MBBS: NMC to define non-negotiable competencies for safe medical practice
National Medical Commission (NMC)
New Delhi: The disability guidelines for admission to MBBS courses are currently under review by the National Medical Commission (NMC) after the Supreme Court issued directions in this regard.
Complying with the Apex Court's directions specifying that the guidelines required to be reviewed to assess what such disabled candidates can do rather than what they cannot, NMC is now shifting the emphasis of the guidelines to assess whether such individuals can perform the required competencies rather than the percentage of their disabilities, TOI has reported.
Accordingly, the NMC panel, which is framing the new guidelines, has decided to rename the Disability Assessment Boards as Ability Assessment Boards.
Also Read: NMC Guidelines for PwD MBBS Aspirants to be Released by April: Report
As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the panel, which is framing the new guidelines, submitted before the Supreme Court that it would be attempting "to define which medical competencies are essential and non-negotiable for safe medical practice".
Medical Dialogues has earlier reported that last year the Supreme Court, in an order dated 25.10.2024 had stressed the importance of creating an inclusive atmosphere for persons with disabilities seeking to pursue medical education, noting it to be a "vital component of quality healthcare".
Highlighting that Disability Assessment Boards must comply with the rule of law principles by injecting transparency, fairness and consistency in their approach, the Apex Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India D.Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to issue fresh guidelines for admitting persons with disabilities into medical courses.
Back then, the top court bench had directed that the Disability Assessment Boards would eschew from a benchmark model to test the functional competence of medical aspirants with disability.
"The quantification of disability is a task in need of a purpose within the human rights based model of disability. The functional competency approach to assessment for a medical course is globally recognised. To enable members of the Assessment Boards in effectively applying the functional competency test, they must be adequately trained by professionals and persons with disabilities or persons who have worked on disability justice. These trainings must be with a view to enhance the understanding of the Board members in assessing persons with disabilities and must not pathologize or problematize them," the bench had ordered.
Besides, the Delhi High Court had also previously directed the NMC to revise its guidelines in 6 months for the admission of disabled students in light of RPDA 2016 and new scientific and technological advances.
Complying with the Apex Court's directions, last month, NMC constituted a seven-member committee to review the disability guidelines published on May 14, 2015, by the erstwhile Medical Council of India.
Three members of the new committee were part of the committee that had earlier framed the 2019 guidelines. Two of them are from AIIMS Delhi- Dr. Sanjay Wadhwa (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) and Dr Rajesh Sagar (Psychiatry). Both of them have been members of all four committees so far that have worked on framing the disability guidelines.
Another member of the Committee is Dr. Achal Gulati (ENT), who is from Maulana Azad Medical College. Dr. Gulati is heading the latest committee and was in three of these four committees. The three committees constituted earlier were dominated by doctors from AIIMS Delhi. However, in the new committee, comprising of seven members, only three are from AIIMS.
Commenting on this, Dr. Satendra Singh, a disability rights activist and faculty in University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi asked, "AIIMS doesn't come under the NMC and so it is yet to revise its curriculum to align with the Competency-Based Medical Education curriculum of the NMC which was revised and issued in Sept last year. When AIIMS doesn't even follow a competency-based framework, how can it frame competency-based guidelines for NMC institutions? The same people have been inducted into the committee when the guidelines they framed have been repeatedly challenged and found problematic. They will be reviewing their own guidelines. Aren't there any experts in the whole country barring AIIMS?"
Also Read: Issue Fresh Guidelines for Admitting PwD Candidates to MBBS Course: SC Directs NMC
