The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Wednesday, August 10, urged medical colleges conducting postgraduate courses to take care of their students' mental health and well-being by ensuring that they get adequate rest, weekly offs, counselling, sanctioned leaves and a conducive working environment.
The Commission has also asked these colleges to submit action-taken reports on the issue, as well as the practice they follow, with a special mention of cases of suicide, gender bias and incidences of dishonour to a woman's decency, as per a report by PTI.
In a letter addressed to the directors, principals or deans of the medical colleges and institutions conducting postgraduate courses, Dr Vijay Oza, President of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), NMC, said it has received grievances from PG students (resident doctors) stating they are under stress due to long working hours, no weekly offs, non-sanctioning of leaves during emergency and so on.
This issue has been flagged in the print media and also raised in Parliament, the letter said, as per PTI. The PGMEB, in a meeting on June 28, discussed the grievances and decided that all medical colleges should take care of the mental health and well-being of the PG students by ensuring they get adequate rest, weekly offs, and counselling, if necessary.
The institutions should arrange yoga sessions on a regular basis, sanction leaves when required and respect the dignity of the students by providing a positive and conducive working environment, the Board decided.
A committee may be constituted to look into the complaints and grievances received, including those from anonymous sources, Dr Oza said. "A healthy and stress-free resident doctor is critical not only for his her own well-being but also for the well-being of the patients he or she treats,” he added, as per PTI.
All medical colleges and institutes are, therefore, requested to take necessary steps for taking care of the mental health and well-being of the PG medical students studying or working with them. "An action-taken report on the issue, as well as the practice being followed in the college or institute, may be provided to the National Medical Commission on a regular basis specially mentioning the cases of suicide, gender bias and incidences of dishonour to a woman's decency etc," the letter read, as per PTI.
