Medical Schools must focus on quality training not on quantity

In the light of current developments and adversities around the world medical schools must gear up for quality education and training. Indian doctors are hardworking and compassionate. Apart from education and skills medical students must learn and imbibe innumerable qualities and capabilities to make themselves complete. Then only they can come into the societies and shine. As such education is very prolonged. Acquiring skills is a lifetime process. With the speed at which developments are happening in medical science, one shall be a learner all through to update and to be contemporary.

Despite the large number of medical schools in India, we are not making them adept enough to face the challenges of the world. Qualitatively I feel our training doesn't match the international standards still. Partly the focus of medicine has become numbers and quantity. Unfortunately, even the regulatory authorities also focus on numbers only and not setting the standards of education on par with the developed countries. In the last three decades, I haven't seen any significant change but an increase in the volume of content.

All the graduates study by rote. Medical education must provide clear and clean concepts and methodology. The study material is available everywhere and knowledge transfer is just a click away. Despite volumes of patient quality in terms of comprehension of concepts, skill sets, documentation process, communication skills, research, and translation is still lingering. The graduates of foreign medical schools exhibit confidence and fare well in all critical situations in comparison to our students.

However, our students are far better in overall knowledge. But they are thrown into society naive. They have to struggle to learn many skills of practicing medicine on their own. Thus standardization is becoming a challenge.

The degrees are not being recognized as such among many universities abroad. In a country with such a large population, the quest for numbers and volumes should not be a priority at all. Planning the location, and curriculum and providing comprehensive development is necessary for active standardization and to create successful medical, professionals. Epically education cannot be equated with any other kind of every action of theirs will decide the outcome of medical conditions. Though treating with medicines is only one part of the treatment, they need to be adept at many other skills for which a foundation should be laid at medical schools itself.

Achieving this goal needs a radical change in our current approach. Generally, those who choose to be medical students are the cream of the students. But it is the system that is making them monotonous, bogged down with mundane things. We are not able to kindle their sparking brains to improve the systems, innovation, research, and documentation. There has to be adequate training in speaking and writing skills. One meal reaps their ability and productivity. When it comes to communication the language, including body language, syntax, tone, and clarity matters a lot. Interacting with patients can be in regional languages, but the rest of the professional conversations must be in English. Documentation must be precise, explicit, and clear that depict the thought process in making the diagnosis and planning the treatment. Writing skills must be imbibed and good writing will in turn help documentation as well as publications. This can be a great Congo in the medical literature.

The lack of such a system is failing them in contributing to the literature, expression, and sharing of knowledge. While communicating humanity should be built into the system so that they become compassionate systemically. Communication plays such a vital role in many different situations one has to face in their career. Above all innovation and research particularly clinical research and translational research are the need of the hour in this country. By adopting simple methods and with perseverance we can do wonders. Today there is no dearth of resources as well as ideas. The implementation failure is the main source of such lag in our system. No doubt there can be logic problems yet collectively we must overcome all the constraints with a focus on the bigger goal.

This can be easily achieved through teamwork. Such productive concepts must be taught while they are in training. Innovation needs guidance. For that, there have to be teachers who can ably guide them. Indigenization can be done in several aspects of medicine which by itself becomes an innovation. When the teachers focus on all these aspects they become the mentors. By doing so every medical school will become progressive in terms of understanding and contributing. There should be a competitive spirit, constructive criticism, healthy debates, and discussions to enhance innate capability. Thus standardization, as well as recognition, will come automatically.