A recent nationwide survey conducted by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), in collaboration with its Review Medical System (FAIMA-RMS), has brought to light alarming widespread deficiencies in the infrastructure, faculty strength, and overall training quality across India’s newly established medical colleges.
The comprehensive survey spanned over 28 States and Union Territories, collecting more than 2,000 responses from a diverse group of medical students, teachers, and professors from both government and private medical institutions. A significant majority, 90.4%, of the participants hailed from government institutions, with 7.8% from private colleges.
The findings paint a stark picture: only 71.5% of respondents felt they received adequate patient exposure, and a mere 54.3% reported consistent teaching sessions. While 69.2% found laboratory and equipment facilities satisfactory, and 68.8% felt there was sufficient faculty, a critical gap was identified with only 44.1% having access to properly functioning skills laboratories. Financial and well-being issues also surfaced, as only half of the respondents received timely stipend payments, and a concerning 29.5% reported having fixed working hours. Furthermore, 73.9% indicated being overwhelmed by clerical tasks, 55.2% pointed to acute staff shortages, and a significant 40.8% described their daily work environment as toxic.
FAIMA emphasized that these revelations come despite a National Task Force’s recommendations in 2024, which followed a similar previous nationwide survey. Key suggestions, such as establishing fixed duty hours for residents and interns, appointing mental health counsellors for students, implementing annual parental involvement for wellness initiatives, and providing a 10-day mental health leave, have largely remained unimplemented on the ground.