Rotational HoDs, Bonded doctors deployment: PGIMS Rohtak calls for medical education reforms
Chandigarh: Citing the need for urgent measures to improve the system, Professor and Medical Superintendent at PGIMS, Rohtak, has suggested a series of reforms in medical education and healthcare administration to the Centre and state governments.
In his suggestions, Dr Kundan Mittal said several existing programmes and policies could be made more effective through better implementation and monitoring.
Among them is the compulsory service bond implemented by several states, which should be utilised more effectively. He said that instead of arbitrary postings, bonded doctors should primarily be deployed at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), where the shortage of medical professionals is the highest.
This would strengthen primary healthcare and also help governments make better use of the available medical workforce without adding unnecessary financial pressure.
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Dr Mittal also called for changes in the way departments in government medical colleges are headed. He suggested making the Head of Department (HOD) post rotational, similar to the system used by some private medical institutions.
He said government medical colleges should be given the autonomy to adopt this system, which would encourage wider participation, reduce departmental conflicts and help develop future academic leaders.
The District Residency Programme (DRP) should also be redesigned to give greater attention to PHCs and CHCs, Mittal suggested, as reported by The Tribune.
The professor called for better monitoring and accountability under the programme, stating that as some residents allegedly do not stay at their assigned headquarters. This, he said, defeats the purpose of deploying residents to district-level healthcare facilities.
Therefore, he recommended biometric attendance for every teaching session, with attendance data shared daily with the National Medical Commission. He said strict attendance monitoring would improve classroom participation and learning outcomes.
The doctor also suggested considering psychological assessment during medical admissions based on scientific criteria to identify students needing early counselling and support rather than to exclude them from medical education.
He also proposed replacing the ACR-based faculty evaluation system with a uniform national framework to improve transparency, accountability and professional development. He further suggested involving pre-clinical faculty in academic administration so that clinical teachers can focus more on teaching and patient care.
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