Medical Students Will Now Learn Disability Rights, MCI Updates Curriculum

At first, in India, disability rights will be included in the MBBS curriculum. The one-month foundation course, which was introduced at the beginning of the new academic session, will be completed by August 31, 2019.

The State Commissioner for Persons with Disability directed the incorporation of components of Disability Rights legislations in the curriculum of medical courses. The Medical Council Of India (MCI) has released details of the foundation course, which involves seven hours of disability competencies to be conducted across the country.

No Mention Of Disability Rights

The medical curriculum for the last 22 years approached disability only as a disease, and its management in terms of illness.

In November 2018, the MCI released the new competency-based medical education curriculum, but it had no mention of any disability rights. Its focus was on the medical model of disabilities- an illness or a disability as a result of a physical condition.

Some institutions like Medical Humanities Group, Delhi University’s College of Medical Studies, Bucksbaum Institute for Medical Excellence at the University of Chicago were preparing for disability competencies, which involved three stakeholders- doctors with disabilities, disability rights activists and health professional educators.

On March 1, 2019, they complained to both the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) and Stake Commissioner for Persons with Disability (SCD) that the new MCI curriculum lacked disability rights-based approach.

“These statutory bodies forwarded our curriculum to MCI’s board of governors, which circulated the copy of our disability competencies to deans and principles of medical institutions in India and the registrars of all universities and deemed universities in India asking them to strictly follow Section 39 (1) and 39 (2) (d) of the Rights of People with Disabilities Act, 2016. But they still didn’t include disability competencies in the new curriculum,” Dr Satendra Singh of University College of Medical Science told The Times Of India.

Later, the Reconciliation Board of MCI contacted them and asked them to submit their disability competencies which would be concluded in one month of a mandatory foundation course.

“This is great news as future Indian medical graduates will now look at disability from a human rights perspective and not just a disease perspective,” Dr Singh said.

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