After a meeting on Wednesday, the National Medical Commission (NMC) asked the medical colleges offering post-graduate courses to look after their students’ mental health. They asserted that students should be given adequate rest, counselling, weekly offs, sanctioned leaves, and a conducive working environment.
The commission has also asked these colleges to submit reports on the course of action with special mention of cases of suicide, incidences of violation of women’s decency, and gender bias.
Dr Vijay Oza, president of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board, NMC, wrote a letter to the directors, deans, and principals of these medical colleges stating that he has received multiple grievances from PG students, who are resident doctors saying they are under a lot of stress due to prolonged working hours, non-sanctioning of leaves during an emergency, and no weekly off.
The letter also affirmed that this issue has been flagged and raised in the parliament.
The PGMEB, in a meeting, discussed these instances of grievances and decided that medical colleges should take appropriate measures to ensure the well-being of the PG students. Institutions should arrange regular yoga sessions, weekly counselling, and sanction leaves when necessary. Institutions should also respect students’ dignity by providing a friendly and conducive working environment. Women students should be made to feel safe in every way, the board decided.
Dr Oza said a committee might be formed to look deeply into these grievances and complaints, including those from anonymous sources.
Excerpts from the letter addressed to medical colleges
“A healthy and stress-free resident doctor is critical not only for his or her own well-being but also for the well-being of the patients he or she treats. 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,” the letter stated.
“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 further said.
