WHITE COATS flailing, stethoscope in hand, the speeding figure that dispenses health and has the power to cure has always been the fantasy profession for many a child. Being a doctor is a dream come true still for millions of students but only about 30,122 students get admissions each year.  

While State colleges are usually large, admitting 150-200 students a year, barring a few private colleges most central and trust funded colleges like AIIMS, JIPMER and CMC offer about 50-75 seats in each college, and the competition to get into one of these top colleges is intense (see table).

Admissions are not restricted to students from India and as a matter of fact overseas students are encouraged to study. For instance, Kasturba Medical College at Mangalore, established in 1953, admits nearly two third of its students from foreign countries. Similarly States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat have quite a few of these high-intake, high-fee colleges offering both PG and UG courses.

Course work
The four-and-a-half years of MBBS course is divided into three phases and nine semesters, wherein each semester consists of approximately 120 teaching days of an hour each. As per the MCI guidelines, medical school training adopts a pattern of one year of basic science and pre-clinical subjects; one-and-a-half years of para-clinical science and two years of clinical teaching (see box). Registration is obtained after a year of compulsory rotating internship. In most colleges, there is very little effort to integrate basic science with the clinical disciplines.

The problem areas include learning by rote, exam-oriented course work and very little attention to developing other skills such as performance, communication or attitudinal changes.

Read: How BAMS is at par with MBBS degree

Internship
Each candidate, after passing the final MBBS examination, has to undergo a compulsory rotational internship for 12 months so as to be eligible for the award of  the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree and full registration. It enables them to learn on the job. Out of one year, 6 months are devoted to learning tertiary care being rendered in teaching hospital/district hospital, 3 months of secondary care in a small district or Taluka hospital/community health centre and 3 months in primary health centre.