For several years, there has been a lack of professors teaching anatomy at medical schools across the country. Medical schools have been working hard to fill these positions, and it is even a tedious task for new colleges or re-accredited universities.
To cope with this shortage, the National Medical Commission (NMC) in its recent draft, “Teacher Qualifications (TEQ) in the Medical Institutions Regulations” retains a two-year rule that allows medical students to perform anatomy, biochemistry and physiology during excessive transition periods. However, the move has attracted criticism from doctors. Meanwhile, MSC graduates in these disciplines have been demanding that they be restored to medical school, just like the practices decades ago, and retain 30% of their jobs.
Experts weighing the topic say that even over the past decade or so, the country’s increasing number of medical schools have opened up, and the shortage of professors in certain courses has increased, but has not yet been overcome.
The History of Anatomy as a Discipline
Former Vice President of Tamil Nadu, Sudha Seshayyan, PhD, MGR Medical University, retired professor of anatomy at Madras Medical College traces the history of anatomy to disciplines in the state. “At sometime in the late 1960s, there were many MBBS graduates who didn’t choose to teach. These were the basic days of medical school development, and teaching was an art that might not be attractive,” she recalls. Around this time, the University of Madras launched graduate courses in five non-clinical disciplines as “a through media,” a parking measure that fills medical school posts. The government has converted some tutor demonstrators posts from these disciplines into non-medical positions to waste the shortage of medical school professors for non-clinical disciplines.
Soon, private institutions also started the courses in these disciplines, and a large number of MSC graduates were also involved. As the job market stagnated, the courses were then abandoned.
Meanwhile, medicine as a discipline continued to develop and then developed the MD program (graduate course). Medical schools begin offering MDS in non-clinical disciplines such as anatomy, community medicine, biochemistry, physiology, forensic medicine and pharmacology.
Dr. Sudha recalls the era when there were 10 MD anatomical seats in Tamil Nadu. Although Madras Medical College continues to fill all four seats it has, both Madurai and thanjavur Medical College are behind. They eventually cut the number of seats to one, while the Government of Chennai Stanley Medical College continues to receive anatomy from two students each year.
V. Kanakasabai, former director of medical education in Tamil Nadu, pointed out that this is a problem and is the difference between these programs being born between students. Dr. Kanakasabai, a MD in pharmacology, said students with a bachelor’s degree were accepted for the two years of non-clinical programs. After graduation, some of them continued their 3-year MBBS courses before entering mainstream medicine – but those doctors who completed regular MBBS courses in 5.5 years did not appreciate these doctors.
However, despite this, the medical school continues to expand its program and offers approximately 20 disciplines, 7 or 8 of which are non-clinical. Initially, candidates who did not want to transfer their jobs took them away. Women and male doctors with family compulsions have chosen these “rare” disciplines. These non-clinical experts who did not interact with patients received allowances such as early promotion and pay hiking to balance their loss of practice as physicians. Dr. Canacasabé recalled: “I became the youngest dean of the medical school at the age of 36.”
Today, this situation has reached many key points, although now medical education experts say this can be solved: the number of MBB and MD graduates in the country is growing, they are not appointed to medical school, and there are many who have worked for decades without being promoted to professorship. Every department in the medical school must have assistant professors, associate professors and professors.
Who can teach anatomy?
Anatomy points out that former President of the Indian Medical Association Jayalal is the basis of surgery. “It is not a good idea to have MSC graduates teach anatomy because they don’t apply anatomy. They don’t know about the clinical application of anatomy like MBBS graduates. MSC graduates may know this theory but cannot see the patient, so there is a big difference,” he explained. He said this hype about admission to non-medical graduates teach in medical schools is mainly conducted by MSC anatomy graduates.
“Ten years ago, the National Medical Council (then the Indian Medical Council) decided to reduce the number of teachers in the ‘rare’ branch. Positions reserved for non-clinical teachers were cut in half, from 30% to 15%. This may not happen if existing staff were assigned to medical schools,” he said.
The rise and rise of medical school numbers
Over the past few years, many states, including states with fewer universities compared to the South, have begun to increase the number of their medical schools. “For example, medical schools have increased by 200% in Uttar Pradesh. There are now 27 universities. Throughout India, we now have 832 anatomical seats in 720 universities. 832 candidates are graduating each year. However, most seats for non-clinical subjects are concentrated in the south. Many students at Northern University are not aware of these options. By properly allocating these seats, this shortage will not appear.” Dr Jayalal said.
Although doctors in community medicine, pharmacology, and biochemistry can work in the lab, doctors with anatomy, physiology, and forensic medicine can only teach or conduct research, making them less attractive choices and complicate the problem.
Can AI be the solution?
Dr. Jayalal believes that the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and cluster teaching can currently work. He pointed out that there are several good teachers that NMC can organize it so that they can teach students from several universities in one go.
Another major problem with lack of corpses – The medical school with 150 students should have 15 corpses. Private universities are being overcome through computer simulations. These and other updated, updated, innovative teaching methods can be adopted, Dr. Jayalal said, adding that MBBS doctors can also insert teaching subjects such as anatomy.
Direction to go
First, due to the deviation of the seat distribution, there is a shortage of anatomical and other non-clinical subjects due to the skewed seats, experts say. Every government medical school they pointed out that it is necessary to have a seat for anatomy: Even in areas where the country faces severe shortages, this will help increase the number of graduates, which then need to be posted in medical schools. Sometimes promotions and making these options attractive, such as increased salary and better leave options, they say.
Dr. Jayalal believes that some universities have 35 surgical seats but no anatomical seats. “If there is no anatomy, there will be no surgery. The NMC should insist that if a university wants to provide surgery, then they should have a good department of anatomy,” he stressed.
publishing – February 28, 2025 at 7:30 pm IST
