the “Minimum Qualification for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998

The council has specified that post this conversion, a candidate with postgraduate medical degree i.e. MD/MS/DNB should be recruited as Sr. Resident and not as Consultant or Specialist and thereafter, the appointment of Assistant Professor/Associate Professor/Professor in such medical college shall be made as per the standard norms.

The move is expected to enable a smooth conversion of many 300+ bedded district government hospitals across various parts of the country, which are not being able to be converted into medical colleges, primarily due to shortage of faculties, particularly senior faculties in clinical subjects