Concerns with MCI’s Research Mandates

What is the issue?

Research mandates of the Medical council of India (MCI) pressurizes medical practitioners.

What is MCI’s mandate about?

• In 2017, MCI mandated original researches as prerequisite for appointments and promotions of teaching faculty in medical colleges.
• This pushes the doctors to prioritise research over other professional roles.
• Emphasis on publications will provides scientific capital for medical institutions.
• It is also expected that this will influence the culture of medical education, and the aspirations of students graduating from such institutions.

What are the concerns with the MCI mandate?

• In India research infrastructures are yet to be developed, in spite of this MCI’s mandate pressurizes doctors to submit research publications.
• The mandate has more emphasis on quantity over quality, most research publications neither advance scientific knowledge nor have practical clinical applications.
• Due to this around 85% of research funding went waste across the entire spectrum of biomedical research.

What are the suggestions for better medical education?

• Instead of publishing original research papers academic faculties can be tested on their ability to interpret research publications critically for appointments.
• Best medical practices and evidence-informed health care have to be promoted among the doctors.
• Two streams of medical faculty clinical cadre and research cadre, can be developed for concentrating on specific set of tasks, with the best skills available with them.
• This will help the medical institutions already conducting good research and other new institutions to channelize their areas of specialization.
• Thus the basic purpose of medical education is caring for the people, especially in primary care and in rural areas, and this area need to be given more emphasis than research.

Source: The Hindu