“The future Indian medical graduate must be socially accountable, not someone trained in outdated and archaic concepts,” Dr Singh said and highlighted the absence of healthcare professionals from the LGBTQIA+ community in the NMC committee addressing queer issues.He also added that the NMC has suddenly removed the seven hours of disability competencies from the foundation course, which was heralded as best practice globally. This violates Section 39 (2)(f) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 mandating the inclusion of the rights of disabled in the curriculum of universities, colleges and schools.The NMC took note of LGBTQ rights only after reprimands from the Madras and Kerala high courts. Following the rap, NMC issued directives to all medical universities to refrain from endorsing materials containing unscientific, derogatory, or discriminatory content regarding the LGBTQ community.However, activists said, the updated guidelines have failed to incorporate earlier suggestions to ensure the curriculum is inclusive and supports LGBTQ individuals.Dr Singh has now submitted requests for information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, highlighting the need for transparency in the discussions and decision-making process behind the new guidelines.Despite submitting multiple recommendations to the NMC to incorporate best practices, the latest revisions could be much better, argued activists.Dr Prof (Dr) Aqsa Shaikh, Professor of Community Medicine, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, said, “NMC had itself issued the new curriculum for forensic medicine and weeded out queerphobic content from the medical curriculum after being directed by Madras High Court.”
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