can we do non recognised courses ?

QUESTION: Reputed hospitals / institutions.associations have started conducting certificate and Diploma courses such as Diploma Family Medicine with affiliated to some Indian and foreign universities and Diploma Diabetology etc.

Such courses are not recognised by MCI or NBE. What is the medico-legal validity of these courses? Can MCI allow such non-recognised courses? Are they not illegal and detrimental to public interest?

Answer :"

First of all, let it be clear that the NBE has nothing to do with recognizing qualifications awarded by other institutions.

Yes,these courses are not recognised qualifications as per MCI Act.

"If a patient files a complaint in a consumer forum that the doctor treated him for diabetes though he did not have a recognised special qualification, the complaint is likely to fail because an MBBS is competent to treat an ordinary case of diabetes.

"If some mishap happens and the patients files a complaint in a consumer forum that the doctor should have referred him to a specialist in diabetes, the court is likely to give some weightage to the certificate / diploma held by the doctor, especially if it is from a reputed institution.

The MCI has no role in recognizing or de-recognising these courses. It can recognise a course only when the course organiser approaches it for recognition of the course. The organisers of the courses know, that their courses do not lead to a recognised qualification.

The only role of the MCI , is to take action against a doctor who (has undergone such unrecognized courses and on this basis alone), holds out to the public as a specialist in that particular discipline, in violation of the regulation 7.20 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, which reads as follows:

"Regulation 7.20 : A Physician shall not claim to be specialist unless he has a special recognized qualification in that branch".

-- As long as somebody is giving education without false claims and students are applying and paying for it voluntarily and the teaching programme is being conducted as promised, this in itself does not appear to be illegal.

we would view it as continuing medical education. On the face of it, it does not appear to be against public interest. It is in the interest of public that doctors should upgrade their knowledge periodically through whatever means.