Medical students protest against NMC Bill
CHENNAI, AUGUST 03, 2019 00:00 IST
Students of Madras Medical College boycotted classes and staged a sit-in near the Dean’s office in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital on Friday.B. Jothi Ramalingam
Proposals for bringing in Community Health Providers and NEXT singled out for attack
About 400 students of Madras Medical College (MMC) boycotted classes and staged a sit-in on Friday.
They were protesting against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill which, according to them, would disrupt the healthcare system.
Under the banner of Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association, second, third and final year MMC students, and also many from Government Medical College, Omandurar Estate, boycotted classes and participated in the day-long protest from 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. on the MMC campus.
The protesting students said that bringing in Community Health Providers would affect the rural healthcare system in Tamil Nadu, the National Exit Test (NEXT) would impact the quality of doctors and replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI) with NMC would result in poor representation of doctors from States. According to the Bill, persons connected with the medical profession could be granted limited licences to practise medicine as Community Health Providers. These persons can prescribe specified medicines independently, but only in a primary and preventive healthcare context.
“We study medicine for five-and-a-half years of which one year is for Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship. How can Community Health Providers learn medicine in a few months of training and prescribe medications at the primary health centre level? This will affect healthcare in villages, and it will be disastrous for a State like Tamil Nadu that has come a long way in rural health,” one of the protesting students said.
Opposing NEXT, the students said as of now, they have theory and practical examinations conducted by the medical university in the final year of MBBS. “NEXT will contain multiple choice questions, and this will only result in mushrooming of coaching centres like that for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test,” another student said.
The students lamented the lack of clarity on NEXT, its pattern or subjects that would be covered. “There are no proper guidelines. With NEXT, our clinical orientation and understanding will be lost,” he said. Some students said there was no clarity on what would happen if students failed to clear NEXT. As per the Bill, NEXT would be the basis for admission to postgraduate courses.
On NMC replacing MCI, the students said it would result in loss of autonomy and NMC, a nominated body, would not have adequate representation of doctors from States.
CHENNAI, AUGUST 03, 2019 00:00 IST
Students of Madras Medical College boycotted classes and staged a sit-in near the Dean’s office in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital on Friday.B. Jothi Ramalingam
Proposals for bringing in Community Health Providers and NEXT singled out for attack
About 400 students of Madras Medical College (MMC) boycotted classes and staged a sit-in on Friday.
They were protesting against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill which, according to them, would disrupt the healthcare system.
Under the banner of Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association, second, third and final year MMC students, and also many from Government Medical College, Omandurar Estate, boycotted classes and participated in the day-long protest from 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. on the MMC campus.
The protesting students said that bringing in Community Health Providers would affect the rural healthcare system in Tamil Nadu, the National Exit Test (NEXT) would impact the quality of doctors and replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI) with NMC would result in poor representation of doctors from States. According to the Bill, persons connected with the medical profession could be granted limited licences to practise medicine as Community Health Providers. These persons can prescribe specified medicines independently, but only in a primary and preventive healthcare context.
“We study medicine for five-and-a-half years of which one year is for Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship. How can Community Health Providers learn medicine in a few months of training and prescribe medications at the primary health centre level? This will affect healthcare in villages, and it will be disastrous for a State like Tamil Nadu that has come a long way in rural health,” one of the protesting students said.
Opposing NEXT, the students said as of now, they have theory and practical examinations conducted by the medical university in the final year of MBBS. “NEXT will contain multiple choice questions, and this will only result in mushrooming of coaching centres like that for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test,” another student said.
The students lamented the lack of clarity on NEXT, its pattern or subjects that would be covered. “There are no proper guidelines. With NEXT, our clinical orientation and understanding will be lost,” he said. Some students said there was no clarity on what would happen if students failed to clear NEXT. As per the Bill, NEXT would be the basis for admission to postgraduate courses.
On NMC replacing MCI, the students said it would result in loss of autonomy and NMC, a nominated body, would not have adequate representation of doctors from States.
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