Evolution of medical education in India: some miles travelled,many miles to go
AUTHOR(s) : Deka RC
DOI No. : 10.31741/ijhrmlp.v6.i2.2020.15
ABSTRACT :
The earliest known stream of medicine emerged out of magico-religious sources, and knowledge was imparted through a gurukul system within ashrams. With the advent of colonialism, the first steps towards science-based western medicine were taken. Undoubtedly, post-independence, with the influence of western ideas, several advances have been made towards a seemingly modern medical education model. Yet, a tendency to blindly emulate admission and teaching models from other socio-cultural contexts has caused some deep loopholes in the Indian medical education model. While on the one hand privatization of medical education has rapidly shifted the focus from quality education to profit-oriented business expansions; on the other, an obsession with statistical success has diluted the need for meaningful teaching and learning. To add to it, even regulatory practices such as MCI inspections are carried out as mechanical exercises which fail to ensure any actual qualitative checks on medical institutions. The objective of this piece is to outline the most glaring loopholes of the modern-day Indian medical education system, and emphasize the need for competency-based, skill-oriented teaching and learning to ensure that the future of healthcare is not defined by mere commercial and statistical success.
Keywords: Modern medicine, privatization of medicine, medical education.
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