NMC Releases New Guidelines for Medical Education Unit, Additional Qualification for Faculty Removed

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has amended the criteria and qualifications for the Medical Education Unit. The Revised Guidelines provide for the exemption of additional qualifications such as an Advance Course in Medical Education (ACME) or a Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) fellowship for faculty members until January 31, 2024. The amended guidelines are now available on the official website, nmc.org.in.

The notice issued by the NMC on December 27 reads, “As per the NMC guidelines, in a medical college, a minimum of 4 MEU resource faculty must have additional qualifications like ACME, FAIMER, or equivalent. A large number of medical colleges however are not fulfilling this requirement. As a result, the RBCW training of faculty is getting affected. It has been decided to grant a limited-period waiver (up to 31 Jan 2024). A revised guideline for the Medical Education Unit (MEU) is circulated herewith.”

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According to NMC, the requirements have been modified as the medical institutions are not meeting the criteria of additional qualification, which is compromising faculty training in the Revised Basic Course Workshop (RBCW).

As per the new criteria, the coordinator must be a professor or associate professor, who has undertaken the MCI Basic Course Workshop (pre or revised) in Medical Education Technology (MET) or Attitude, Ethics and Communication module (AETCOM) or any other supplementary qualification such as MMed, MHPE, Diploma in Medical Education, or Integrated Foundations of Medical Education (IFME).

A minimum of eight faculty members are required at the Medical Education Unit. A minimum of four of them must have completed the FAIMER or ACME fellowship. The qualification has been waived by NMC specifically for this reason. The criteria also stated that the MEU library must have access to a minimum of two journals on academic medicine, clinical teacher, medical education, medical teachers and BMC medical education.

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