Want to join as Visiting Faculty at Medical Colleges: Check out upcoming Guidelines
New Delhi: Continuing with the erstwhile the Medical Council of India's Board of Governors (MCI BoG) efforts to open the field of medical academia to doctors, the National Medical Commission (NMC) in its recently released draft on Teachers Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations 2021, mentioned a separate clause on visiting faculty.
These TEQ rules, while aiming at standardising recruitment of teachers in all medical institutions across the country, specify the number of patterns starting with who can be classified as a medical teacher, while also specifying a number of courses that doctors will now have to clear to be eligible for various faculty posts.
As per the guidelines, the doctors and medical experts can bring in their expertise to medical colleges by joining as visiting/honorary faculty.
Visiting/Honorary Faculty
Visiting/Honorary Faculty, over and above the minimum faculty prescribed in the relevant "Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations, 2020" and the "Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021", may be appointed by the Medical College/Medical Institutions for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in pre-clinical, para-clinical and clinical department(s).
Qualifications and Experience:
The Visiting/Honorary Faculty should possess the postgraduate degree as prescribed in the respective regulations referred to above for appointment in the concerned specialty and a minimum of eight years of work experience in the concerned specialty after obtaining the postgraduate degree. The maximum age limit up to which a person can be appointed as a Visiting/Honorary Faculty shall be 70 years.
Permissible Limit of Visiting/Honorary Faculty:
The strength of Visiting/Honorary Faculty in a Department for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching cannot be more than fifty percent of the faculty strength prescribed for the concerned specialty in the relevant "Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations, 2020" and the "Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021".
Selection:
The selection of Visiting/Honorary Faculty members shall be made by a Committee comprising: Dean/Director/Principal of the Medical College/Medical Institution, who shall be the chair of the Committee; the Head of Department of the concerned specialty; the Head of Department from any other Specialty; and at least one expert on the subject from a Medical College/Medical Institution outside the city, preferably from an institute of national importance. Visiting/Honorary Faculty could include such person(s) as those working in private health care, non-governmental organizations, retired personnel, etc. who are interested in teaching. Preference in appointment shall be given to those who have served as Faculty in Medical Colleges/Medical Institutions or in Medical Institutions affiliated with the National Board of Examination or in Foreign Medical Teaching Institutions.
Duration of appointment:
Visiting/Honorary Faculty shall be eligible for appointment for a period of one year at the first instance. The same can be extended by the Dean/Director/ Principal of the Medical College/Medical Institution for another year. However, after the expiry of a two-year term, the existing Visiting/Honorary Faculty may be considered for re-appointment for subsequent term of two years through a fresh selection process outlined above. The same process will be repeated for further re-appointment(s) of incumbent Visiting/Honorary Faculty after each term of two years. Student feedback will be taken into account in making recommendation for extension / re-appointment of the Visiting/Honorary Faculty. Medical College/Medical Institution may terminate the services of the Visiting/Honorary Faculty in the event of unsatisfactory work and/or misconduct.
Scope of work and feedback:
Visiting/Honorary Faculty will be assigned teaching responsibilities by the Medical College/Medical Institution concerned. Each Visiting/Honorary Faculty member should conduct at least four sessions in a month, such as theory, small group discussions, practical's, community-based sessions or clinical / bed-side teaching sessions, etc., with each session of not less than 3 hours' duration. The Visiting Faculty/Honorary shall not be involved in the routine administrative work of the Department and shall not replace the roles and responsibilities of the full-time faculty in the Department. Six monthly feedbacks on teaching by the Visiting/Honorary Faculty will be obtained by the Medical College/Medical Institution.
Honorarium:
The College may provide an honorarium to the Visiting/Honorary Faculty.
Others: The details of both Regular and Visiting/Honorary Faculty shall be displayed on the website of Medical College/Medical Institution. Further, the Visiting/Honorary Faculty shall not be counted for faculty requirement laid down in relevant "Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations, 2020" or the "Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021" for the minimum faculty strength required in the concerned Department.
The NMC has also comprehensively laid down the norms for faculty appointment and promotion. Read Here: Who can be Medical Faculty: NMC Draft on TEQ rules lay down different criteria for old, new PG, SS courses
