Rejected By MCI, IGIMS now looks to DNB for PG medical courses

Patna: The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) has been crying hoarse for having been treated unfairly by the Medical Council of India.

IGIMS Orthopaedics Department had applied for two seats for the degree of Master of Science (MS).

“After the first assessment on August 10, 2017, and subsequent rejection, a compliance report was submitted to MCI in September. Another report was submitted by MCI assessors to the council with no assessment of the implementation of the compliance report. The allotment of seats was again rejected on the basis of the last report. One of the objections made was that a professor in the orthopedics department is only an associate professor and he actually belonged to general surgery department,” Head of Orthopaedics, IGIMS Dr Santosh Kumar told TOI.

Questioning the credentials of the Council, IGIMS Director, Dr N R Biswas stated that the medical college is now going to shift to DNB courses. “I will start issuing Diplomate of National Board (DNB) degrees under the National Board of Examination (NBE) in all the subjects,” he told the daily, adding that in the last 2-3 years an expenditure of Rs. 50 lakh had been incurred on Council inspections.

TOI reports that around Rs 2 lakh is charged by the MCI for every inspection. The NBE gives DNB accreditations to the hospitals, quite similar to an MCI inspection.

“As per a notification issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, DNB degrees are considered equivalent to MD, MS, DM, MCh,” said an IGIMS faculty member.

“Department of neuro medicine at IGIMS also did not receive approval for Doctorate of Medicine (DM) course, but the MCI approved the same to a private medical college in Pune. These colleges have the same shortage of facilities as stated in the objections made against the IGIMS department,” Head, Neuromedicine, IGIMS, Dr Ashok Kumar told the TOI.

As per MCI guidelines, DNB qualification from MCI recognized medical colleges/central institutes where there are MD/MS courses running are considered at par with MD/ Ms courses

The departments of gastrointestinal surgery, neurosurgery and pediatric surgery at IGIMS had applied for degree courses in Master Chirurgiae (MCh); while cardiology, neuro medicine and nephrology had applied for DM courses.

The departments of, medicine, pediatrics, ENT, orthopedics, surgery, gynecology and eye had applied for MS courses. Also, departments of general medicine community medicine and pathology had applied for an MD course.

However, it was the department of pathology that was granted 5 seats for an MD Course.