New Delhi:

The National Medical Commission on Thursday issued revised guidelines for its competency-based medical education curriculum, removing sodomy and lesbianism as “unnatural sexual offences”.

It has also scrapped topics such as hymen and its types, its medico-legal importance, besides defining virginity and defloration.

The amended curriculum states that describing and discussing “signs” of virginity (so called ‘virginity test’, including finger tests on female genitalia) are unscientific, inhuman and discriminatory.

It talks about teaching students to discuss how to appraise the courts about the unscientific basis of these tests, if one is ordered.

Topics for discussion such as sexual perversions, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, sadism, necrophagia, masochism, exhibitionism, frotteurism and necrophilia have also been removed.

Facing backlash from activists, the National Medical Commission (NMC) on September 5 withdrew the guidelines in which it had reintroduced sodomy and lesbianism as “unnatural sexual offences” under the category of forensic medicine and toxicology curriculum for undergraduate medical students after removing it in 2022.

It had also reintroduced topics such as hymen and its types and its medico-legal importance in the guidelines issued on August 31.

These subjects had been removed in accordance with a Madras High Court directive in 2022.

The revised curriculum under forensic medicine and toxicology has now scrapped all these topics.

The guidelines issued on Thursday also mention teaching the difference between paraphilia and paraphilic disorder.

Under the forensic medicine and toxicology category, the revised guidelines also talk about teaching students about describing legal competencies, including the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, civil and criminal cases, inquest (police and magistraterial), cognisable and non-cognisable offences.

At the end of teaching-learning in forensic medicine and toxicology, students should be able to understand the medico-legal framework of medical practice, codes of conduct, medical ethics, professional misconduct and medical negligence, conducting medico-legal examination and documentation of various medico-legal cases and understand the latest Acts and laws related to medical professional, including related court judgements, the NMC said in its document.

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New Delhi:

The National Medical Commission today withdrew and cancelled guidelines under the Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum in which it had reintroduced sodomy and lesbianism as unnatural sexual offences in the forensic medicine and toxicology curriculum for undergraduate medical students.

The guidelines were issued on August 31.

“It is informed that the Circular of even number dated 31.08.2024 thereby issuing Guidelines under Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) 2024, stands “withdrawn and cancelled” with immediate effect. The above guidelines will be revised and uploaded in due course,” the National Medical Commission (NMC) said.

Besides sodomy and lesbianism, the NMC had brought back topics such as the hymen and its type, and its medico-legal importance in addition to defining virginity and defloration, legitimacy and its medico-legal importance. These subjects were done away with in 2022 following a Madras High Court directive.

The revised curriculum under forensic medicine and toxicology also includes “Describe legal competencies including Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA)” besides “Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), Civil and Criminal Cases, Inquest (Police Inquest and Magistrate’s Inquest), and cognisable and non-cognisable offences”.

It talks about discussing sexual perversions, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism, sadism, necrophagia, masochism, exhibitionism, frotteurism and necrophilia. However, distinctions between consensual sex between queer individuals have been removed, Press Trust of India reported.

The amended curriculum has done away with the seven-hour training on disability.

At the end of teaching-learning in forensic medicine and toxicology, the student should be able to understand the medico-legal framework of medical practice, codes of conduct, medical ethics, professional misconduct and medical negligence, conducting medico-legal examination and documentation of various medico-legal cases and understand latest Acts and laws related to medical professional including related court judgments, the NMC said in its document. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A doctor should not use an unusually large signboard and write on it anything other than his name, qualifications, titles, specialty or registration number, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has suggested, saying his prescription papers should also have the same contents.

It is improper to affix a signboard on a chemist’s shop or in places where he does not reside or work, the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) said in its E-Book: “Professional Conduct Review – Lessons from Case Archives”.

The book also highlighted that trust deficit in the doctor-patient relationship leads to litigation against the doctors and emphasised that the most common cause of complaints against doctors is due to a communication gap.

The commission stated that care should be taken not to mislead the public through signboards, visiting cards, announcements etc.

Medical practitioners may acquire skills and training in various areas related to a particular field, but the use of the title ‘consultant/specialist’ should be restricted to those who are qualified in the particular speciality, it said.

As an appellate body, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board of the NMC has been hearing cases of misconduct and passing judgments.

The need to disseminate the learnings from the complaint cases against doctors was felt right from the beginning, Dr Yogender Malik, editor of the booklet and member of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board of the NMC, said.

The thought was shared with the board and a group of experts was formed.

They worked very hard, going through hundreds of pages of each case and summarised them without losing the essence of the case and the message, he stated.

The case studies in the book show that it is very difficult for a patient to differentiate between ethics, conduct and negligence, the NMC said.

Doctors too feel that patients have no right to complain unless there is harm, the NMC stated.

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New Delhi:

The National Medical Commission (NMC), India, has been being awarded the coveted World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Recognition Status for a tenure of 10 years, according to a press release from the Union Health Ministry.  

WFME recognition will enable Indian medical graduates to pursue postgraduate training and practice in other countries that require WFME recognition, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the release added.

Under this accreditation all the 706 existing medical colleges become WFME accredited and the new medical colleges that will be set up in the coming 10 years will automatically become WFME accredited.

This will also make India an attractive destination for international students due to our globally recognized standards.

Apart from this, the NMC will get the privilege of enhancing the quality and standards of medical education in India by aligning them with the global best practices and benchmarks.

The release added that recognition will increase the international recognition and reputation of Indian medical schools and professionals, facilitate academic collaborations and exchanges and promote continuous improvement and innovation in medical education and foster a culture of quality assurance among medical educators and institutions.

The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) is a global organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of medical education worldwide. WFME’s mission is to strive for better health care for all mankind; WFME’s primary objective is to enhance the quality of medical education worldwide, with the promotion of the highest scientific and ethical standards in medical education, according to the Health Ministry press release.

The release stated that the Education Commission on Foreign Medical Education (ECFMG) is the primary body in the United States that oversees the policies and regulations around licensing International Medical Graduates (IMGs). In order to take the USMLEs, and to apply for residency all IMGs must be certified by ECFMG.

The Education Commission on Foreign Medical Education (ECFMG) is the primary body in the United States that oversees the policies and regulations around licensing International Medical Graduates (IMGs). 

In order to take the USMLEs, and to apply for residency all IMGs must be certified by ECFMG.  This certification typically takes place after the completion of the 2nd year of a medical program, and before taking the USMLE Step 1 examination.

In 2010, the ECFMG announced a new requirement that will become effective in the year 2024 (was set for 2023 but was moved to 2024 due to COVID). 

The new rule states that “starting in 2024, individuals applying for ECFMG Certification must be a student or graduate of a medical school that is appropriately accredited. More specifically, the school must be accredited by an accrediting agency that is officially recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME).”

The WFME recognition process entails a fee of Rs 4,98,5142 ($60,000) per medical college, which covers the expenses of the site visit team and their travel and accommodation.

This means that the total cost for the 706 medical colleges in India to apply for WFME recognition would have been approximately Rs 351.9 crore ($4,23,60,000). It is noteworthy that NMC has taken recognition of WFME which shall be applicable to all medical colleges under its umbrella.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)