MBBS graduates can conduct autopsy sans practical exam: MCI

TNN | Jun 1, 2017, 12.26 PM IST

NAGPUR: Replies to RTIqueries posed to Medical Council of India (MCI) revealed that MBBS graduates were competent to conduct post-mortem examination without any assessment in practical examination since 1997. The queries were posted by Dr Indrajit Khandekar, professor and in-charge of Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), and two of his students, Savithri Devi and Suprabha Mohanta, pursuing MBBS.

The reply revealed that MCI never issued any directions to universities imparting medical education in the country to take practical assessment/examination of MBBS graduate in this regard. The apex body hasn't prescribed any procedure for practical assessment (university exam) to ascertain the skills whether MBBS students are able to make observations and interpret findings at post mortem examination.

"Post mortem examination and its report play a very important role in crime investigations. In India, more than 80% post mortems are conducted by MBBS graduates. Still, MCI and affiliated medical universities declared MBBS graduates competent to conduct the major activity of post mortem without any practicals," Dr Khandekar said.

He stated that incomplete post mortem reports were unreliable and often led to miscarriage of justice. "Though judiciary blamed doctors for such reports, sole responsibility lies with MCI and its faulty curriculum," he added.

"MCI is misleading the nation and criminal investigation system by producing incompetent doctors as far as post mortem exam is concerned," Dr Khandekar, who is coordinating is working on improving quality of medico-legal education in country since 2010, said.

Quoting MCI's Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 (amended up to March 10, 2017), he said that one of the objectives of forensic medicine, including toxicology, is that at the end of the course, the student should be able to make observations and interpret findings of the post mortem exam. "Still MCI forgot to prescribe practical examination for it," he lamented.