Medical colleges will now have to submit details of the villages adopted under Family Adoption Program on NMC portal
National Medical Commission
New Delhi: The medical colleges, running MBBS courses, will now have to submit the details of the villages adopted under the Family Adoption Program on the National Medical Commission's (NMC) portal.
Confirmation regarding this was provided by the Apex medical education regulatory body in the recently held online meeting on 12.03.2024.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about NMC's consideration for introducing a new Family Adoption Programme as a part of the MBBS curriculum. The Apex medical regulator took this initiative aiming to make healthcare services accessible in rural areas in an equitable manner.
Earlier the possibility of including this programme under the supervision of the Community Medicine Department of every College had been mentioned in a recent paper penned down by the President of UG Medical Education Board of NMC, Dr Aruna V Vanikar and Dr Vijayendra Kumar, a member of the UGMEB.
Published in the Indian Journal of Preventive & Social Medicine, the paper titled "The Family Adoption Programme: Taking Indian medical undergraduate education to villages" provided a brief understanding of the availability of doctors in India when compared to the rural population.
Highlighting that 66.7% of the country's total population belonged to rural areas and the rural health system was plagued with inequitable access to healthcare, the paper written down by the President of the UGMEB, Dr Vanikar mentioned the possibility of introducing "Family Adoption Programme" in the MBBS curriculum.
Back in 2022, NMC introduced this long-speculated program in its new CBME curriculum for MBBS program and the details regarding this were published in the NMC circular dated March 31, 2022.
Last year, releasing the new CBME 2023 curriculum, NMC once again notified about the curriculum for the Family Adoption Programme
However, recently, after the publication of Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 in the official Gazette of India on June 02, 2023, the UG Medical Education Board of NMC has now released the guidelines for a new MBBS curriculum and along with it, it has also released the curriculum for the Family Adoption Programme, which became effective on August 01, 2023.
The Family Adoption Programme curriculum, included in the CBME 2023, includes the log book for Family Adoption, which shall include the name of the college, university, address details, name of the students, roll number, village name, Tehsil/District, State/Union Territory, name of the mentor, status of the mentor, name and address and experience of Asha worker, etc.
NMC mentioned in the document that the "Family Adoption Program" was being introduced with the aim of village outreach programme for the MBBS students. The Commission had mentioned that ideally every student shall adoption five(5) families. However, it is mandatory for every MBBS student to adopt a minimum of three(3) families.
The curriculum mentioned that every college may arrange one diagnostic medical camp in the village wherein identification of anaemia, malnutrition in children, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart diseases, kidney diseases or any other local problems may also be addressed.
It added that if required, the patients should be admitted to the hospital for acute illness under the care of the student and for this, charges may be waived off or concession may be provided or govt rates may be offered. In case of chronic illness, the curriculum advised to involve the students and also added that subsidized treatment charges may be provided under government schemes or welfare schemes.
NMC had further mentioned in the CBME 2023 curriculum that the each of the medical students may be allocated about 5 families and introduced in the first visit and camps may be arranged by Dean and Community Medicine/P.S.M. department with active involvement of Associate/ Asst. Professors, social worker and supporting staff. Local population may also be involved with village leaders. The curriculum also specified how the students may visit the families and added that annual follow up diagnostic camp can be continued by the PSM department.
Targets to be Achieved by Students:
First Professional Year:
a) Learning communication skills and inspire confidence amongst families
b) Understand the dynamics of rural set-up of that region
c) Screening programs and education about ongoing government sponsored health related programs
d) Learn to analyse the data collected from their families
e) Identify diseases/ ill-health/ malnutrition of allotted families and try to improve the standards
Second Professional Year:
a) lnspire active participation of community through families allotted
b) Continue active involvement to become the first doctor /reference point of the family by continued active interaction
c) Start compiling the outcome targets achieved
Third Professional Year:
Analysis of their involvement and impact on existing socio-politico-economic dynamics in addition to improvement in health conditions
-Final visit to have last round of active interaction with families
-prepare a report to be submitted to department addressing:
1) Improvement in general health
2) Immunization
3) Sanitation
4) De-addiction
5) Whether healthy lifestyles like reading good books, sports, yoga activities have been included in the house-holds
6) Improvement in anemia, tuberculosis control
7) Sanitation awareness
8) Any other issues
9) Role of the student in supporting family during illness, medical emergency
10) Social responsibility in the form of environment protection programme in form of plantation drive (medicinal plants/trees), cleanliness and sanitation drives with the initiative of the medical student.
Log Book:
Apart from this, the curriculum also included a log book for Family Adoption including details regarding the college name, name of university, address details, name of the student, roll number, village name, Tehsil/district, State/UT, name of Mentor, status of Mentor (Asst Prof/ SR), name and address of Asha worker, experience.
The logbook shall also contain name of the adopted family and address, approximate size of living space of household, malaria/flu etc pertinent to the region and other details.
Curriculum for Family Adoption Programme
Professional Year | Competency (The Student Should be Able to) | Objectives | Suggested Teaching Learning methods | Suggested Assessment Methods | Teaching Hours |
1st Professional | Collect demographic profile of allotted families, take history and conduct clinical examination of all family members | By the end of this visit, students should be able to compile the basic demographic profile of allocated family members
| Family survey, Community Clinics
| Community case presentation, OSPE logbook, journal of visit
| 6 hrs
|
| Organize health check-up and coordinate treatment of adopted family under overall guidance of mentor
| By the end of this visit, students should be able to report the basic health profile and treatment history of allocated family members
| Community Clinics, Multispeciality camps
| Community case presentation, OSPE logbook, journal of visit
| 9 hrs
|
| Maintain communication & follow up of remedial measures
| By the end of this visit, students should be able to provide details of communication maintained with family members for follow-up of treatment and suggested remedial measures | Reporting of follow up visits, PRA technique (transact walk, group discussion) Community Clinics
| Community case presentation, OSPE logbook based certification of competency, journal of visit
| 6 hrs
|
| Take part in environment protection and sustenance activities | By the end of this visit, students should be able to report the activities undertaken for environment protection and sustenance like study of environment of families, tree plantation activities conducted in the village. | Participation in and Process documentation of activities (NSS activities) along with reporting of photographic evidences | logbook based certification of competency, journal of visit | 6 hrs (Total 27 hrs, 9 visits) |
2nd Professional | Take history and conduct clinical examination of all family members | By the end of this visit, students should be able to compile the updated medical history of family members and report their vitals and anthropometry | Family survey, Community clinics | Community case presentation, OSPE, logbook, journal of visit | 6 hrs |
| Organize health check-up and coordinate treatment of adopted family under overall guidance of mentor | By the end of this visit, students should be able to report the details of clinical examination like Hb, blood group, urine routine and blood sugar along with treatment history of allocated family members | Community clinics, Multispecialty camps | Community case presentation, OSPE, logbook, journal of visit | 9 hrs |
| Maintain communication & follow up of remedial measures | By the end of this visit, students should be able to provide details of communication maintained with family members for follow-up of treatment, and suggested remedial measures, along with details of vaccination drive | Reporting of follow up visits, PRA techniques (transact walk, group discussion) Community Clinics | Community case presentation, OSPE logbook based certification of competency, journal of visit | 9 hrs |
| Take part in environment protection and sustenance activities | By the end of this visit, students should be able to report the activities undertaken for environment protection and sustenance like study of environment of families, tree plantation, herbal plantation activities conducted in the village | Participation in and Process documentation of activities (NSS activities) along with reporting of photographic evidences | logbook based certification of competency, journal of visit | 6 hrs (total 30 hrs, 10 visits) |
3rd Professional | Take history and conduct clinical examination of all family members | By the end of this visit, students should be able to update the medical history of family members and their vitals and anthropometry | Family survey, Community clinics | Community case presentation, OSPE logbook, journal of visit | 3 hrs |
| Organize health check-up and coordinate treatment of adopted family under overall guidance of mentor | By the end of this visit, students should be able to report the details of clinical examination like Hb, blood group, urine routine and blood sugar along with treatment history of allocated family members | Community clinics, Multispecialty camps | Community case presentation, OSPE logbook, journal of visit | 3 hrs |
| Maintain communication & follow up of remedial measures | By the end of this visit, students should be able to provide details of communication maintained with family members for follow-up of treatment, and suggested remedial measures along with details of vaccination drive | Reporting of follow up visits, PRA techniques (transact walk, group discussion) Community clinics | Community case presentation, OSPE logbook based certification of competency), journal of visit | 3 hrs |
| Take part in environment protection and sustenance activities
Council of the family members of allotted families and analyze the health trajectory of adopted family under overall guidance of mentor | By the end of this visit, students should be able to report the activities undertaken for environment protection and sustenance like study of environment of families, tree plantation, herbal plantation activities conducted in the village. By the end of this visit, students should be able to analyze and report the health trajectory of adopted family along with remedial measures adopted at individual family and community level | Participation in and Process documentation of activities (NSS activities) along with reporting of photographic evidences, Small group discussion (report of the health trajectory of adopted family) | logbook based certification of competency, journal of visit | 3 hrs (Total 21 hrs, 7 visits) |
