Challenges facing medical education in India

  • Inter-state and intra-state inequality in the distribution of manpower and resources: There is a huge disparity in availability of opportunities for students across states. 2010 report by MHRD had stated that four states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu – account for 1.3 lakh out of 2.4 lakh medical seats across India.
  • There is also a glaring rural-urban disparity in both availabilities of health care and colleges.
  • A blanket standard for starting a medical college leads to neglect of states like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland etc. and rural areas.
  • Amidst this situation, new medical colleges can bring in uniformity of access across sates and fill the demand-supply gap.
  • MCI regulations prevent experienced MBBS doctors from carrying out procedures like cesareans and ultrasound tests. Experienced nurses are barred from administering anaesthesia. This leads to failure of utilizing the experienced manpower to increase the service delivery.
  • Another casualty of the Super-specialty craze is Research and teaching, as no one is choosing research or teaching as their preferred career.