New Delhi: In a first for India, a private medical college in Mathura has set a target for its postgraduate (PG) resident doctors to admit 100 patients each after attending camps in rural areas. The directive has sparked outrage in the medical fraternity.
In a circular issued on Tuesday outlining norms for the institution’s “Outreach Community Residents Posting”, the administration of the Krishna Mohan Medical College & Hospital instructed its PG residents to admit 100 patients within 15 days of attending rural camps in specified areas.
The medical college, which has 850 beds and offers 102 PG seats across 11 specialties, is affiliated with Mathura-based KM University, which comprises various institutions offering technical degrees.
Non-compliance, as per the circular undersigned by the college principal and dean, Dr PN Bhise, will result in an extension of the programme for resident doctors on a “per-day basis”, implying that their stipulated 2–3-year course may be prolonged.
The circular, which ThePrint has seen, has infuriated PG students at the institution and become a major talking point among residents nationwide.
“We have heard of these kinds of pressures that private medical institutions exert on resident doctors and consultants, but issuing an open circular and threatening students with non-compliance shows the audacity of the college administration,” a PG resident doctor at the institution, who wished not to be named, told ThePrint.
Another PG student emphasised that the medical education regulator, the National Medical Commission (NMC), does not mandate patient recruitment for institutions as part of undergraduate or postgraduate medical training.
Under the NMC’s Minimum Standard of Requirements for Post-Graduate Courses – 2023, PG medical colleges offering training are required to have a minimum of 200 beds, with 75 percent of these beds needing to be occupied year-round by patients requiring inpatient care.
The college administration, however, defended its decision, stating that it was aimed at encouraging PG students to “work hard”.
“We keep organising camps in rural areas, as ours is a rural medical college, and our marketing personnel make people aware of and use our healthcare services,” Dr Bhise told ThePrint.
“The idea now is to involve PG residents in the exercise and get them to motivate people to take care of their health and well-being. The target set for this exercise may or may not work, but it will make the resident doctors work hard and improve their communication skills with patients,” Dr Bhise added.
Dr Arun Kumar, national general secretary of the United Doctors Front Association (UDFA), a body representing resident doctors across the country, called the college’s move impudent and demanded government intervention.
“This kind of target-setting for patients in corporate hospitals is an open secret, but a college openly asking PG residents for hospital admissions is something new and shows that private medical colleges do not fear either the medical education regulator or the government,” Kumar told ThePrint.
His association, Kumar added, will write to the NMC requesting action against the college.
ThePrint reached NMC chairman Dr BN Gangadhar over the phone for his comment on the circular. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Also Read: Smoking, alcohol & high BMI among biggest risk factors linked to cancer death, says Lancet study
Harsh penalties
The circular issued Tuesday states that resident doctors will accompany public relations officers (PROs) to various villages and routes for promotional activities and patient outreach, with the expectation that they will admit “at least 100 patients within the next 15 days.”
Failure to admit 100 patients within 15 days will result in an extension of the programme on a per-day basis, it adds.
The circular also stipulates that if a patient leaves against medical advice due to a PG resident doctor’s failure to consult with their consultant, the resident doctor “must admit 50 patients individually”.
Dr Ravi Wankhedkar, former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the largest network of doctors in the country, noted that private colleges have long collected patients in anticipation of inspections by conducting camps, mobilising people under the guise of free health check-ups, or offering monetary incentives.
“During the Medical Council of India (MCI) era—before it was replaced by the NMC in 2019—there were at least regular inspections. But under the NMC, it primarily relies on data provided on the college website,” Wankhedkar explained to ThePrint.
“In the latest circular, what the institution is asking students to do is neither part of their studies nor their training. Ideally, the college must be held accountable for this,” he said.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also Read: After Covid, mRNA vaccine for cancer? US researchers report initial success against melanoma
Hospitals become business
Education become business
Sprituality become business
Human life becomes business
The college’s action may be bad but it isn’t worse than the NMC insisting that 75% of the 200 beds should be occupied by patients. If we’re outraged by one order, we should be equally upset at the other!