CMC, Ludhiana conducts teachers’ training for new MBBS curriculum

NEW DELHI, July 16: Gearing up for the changes in medical education, Medical Council of India's (MCI) Nodal Centre for Faculty Development in Christian Medical College (CMC), Ludhiana conducted training for MBBS course for the new competency-based curriculum to be effectuated from August 1. MCI had already announced the introduction of the new syllabus earlier this year and now its execution is under progress. Earlier batches will be following the previous curricula and the fresh batch of 2019 will follow the new curricula.

The new syllabus has been brought forth to adapt to the changing needs of society and the medical profession. Harbinger of a new era in the discipline of medicine, the new syllabus aims to impart practical skills, understanding emotions of others, build healthy relations with and life skills in one’s self is being given importance in the new curriculum.

Curriculum Implementation and Support Programme (CISP)
CISP was a three-day training programme, held from July 11 to 13, 2019, in CMC, Ludhiana. The CISP training has sessions on integrated teaching across various subjects, skills acquisition and development of skills and simulation labs, electives in various specialised areas, early clinical exposure starting from year one, changes in the examination system and introduction of new methods in teaching, learning and assessment.

Why is there a need to train?
Since the pattern, syllabus everything is going to change, after a span of 22 years, it is essential that teachers become acquainted with it. Thus, CMC is training the teachers to make them well versed with the new curriculum. The training is mandatory for all teachers of medical colleges. The training of the teacher intends to facilitate proper guidance so as to be adept of the new pedagogy.

Why change?
The authorities are implementing this change to make the course more practical and up-to-date. Dr Dinesh Badyal, Convenor of MCI Nodal Centre, states that the curriculum had been started in 1997 and it remained unchanged until 2018. The year 2019 witnesses a drastic change with an all-new syllabus, changing traditions of the past 22 years. The candidates for the upcoming academic batch will be given exposure to integrated learning along with clinical methods early on. With the implementation of the new pattern the candidates who now graduate, having done their studies in the new pattern will be known as Indian Medical Graduate (IMG). This designation is provided to the graduates by the MCI.

The new course
The new syllabus aims at building student-teacher interpersonal relations more interactive and friendly to develop soft skills in the candidates. A shift can be seen in the interests of MCI into making the course more practical to enable future doctors to meet the challenges of the real world. As per the new syllabus, IMG’s will have five roles which have to be achieved through competency defined by MCI. These five roles are:

1. Leader

2. Professional

3. Life-long learner

4. Clinician

5. Communicator

There is also a new addition to the syllabus, a one-month foundation course. This foundation course is designed to help students learn about stress management, professionalism, time management, the relevance of proper documentation, language, family medicine, computer, national health policies. These are for the holistic development of the graduates. All the medical colleges are required to develop simulation and skills by the end of this year.