New NMC Move: Non-Teaching Doctors from Govt institutes now eligible for Faculty roles
Faculty Shortage
New Delhi: Non-teaching consultants and specialists working in government hospitals are going to be allowed to work as faculty in medical colleges, the chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC), Dr BN Gangadhar, has confirmed.
NMC took this decision to increase the faculty pool in the medical colleges, and the specialist doctors who will be roped in to work as faculties include the specialists serving in defence and railway medical facilities as well.
Confirming this, the NMC Chairman, Dr. Gangadhar, told The Hindu that non-teaching consultants, specialists, and medical officers with postgraduate medical degrees, and with two years of experience in a district headquarters government hospital or a 220-bed government hospital, would be eligible to become an Assistant Professor of that broad speciality.
Dr. Gangadhar further added that if they had 10 years of similar experience, they would be eligible to become an Associate Professor of that broad speciality.
Earlier, releasing the Draft Teachers Eligibility Qualifications (TEQ) 2024, the National Medical Commission had proposed allowing non-teaching doctors to become Assistant and associate professors if they had working experience in a 220-bedded teaching/non-teaching government hospital. Previously, under the existing TEQ 2022 Regulations, it was required that the non-teaching doctors had working experience at a 330-bed non-teaching hospital.
However, previously, the non-teaching doctors were only required to have only two years of work experience at the non-teaching/teaching hospital, the duration of the tenure was increased to 4 years in Draft TEQ 2024.
Specifying the norms for non-teaching Consultant/Specialist/Medical Officer working in Government Hospitals, NMC in Clause 3.12 of the Draft TEQ 2024 mentioned, "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. 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 criteria mentioned in Table IA and 1B of this regulation. 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 specialty."
"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 completed the Basic Course in Biomedical Rescarch (BCBR) Course prior to become eligible for such post. The subsequent promotions to higher teaching designations will be as per criteria mentioned in Table lA and lB of this regulation. They will have to complete the Basic Course in Medical Education Technology (BCMET) Course within thrce ycars of such appointment if it is required for the specialty," it added.
While the Draft TEQ 2024 has not been finalised yet, a recent media report suggested that aiming to tackle the shortage of faculties in medical colleges, NMC was planning to fill up the vacant faculty positions with retired doctors from the army and the railways.
The Commission is reportedly considering filling at least 700 such vacant positions across government institutes. These teaching faculties- retired doctors from the armed forces, railways, and Employees' State Insurance Corporation, will teach specialised curriculum in the post-graduate courses.
