Your physician next door might be a great doctor but how many times have you wanted him to be suave and able to communicate a little better. This may be possible now, according to recommendations of Medical Council of India (MCI). Aspiring doctors will have to learn English along with communication skills apart from the regular medical courses.The MCI has proposed to increase the pre-clinical period of the medical syllabus by three months. According to the Council, the increased duration could be used by students for orientation in English, communication skills, medical ethics and computers.The aim is not to teach nuances of the language but to familiarise them with a working knowledge of English. The recommendation has been made keeping in mind students who come from government-run schools where the medium of instruction is in the regional language. ‘‘In most states 50 per cent of the students qualifying entrance tests are from schools where the regional language is the medium of instruction. These students face problems when the medium changes and some are not even aware of the names for various body parts in English,’’ said Dr Ketan Desai, Chairman of Review of Regulations committee of MCI.The MCI also recommended enhancing the duration of the MBBS course by six months, making it a five year course along with an internship of one year. While the first three months would be utilised in the crash course, the remaining three months would be used to acquaint the doctors with technological developments in the medical field. ‘‘There has been a lot of development in technology but no increase in the course duration,’’ Desai added.The proposal is a part of the recommendations made by the Review and Regulation Committee of MCI, to be submitted to the Union Health Ministry in a few days. The final decision on the recommendations was taken at a two-day workshop of MCI organised in Delhi last week.Other key recommendations include regulations on post-graduate diploma, where 50 per cent of the seats would be reserved for government doctors who have served a minimum of three years in rural areas.Reviewing conditions for building a medical college on a single piece of 25 acres of land was another recommendation. The MCI proposes that the college could be made on two pieces of land of more than 10 acres, which is not separated from each other by a distance of more than 10 km. ‘‘Governments of hilly states and even people in urban areas have been facing problems in getting such a big piece of land. So we have suggested that two pieces can be utilised, with hospital, the college, the hostel and library on one piece,’’ he said.Likewise, the requirement of running a 300-bedded hospital as a pre-requisite has also been reviewed.
