NMC gets WFME recognition status

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has been awarded the coveted World Federation for Medical Education Recognition Status for a period of 10 years.

The WFME is a global organisation dedicated to enhancing the quality of medical education worldwide.

All the 706 existing medical colleges will now be WFME accredited while the new colleges that will be set up in the coming 10 years will automatically become WFME accredited.

National Medical Commission (NMC)

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) came into existence from September 2020 as the country’s apex regulator of medical education and profession replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI).

• The NMC has been constituted by National Medical Commission Act, 2019.

There are four autonomous boards under the NMC Act. 

They are:

1) Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB).

2) Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB).

3) Medical Assessment and Rating Board. 

4) Ethics and Medical Registration Board.  

• The NMC comprises a chairman, ex-officio members and part-time members. The ex-officio members include presidents of the four autonomous boards. NMC has nominees from vice chancellors of health universities from states/UTs, nominees from State Medical Councils and expert members from diverse professions. 

Functions of NMC:

i) Improve access to quality and affordable medical education.

ii) Ensure availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals in all parts of the country.

iii) Promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens.

iv) Encourage medical professionals to adopt latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research.

v) Objectively assess medical institutions periodically in a transparent manner.

vi) Maintain a medical register for India.

vii) Enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services.

viii) Have an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) 

• World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) was established in 1972 by the World Medical Association (WMA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), along with the International Federation of Medical Student Associations (IFMSA), Junior Doctors Network (JDN), the ECFMG, a member of Intealth (ECFMG), and the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE).

• It is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation.

• The main objectives of WFME are twofold, to serve as a global forum for medical educators worldwide, for enhancing the quality of medical education and, second, to improve the quality of healthcare to societies.

• WFME works to support healthcare for all through promoting high quality in medical education for the estimated current physician workforce of 9.8 million and prospective students and trainees. 

• There are more than 3,700 operational and historical listings in the World Directory of Medical Schools, and WFME is concerned that the quality of medical education and training provided therein should be to the highest standard.

• WFME does not provide an accreditation process for medical schools. The WFME Recognition Programme grants Recognition Status to individual accrediting agencies normally operating within a specific country that have been evaluated as meeting WFME recognition criteria.

• The accreditation of medical education – the certification of the suitability of medical education programmes, and of the competence of medical schools in the delivery of medical education – ensures patient safety and competent practising doctors. Accreditation of medical education is normally carried out by national governments, or by agencies receiving their authority from national governments.