NMC CBME Curriculum: 'Suicide Risk Assessment' skill now mandatory for MBBS students, Psychiatrists Welcome Move

New Delhi: The MBBS students now will have to learn "Suicide Risk Assessment" as a certifiable skill as the National Medical Commission (NMC) has included the same in the Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) Curriculum 2024 guidelines.

As per the revised CBME 2024 guidelines, which were released recently, MBBS students are required to perform suicide risk assessment as it has been included in the Psychiatry syllabus. The teaching-learning method specified for learning this skill includes role play, bedside teaching etc.

The integration of this skill in undergraduate medical education has been welcomed by the Indian Teachers of Psychiatry (IToP) and academic wing of Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.

Commenting on the matter, the Chief co-ordinator of IToP Kishor M., who is a Professor and Head of the Psychiatry Department of JSS Medical College in Mysuru, informed The Hindu that the approval from the Apex Medical Commission makes it mandatory for all the MBBS students in more than 700 medical colleges across India to be trained in suicide risk assessment.

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As per the latest media report by The Hindu, the approval from the Commission comes days before the Lancet published a study on the economic burden of suicide deaths in the country. India accounts for the highest number of suicide deaths in the world with the national economic burden of suicde in India estimated to be $16.7 billion and Karnataka comes at the first position in this regard.

In this regard, Dr. Kishor highlighted that generations of doctors in the country had little or no skills in Psychiatry after completing their undergraduate courses. "Though part of medicine, psychiatry was paradoxically not part of the evaluation in any phase of MBBS till now," he added.

Further pointing out that in the CBME 2024 curriculum, NMC has made suicide risk assessment a certifiable skill and therefore it is now mandatory, he mentioned, "The Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) of NMC has made 40 hours of training and six weeks of clinical exposure in psychiatry an integral part of MBBS training."

According to the CBME 2024 guidelines, both the suicide risk assessment and diagnosis and management of depression at primary level have been made certifiable skills. Referring to this, Dr. Kishor added, "Now, training in psychiatry is not optional for medical students. Every doctor has to be trained in psychiatry to be certified as a licenced doctor."

The Daily has reported that in Mysuru, a mobile app was launched during COVID by a group of volunteers comprising psychiatric professionals and techies for self-assessment of mental health. This app showed encouraging results in Bangalore Medical College as well as JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research (JSSAHER).

This app called 'Self Assessment for Life' (SAFL) was used not only by the faculty of Bangalore Medical College to train its medical students, but also by JSS College of Nursing to train its faculties and students, Dr. Kishor informed, adding that the app can be used not only for self-assessment, but also to assess a friend or a family member. It has been designed in a way to ensure the confidentiality of the user.

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