NMC Releases Draft Minimum Standard of Requirements for PG Medical Courses, Invites Comments
New Delhi: Through a recent notice, the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) has released the Draft Minimum Standard of Requirements for Post-Graduate Courses- 2023.
Issuing a Public Notice, the PG Board of NMC mentioned, "The Post-graduate Medical Education Board is seeking public comments for draft Minimum Standard of Requirements for Post-Graduate Courses-2023 (MSR-23)."
Along with the notice, NMC also shared a copy of the Draft and invited comments regarding the same. "It is requested to share comments on the draft MSR at the following email id comments.pgmsr@nmc.org.in in MS Word (.docx) format or machine readable PDF Format within 10 days from the date of publication of this notice with a subject tagline "Comments on draft PG-MSR-2023," Rita Singh, the Under Secretary of PGMEB mentioned in the notice dated 06.09.2023.
In the Draft, which has now been released by NMC, the Commission mentioned, "In exercise of the powers conferred vide sub-section (1) (a), (c), (d) and (e) of Section 25 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) issues the following guidelines under Regulation 10 of the Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses and Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023 and Section 3.5 of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulation-2023. These Guidelines may be called the “Minimum Standard of Requirements for Post-graduate Courses-2023 (MSR-2023)”. These guidelines will come into force with immediate effect."
The Draft Minimum Standard of Requirements for Postgraduate Courses includes the General Guidelines, Infrastructure Requirements, quantification of the clinical material/investigation workload required for post-graduate courses in specialities.
It also includes the ratio of recognized post-graduate teacher to the number of students, details regarding required number of beds, faculties, and PG seats approved against those seats in different specialities such as General Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Otorhinolaryngology, Opthalmology, Dermatology Venerology & Leprosy, Anaesthesia, Radiology, Pathology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Forensic Medicine, Pharmacology, Anatomy, Physiology, Respiratory Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Radiation Oncology, Sports Medicine, Tropical Medicine, Geriatrics, Palliative Medicine, Family Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Details of other Broad Speciality where inpatient beds are not required, Super Speciality subjects where inpatient beds are required and super speciality subjects where inpatient beds are not required have also been included in the Draft MSR 2023.
General Guidelines
i. Medical institutions will fulfill the specific and unique requirements for individual specialities as per Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulation (PGMER) in vogue, TEQ-2022 in vogue, curriculum requirements of respective speciality as notified on website or informed through any other method by National Medial Commission (NMC) time to time, other relevant regulations, explanatory notes, circulars and advisories etc., issued from time to time will be followed.
ii. There shall be proportionate increase in the faculty, infrastructure and other staff in a subject of Radio-diagnosis, Anaesthesia, Pathology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry with the increase in the number of beds in the hospital. Also, there shall be proportionate increase in the faculty and infrastructure, if workload in the Department is more. The departments shall have adequate number of latest in-house equipments, as per curriculum requirement, operated and managed by the respective department for the training of post-graduate students. The departments shall have digital library and seminar hall with well- equipped high speed internet, Wi-Fi connected media room to have direct relay from in-house operation theaters and also to conduct or attend global scientific live programmes. All institutions imparting post-graduate education shall necessarily have a simulation laboratory for the training of post-graduate students.
iii. All post-graduate medical college/institution will have facilities for teaching the basic science subjects as per guidelines.
Infrastructure requirements
i. Hospital will have minimum 200 beds and will compulsorily have the following functional Departments: a) Biochemistry b) Pathology c) Microbiology d) Radio-Diagnosis
ii. 75 per cent of the hospital beds should be occupied throughout the year by patients requiring inpatient care.
iii. Minimum 15 per cent of the total beds in the Department imparting post-graduate training should be Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds/High Dependency Unit (HDU) beds exclusively of that Department.
iv. There shall be adequate space and sufficient number of examination cubicles available in the Out-Patient Department.
v. There shall be one teaching room for each teaching department with a capacity to accommodate adequate number of students for clinical case discussions/demonstrations. Each such room shall have audio-visual facilities.
vi. The institution shall have adequate in-house laboratory and imaging facilities for the training of post-graduate students, which should be fully run and governed by the respective department.
vii. Laboratories shall provide all the investigative facilities required and shall be regularly updated keeping in view the advancement of knowledge, science and technology and for research requirements.
viii. Imaging facilities shall be contemporary and in keeping with the latest technology available for diagnosis and interventions. The institution shall have in-house CT scan facilities and MRI facilities before starting any post-graduate course. These facilities shall be run and managed by the Radio-diagnosis department.
ix. There should be digital data of records of investigations done in various Departments/Laboratories.
x. There should be a Departmental Library with essential books and journals as per curriculum requirements.
The Draft mentioned that the clinical material/investigation workload required for post-graduate courses in broad specialities will be as per Annexure-I and as per the curriculum requirement. The Ratio of recognized post-graduate teacher to the number of students will be as per Annexure-II, clarified NMC. Further, the number of minimum and maximum beds in a Unit, faculty and senior resident requirements for number of post-graduate seats in different specialties will be as per Annexure-III in the Draft.
Quantification Of The Clinical Material/Investigation Workload Required For Post-Graduate Courses In Specialities:
Clinical material/ investigation workload required for post-graduate courses will be as per curriculum requirement in curriculum documents of each speciality as notified by NMC time to time on website, etc. Following are additional general /specific guidelines:
| Sl. No. | Parameter | Starting of Post-graduate Course [for annual intake of maximum 02 (two) postgraduate students] | Increase of each additional Postgraduate seat |
| 1. | Out-Patients Attendance (General Guidelines for All Departments where there is OutPatient clinics) | Average daily Out-Patients attendance should not be less than 50 in General Medicine; General Surgery; Paediatrics; Orthopaedics; Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Respiratory Medicine; Otorhinolaryngology; Ophthalmology; Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy; Psychiatry; Emergency Medicine; and Family Medicine. Average daily Out-Patients attendance in other clinical broad specialities and Super Specialities should be at least 25. | 20% increase. |
| 2. | Bed Occupancy (General Guidelines for All Departments where there is In Patients) | The average bed occupancy for the Department should be at least 75%. | Same as for starting of PG course. |
| 3. | Operative Workload (Guidelines for All Surgical Departments) | The Surgical post-graduate student should get Operation Theatre Training for at least two full days in a week. Second Year onwards, trainees will get training as First Assistant/Supervised performance two full days in a week. Accordingly, every faculty will preferably get two full days of Operation Table independently with or without supervision. Decision of Unit Chief will be followed. Every Unit will perform minimum three major and six minor surgeries on operation day of the Unit. | At least 20% increase. |
| 4. | Anaesthesia Workload (General Guidelines for | PG seat will be based on the workload, number of operations being performed in the institution daily and number of operation | Same as for starting of PG course. |
| Sl. No. | Parameter | Starting of Post-graduate Course [for annual intake of maximum 02 (two) postgraduate students] | Increase of each additional Postgraduate seat |
| Anaesthesia Department) | theatres fully working (2 seats per operation table working for full day for all the working days), if other criteria are fulfilled. The number of General Anaesthesia and Spine Anaesthesia taken together should corelate with the number of major surgeries. | ||
| 5. | Delivery including LSCS workload (Guidelines for all Departments) | 20 deliveries per week (for two seats). | At least 20% increase. |
| 6. | Radiological workload* (General Guidelines for all Departments) |
| At least 20% increase. |
| 7. | Histopathology Workload* (General Guidelines for Surgical and Pathological Departments) | Total number of Histopathology investigations should be at least 20% of major surgeries performed in all disciplines in the institute. | Proportionate increase with surgical load. |
| 8. | Cytopathology Workload* (General Guidelines for all Departments) | Total number of Cytopathology investigations should be at least 1% of the total daily OPD load of the hospital. | Proportionate increase with OPD load. |
| 9. | Haematology workload* (General Guidelines for all Departments) | Total Haematological investigations should be at least 15% of the total daily OPD load of the hospital. | Proportionate increase with OPD load. |
| 10. | Biochemistry Workload* (General Guidelines for all Departments) | Total Biochemical investigations should be at least 15% of the total daily OPD load of the hospital. | Proportionate increase with OPD load. |
| 11. | Microbiology Workload* (General Guidelines for All Departments) | Total Microbiological investigations should be at least 5% of the total daily OPD load of the hospital. | Proportionate increase with OPD load. |
Note:
* - For the purpose of counting the laboratory and diagnostic investigations, fractions of routine and standard laboratory tests should not be counted as a separate investigations.
RATIO OF RECOGNIZED POST-GRADUATE TEACHER TO THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS:
Clarifying the ratio of recognized Post-Graduate teacher to the number of students to be admitted, the Draft mentioned that in case of Government colleges and non-government colleges with 15 years of standing with running PG courses for 10 years, the ratio of Prof/ Associate prof as Unit Head/ Associate Prof to the number of students should be 1:3. This ratio shall be 1:2 in case of other non-Government colleges.
The ratio of associate professors to the number of students should be 1:2 in Government colleges and non-government colleges with 15 years of standing with running PG courses for 10 years. The Raio needs to be 1:1 in case of other Non-Government Medical Colleges.
The ratio of recognized Post-Graduate teacher to the number of students to be admitted for the post-graduate courses shall be as under:
| Government College + NonGovt. Colleges *** | Other Non GovernmentColleges | |
| Professor/ Associate Prof as Unit Head/ Associate Prof.* | 1:3 | 1:2 |
| Associate Professor | 1:2 | 1:1 |
| Asst. Professor** | - | - |
| Bed Requirement in a Unit (Minimum/Maximum) and Seats | As per Annexure-II | As per Annexure-II |
*** Non-governmental medical college/Medical Institution with 15 years of standing, should have been running the post-graduate course since 10 years and should have completed at least one renewal of recognition assessment in the concerned subject satisfactorily, and has applied for increase in seats.
* For Associate Professor - If an Associate Professor fulfils all the eligibility criteria for the post of Professor as laid down in the “Teachers Eligibility Qualifications in Medical Institutions, Regulations, 2022”, and fulfils all the requirement of post-graduate teacher as per Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, in vogue but has not been promoted to the higher post due to administrative non-availability of post or delay in filling up ofpost in the Govt. organization if he/she continue to work at the same government organization then such post-graduate teacher shall be allotted 3 (three) post¬graduate students”.
** For Assistant Professor - If an Assistant Professor fulfils all the requirements of post-graduate Teacher as per Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, in vogue, he shall be considered a post-graduate teacher and shall be allotted 1 (one) post-graduate student.
Counting of Beds:
ICU beds exclusively of the respective Department under its administrative control shall be included in bed strength of the Department.
(2) The number of students to be admitted in case of Post-Graduate degree (Super Speciality) courses
(i) The ratio of Post-graduate teacher to the number of students to be admitted for super specialities course shall be as under:
| Post-Graduate Teachers: Students - Ratio for Super Specialist Subjects* | ||
| Govt. Colleges | Non-Govt. Colleges | |
| Professor | 1:2 | 1:2 |
| Associate Prof. | 1:2 | 1:2 |
| Assistant Prof. | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Bed Requirement in a Unit (Minimum/Maximum) and Seats | As per Annexure-II | As per Annexure-II |
| Max. Seats per Unit | 4 (20 beds) 5 (30 or more beds) | 4 (20 beds) 5 (30 or more beds) |
* In Departments where units are not prescribed, the number of post-graduate students that can be admitted in a Department shall depend upon the number of Faculty available in the said Department. There is no upper limit prescribed, however number of seats shall be determined on the basis of available clinical material/ workload/facilities.
The ratio of post-graduate teacher to the number of students to be admitted for super specialities course shall be 1:2 for Professor/Associate Professor and 1:1 for remaining cadre in each unit per year subject to a maximum of 4 post-graduate seats for the course per unit of 20 beds per academic year and to a maximum of 5 post-graduate seats for the course per unit per academic year provided the complement of 10 teaching beds per seat is added to the prescribed bed strength of 20 for the unit.
TABLE SHOWING BEDS, FACULTY AND POST-GRADUATE SEATS IN DIFFERENT SPECIALITIES
| Name of the Department | Minimum No of Beds in a Unit | Maximum Number of Beds | Faculty Requirement | Senior Resident (SR) Requirement | No of Post-graduate Seats | Other Criteria |
| General Medicine | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| General Surgery | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Orthopaedics | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled | See A and B at Footnote |
| Paediatrics | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Obstetrics & Gynaecology | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Psychiatry | 6 | 15 | See Foot Note 3 and 4 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 6 beds | 1 PG seat / 3 beds, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Name of the Department | Minimum No of Beds in a Unit | Maximum Number of Beds | Faculty Requirement | Senior Resident (SR) Requirement | No of Post-graduate Seats | Other Criteria |
| Otorhinolaryngology | 12 | 30 | See Foot Note 5 and 6 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 12 beds | 1 PG seat / 6 beds, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Ophthalmology | 12 | 30 | See Foot Note 5 and 6 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above12 beds | 1 PG seat / 6 beds, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Dermatology Venerology and Leprosy | 6 | 15 | See Foot Note 3 and 4 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 6 beds | 1 PG seat / 3 beds, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Anaesthesia | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the workload, number of operation tables fully working( 2 seats per operation table) if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Radiology | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the investigative workload and number of clinical beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Pathology | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the investigative workload, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Microbiology | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the investigative workload, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Name of the Department | Minimum No of Beds in a Unit | Maximum Number of Beds | Faculty Requirement | Senior Resident (SR) Requirement | No of Post-graduate Seats | Other Criteria |
| Biochemistry | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the investigative workload, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Forensic Medicine | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the workload, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Pharmacology | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the workload, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Anatomy | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the workload, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Physiology | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the workload, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Respiratory Medicine | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Emergency Medicine | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | SR will be required as per curriculum requirements | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Name of the Department | Minimum No of Beds in a Unit | Maximum Number of Beds | Faculty Requirement | Senior Resident (SR) Requirement | No of Post-graduate Seats | Other Criteria |
| Radiation Oncology | 6 | 15 | See Foot Note 3 and 4 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 6 beds | 1 PG seat / 3 beds, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Sports Medicine | as per curriculum requirement | as per curriculum requirement | See Foot Note 3 and 4 | as per workload and curriculum requirement | as per workload and curriculum requirement. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Tropical Medicine | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Geriatrics | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Palliative Medicine | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Family Medicine | 16 | 40 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 16 beds | 1 PG seat / 8 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | 6 | 15 | See Foot Note 3 and 4 | One SR will be required in each unit, if the department is having above 6 beds | 1 PG seat / 3 beds, if other criteria are fulfilled. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Name of the Department | Minimum No of Beds in a Unit | Maximum Number of Beds | Faculty Requirement | Senior Resident (SR) Requirement | No of Post-graduate Seats | Other Criteria |
| Other Broad Specialty where inpatient beds are not required | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the workload and other requirements and factors. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Super Specialty subjects where inpatient beds are required | 16/as per curriculum requirement | 30 | See Foot Note 1 and 2 | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | 1 PG seat / 5 beds if other criteria are fulfilled. Maximum seats permitted per unit will be 5. | See A and B at Footnote |
| Super Specialty subjects where inpatient beds are not required | Not Required | Not Required | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | As per the workload and no. of PG seats | PG seat will be based on the workload and other requirements and factors. |
Footnote: 1.
If the beds are 30 or above, then minimum faculty will be 3 per Unit. The Unit will be headed by a Professor or Associate Professor and remaining faculty can be Associate Professor/Assistant Professor.
2. If the beds are less than 30, then minimum faculty requirement will be 2 faculty per Unit. The Unit will be headed by a Professor or Associate Professor and remaining faculty can be Associate Professor/Assistant Professor.
3. If the number of beds are more than 12, then the minimum faculty will be 3 per Unit. The Unit will be headed by a Professor or Associate Professor and remaining faculty can be Associate Professor/Assistant Professor.
4. If the beds are less than 12, then minimum faculty requirement will be 2 faculty per Unit. The Unit will be headed by a Professor or Associate Professor and remaining faculty can be Associate Professor/Assistant Professor.
5. If the number of beds are more than 24, then the minimum faculty will be 3 per Unit. The Unit will be headed by a Professor or Associate Professor and remaining faculty can be Associate Professor/Assistant Professor.
6. If the number of beds are less than 24, then the minimum faculty will be 2 faculty per Unit. The Unit will be headed by a Professor or Associate Professor and remaining faculty can be Associate Professor/Assistant Professor.
A: Curriculum Requirement
B: Faculty as per MCI Gazette Notification No.MCI-18(1)/2019-Med./100889 dated 04.04.2019.
To view the official Notice, Click here : https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/msr-218616.pdf
