NMC Releases Draft TEQ Regulations 2024, Check details

NMC has mentioned in the regulations that compliance with the following norms is required before making an appointment to a teaching post in a medical college or medical institute:

(1) qualifications required to become a faculty in medical institutes shall be as per the norms mentioned by NMC in the TEQ Regulations 2024, when it becomes operational.

Since the inception of MCI, there have been changes in the nomenclature (name of qualification) of various specialties. The faculty possessing those recognized qualifications shall also be considered eligible to become faculty, NMC mentioned.

(2) As per the regulations, the maximum age limits up to which a person can be appointed or granted extension or re-employed in service against the posts of teacher or Medical Superintendent or Dean or Principal of Director in medical colleges imparting Graduate and PG Medical Education shall be 70 years.

(3) The Draft mentioned that the position of Dean/Director/Principal of Medical College/Institution should be held by a person possessing recognized Postgraduate Medical Degree from a recognized Institution with a minimum of ten years teaching experience as Professor/Associate Professor in a Medical College/Institute, out of which at least 5 years should be as Professor in the Department.

It also mentioned that the appointments to these posts shall be made on seniority-cum-merit basis and that the Dean/Director/Principal of a Medical College/Medical Institute shall not hold the post of HoD. However, he can become head of a Unit

(4) As per the Draft, the Medical Superintendent of the affiliated teaching hospital shall possess a recognized Postgraduate Medical Degree from a recognized Institution with a minimum of ten years teaching experience as Professor/Associate Professor in the relevant departments of the Hospital, out of which at least five years should be as Professor.

Appointments to these posts shall be made on seniority-cum-merit basis, mentioned the Draft, further adding that the Medical Superintendent shall not occupy the position of the Head of the Department. However, he can become the head of a Unit.

(5) Similarly, for the post of Dean/Director/Principal of Standalone Postgraduate Broad Specialty/Super Specialty Institute, the Draft mentioned that these posts shall be held by a person possessing recognized Postgraduate Degree from a recognized Postgraduate Degree from a recognized Institution with minimum of ten years teaching experience as Professor/Associate Professor out of which, at least five years should be as Professor.

In this regard also, the Draft specified that the Dean/Director/Principal of Medical College/Institute shall not hold the post of Head of the Department. However, he can become head of the Unit.

(6) Determination of equivalence of the qualification of DNB (Broad Specialties) with MD/MS and DNB/DrNB (Super Specialties) with D.M./M/Ch. The Diplomate of National Board in broad specialty and super specialty qualifications when granted after training in a Medical Institution with attached Hospital or in a hospital with the strength of five hundred or more beds, by the National Board of Examinations, shall be equivalent in all respects to the corresponding broad specialty (MD/MS) and super specialty (DM/M.Ch) Postgraduate qualification, but in all other cases, senior residency in a Medical College for an additional period of one year shall be required for such qualification to be equivalent for the purposes of teaching.

(7) Rules for appointing Senior Residents:

(a) As per the rules, a Senior Resident is one who is doing his residency in the concerned department after obtaining Postgraduate Medical Degree (MD/MS/DNB) or after MSc and PhD in subjects, which NMC mentioned that the non-Medical teachers were allowed to teach.

(b) The rules specify that one must be below 45 years of age at the time of initial appointment as Senior Resident. However, for Anatomy, Physiology, Bio chemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, Forensic Medicine and Community Medicine, one must be below 50 years of age at the time of initial appointment.

(c) The Draft mentioned that such post of Senior Resident is a tenure position and duration of this shall not exceed 3 years.

(d) It also clarified that the requirement of one-year Senior Resident experience is relaxed for promotion to the post of associate professor for those who are appointed directly as Assistant Professor in Government Medical College/Institute before the publication of these regulations. In such case, one has to work for one more year extra to become eligible for promotion to the post of Associate Professor.

(e) Person doing post-graduation in super-speciality are also called Senior Resident, clarified the Draft TEQ Regulations.

(f) The posts of tenured Senior Residents are not faculty positions, it clarified.

(8) Rules to appoint Tutor/Demonstrator:

The Draft regulations mentioned that the minimum qualification required to be Tutors shall be MBBS and Minimum qualification to become Demonstrators shall be MSc (relevant Medical) and PhD (relevant Medical qualifications), granted by the recognized/accredited Medical College/Institute as regular on campus course in the subject concerned.

(9) Those super specialty faculty working in a Medical College in a broad specialty department will be considered eligible to be faculty of equivalent cadre of Super Speciality department of his/her speciality.

(10) List of Broad Specialities in which non-Medical Qualifications will be eligible for appointment as Senior Resident and Faculty (Assistant Professor and beyond) during transitional period:

As per the Draft regulations, Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology- these are the specialities that the non-Medical teachers can teach. However, to be eligible to teach these specialities in medical colleges, the non-Medical teachers must have and MSc and a PhD degree in that particular specialty.

(11) Rules during the Transition Period:

NMC has mentioned that in a specialty (subject) if enough faculty having qualification of that specialty are not available, one with related qualification and training/experience is made eligible to become faculty of that specialty for limited period till adequate number of faculty with qualification of such specialty are available.

NMC said that this limited period is called transition period and conditions required to be fulfilled for this will be called as transition period criteria.

The Draft also mentioned details about the transition period criteria, duration of transition period etc.

(12) Relaxation in norms for non-teaching Consultant/Specialist/Medical Officer working in Government hospitals:

The Draft said that a non-teaching Consultant/Specialist/Medical Officer, possessing Postgraduate Medical Degree, working for at least four years in a minimum 220 bedded teaching/non-teaching Govermment Hospital shall be eligible to become an Assistant Professor of that broad specialty.

It added that they should have completed the Basic Course in Biomedical Research (BCBR) prior to become eligible for such post. The subsequent promotions to higher teaching designations will be as per the criteria mentioned in Table format in the draft. They will have to complete the Basic Course in Medical Education Technology (BCMET) Course within three years of such appointment if it is required for the speciality.

A non-teaching Consultant/Specialist/Medical Officer, possessing Postgraduate Medical Degree, working for at least ten years in the concerned specialty in a minimum 220 bedded teaching/non-teaching Government Hospital shall be eligible to become Associate Professor of that broad specialty. He/She should have to completed the Basic Course in Biomedical Research (BCBR) Course prior to become eligible for such post. The subsequent promotions to higher teaching designations will be as per criteria mentioned in the Table format in the draft. They will have to complete the Basic Course in Medical Education Technology (BCMET) Course within three years of such appointment if it required for the speciality.

(13) Relaxation in norms for diploma holders working as Senior Residents in a Medical College or as a specialist/medical officer in a Government Medical College

Diploma holders appointed as Senior Residents before 08.06.2017 and are continuously working as Senior Resident in the same Institute shall be eligible for the post of Assistant Professor.

Subsequent promotion will be as per the data mentioned by NMC in Table former in the Draft. Further, NMC mentioned that Diploma holders working as Specialist/Medical Officers in a Government Medical College for six years shall be eligible for the post of Assistant Professor. Subsequent promotions will be as per the rules specified by NMC in the Table format.

(14) As per the Draft Regulations, a senior consultant, recognized as PG Teacher as per NBEMS criteria and is working /has worked as PG teacher in a Government Medical Institution running NBEMS recognized PG training programme will be eligible to become Professor in a NMC recognized Medical College of his/her specialty in which he/she was a PG teacher, if he/she is in possession of qualification of that speciality (M.D., M.S., DNB, or D.M., M.Ch., or DrNB as applicable) on completion of three years of experience as PG teacher. Total number of years of experience as PG teacher after becoming eligible as Professor will be considered as experience as Professor.

(15) Research Publications norms:

The Draft TEQ 2024 regulations mentioned that only original papers, Metanalysis, Systematic Reviews, and Case series that are published in journals indexed in Medline, PubMed, Central Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index, Expanded Embase, Scopus, Directory of Open Access Journals (DoAJ) will be considered.

(16) Teaching experience of any faculty working in a post of a University/NMC/State Medical Council/Medical Education Department of the Government have the disadvantage of losing the teaching experience. To compensate this, a total five years of such administrative posting will be counted as teaching experience during the total period of his/her services.

(17) Faculty working in Super-specialty department and faculty working in broad specialty subject not required for UG training will not require to undergo BCMET course.

♦ Eligibility for being designated as Postgraduate Guide

Broad Specialties:

The draft rules mentioned that a faculty in a medical college or institute having a total of 5 years of teaching experience in the respective specialty as Assistant Professor and above shall be recognized as Post Graduate Guide in that specialty, provided the department has been permitted for conducting Postgraduate course in that subject.

Super Specialties:

A faculty in a Medical College or Institution having a total of 3 years of teaching experience in the respective speciality as Assistant Professor and above, shall be recognized as Post Graduate Guide in that Super Specialty subject, provided the department has been permitted for conducting Super Specialty courses in that subject.

♦ Norms for Determination of Teaching Designations for Consultants/Specialists in Medical Institutions of Defense Services:

i. Professor: Specialist Medical Officer of the Armed Forces having minimum 8 years teaching experience after obtaining the requisite recognized Postgraduate qualification in the subject, in which at least three years as Associate Professor in a teaching hospital of the Armed Forces, with two Research publications per the rules mentioned in the Draft, can be considered eligible for appointment as Professor in the concerned subject.

ii. Associate Professor: Specialist Medical Officer of the Armed Forces having minimum five years teaching experience after obtaining the requisite recognized Postgraduate qualification in the subject, of which at least four years teaching experience as Assistant Professor in a teaching hospital of the Armed Forces, with two Research publication as per the norms specified in the Draft, can be considered eligible for appointment as Associate Professor in the concerned subject.

iii. Assistant Professor: Specialist Medical Officers of the Armed Forces having minimum one year teaching experience after possessing requisite recognized Post Graduate qualification in the subject, can be considered eligible for appointment as Assistant Professor in the concerned subject.

♦ Visiting Faculty: The Draft mentioned that with a view to enhance the comprehensiveness and quality of teaching of Postgraduate students in all the departments, Medical Colleges/Institutions may appoint additional Faculty Members as Visiting Faculty on part time basis.

♦ List of teaching specialties:

The draft mentioned that the list of recognized Post-Graduate teaching specialties shall be as per Annexure-I, Annexure-II, Annexure-III, Annexure-IV, Anncxure-V and Annexure-VI of the PGMER-2023. Any addition or deletion of a specialty will reflect in the corresponding table of this regulation, mentioned the draft.

♦ Norms regarding Foreign Postgraduate Qualifications for Equivalence to become faculty:

As per the Draft TEQ 2024, a person who has acquired MBBS qualification in India and recognized qualification eligible for registration in India from any of the five English speaking countries (United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) shall be considered for teaching job in a Medical College in India as Senior Resident/Assistant Professor in the respective specialty and subsequent promotions as per "Teachers Eligibility Qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations -2024", if he fulfills the criteria mentioned below.

He/she may be exempted from requirement of mandatory one-year experience of Senior Residency based on his/her teaching experience.

i. He should have done his complete duration of training in those countries and be registered there to practice in that specialty.

ii. Country specific requirements:

United Kingdom: He should have completed Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST) or equivalent training with final FRCS/MPCP/FRCP degree and registered in that country to practice in that specialty.

United States of America and Canada: He should have an MD qualification with Residency Training Certificate in the relevant specialty in USA. For Super Specialties, successful completion of Residency Training Programme along with completion of accredited Fellowship programme in the relevant super Specialty is essential.

Australia and New Zealand: He should have completed supervised training programme culminating in the Fellowship of the respective Specialty (FRACS/FRACP). For super specialties, minimum two years of supervised sub specialty fellowship program in the respective Sub Specialty is essential.

Apart from these, the Draft also includes the norms for Faculty Appointment and Promotion, Norms for Faculty Appointment and Promotion in Broad Spccialtics (M.DJM.S.) during the transition period, Norms for faculty Appointment and Promotion in Super Specialties (D.M./M.Ch.), Norms for Faculty Appointment and Promotion in Super Specialties (D.M/M.Ch.) during the transition period, speciality-wise requirement of academic qualification, list of surgical broad specialities with academic qualifications, medical super specialities with Academic qualifications, list of surgical super speciality with academic qualifications, appeal, saving clause, provision to amend the TEQ Regulations 2024, repeal etc.