MCI plans to send doctors back to lecture halls

New Delhi: According to new rules that will be announced by the
Medical Council of India (MCI) today, doctors in India might be sent
back to lecture halls to study again soon.

The MCI has planned to make it compulsory for all doctors to attend 30
hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME) after every five years,
failing which, the council might suspend their registration to
practice medicine.

The MCI will announce the maiden national guidelines on CME Credit
Hours at the council's ethical committee meeting on Tuesday.

Papers published in "indexed national/international" medical journals
will allow the authors and co-authors to CME Credit Hours. Also,
doctors who are pursuing postgraduate courses such as diploma, MD, MS,
DNB and DM from reputed/recognized institutions in India will receive
four credit hours per year for the duration of their course.

Additional credit hours will be awarded to the doctors for
participating in departmental and institutional activities such as
mortality conferences, journal club meetings, etc.

The council's new rules also say that any medical associations or
organizations that are caught issuing fake certificates to doctors
that claim they had attended conferences will be barred.

Doctors will also be allowed to attend international conferences and
will be issued CME Credit Hours only after they have submitted
attendance proof.

A CME organized by a medical drug or equipment company for the
promotion of its product will not be considered by the council. Also,
CMEs organized by individual nursing homes, hospitals etc for the
purpose of marketing will not be given any credit.