Offer Equal opportunities of Examinership to recognised non-medical scientists: MCI tells its medical colleges

New Delhi: Through a recent advisory, the Medical Council of India Board of Governors has directed medical universities and colleges to ensure that equal opportunities for teaching and examinership are offered to recognized medical teachers with M.Sc./Ph.D qualification.

The advisory came as the council noted that many institutions are not offering examinership to these candidates

It has come to the attention of the Board of Governors in Supersession of Medical Council of India (BOG-MCI) that some universities/medical institutions are not offering examinership to recognized medical teachers with M.Sc./Ph.D qualification in pre-clinical subjects even though the BoG-MCI Regulations make no such distinction.

With this observation, Shri RK Vats, Secretary MCI asked medical colleges to ensure that equal opportunities are offered to all concered teachers following the MCI regulations

It is hereby brought to the notice of all concerned that in pre & para-clinical courses all eligible and recognized teachers (whether medical/non¬medical) should be offered equal opportunities for teaching and examinership in accordance with Regulations 13(3)—Appointment of examiner of Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 1997.

Regulation 13 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 1997 deal with the appointment of Examiners by the medical colleges. Regulation 13(3) states

Non medical scientists engaged in the teaching of medical students as whole time teachers, may be appointed examiners in their concerned subjects provided they possess requisite doctorate qualifications and five year teaching experience of medical students after obtaining their postgraduate qualifications. Provided further that the 50% of the examiners (Internal & External) are from the medical qualification stream  

The advisory recently released by the MCI, just comes a few days after the apex medical regulator pronounced its decision on whether Medical Mscs sign laboratory reports or not,whereby the council noted that persons possessing qualifications of M.Sc. in Medical Microbiology/Medical Biochemistry and Ph.D in relevant subjects such as Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology and Genetics etc., form qualified human resources in these fields who are equipped with the knowledge of performing the laboratory test in their respective branches, but at the same time are not having qualifications in modern medicine, are as such are not equipped with knowledge of interpreting the laboratory reports for clinical diagnosis. Therefore, the council decided that while such persons are not competent to offer a medical opinion, at the same time they are not prohibited from conducting relevant test and reporting the result of tests conducted by them.