A nationwide FAIMA survey has flagged important gaps in medical education across India: weak skills labs, irregular teaching, heavy clerical burdens on trainees, faculty shortages and rising mental-health stress among students and residents.
Key findings
- Infrastructure shortfalls: Many colleges lack adequate facilities, affecting hands-on training.
- Skills-lab gaps: Fewer than half of respondents report functional skills labs for simulation and practice.
- Irregular teaching & clinical exposure: A sizable share of trainees report inconsistent teaching schedules and inadequate patient exposure.
- Excess clerical work & toxic culture: Residents face heavy administrative burdens and report stressful or unsupportive work environments.
- Faculty shortages: Insufficient teaching staff undermines supervision and learning quality.
- Mental-health concerns: High levels of stress and limited access to counselling or wellness support are widespread.
Why it matters
Weak practical training and inconsistent teaching threaten clinical competence and patient safety. Excessive workload and poor workplace culture worsen burnout and mental-health risks among future doctors. Fixing these gaps is vital for quality care and for protecting trainee wellbeing.
- Immediate actions (for institutions & regulators)
- Audit and repair/upgrade skills labs and essential clinical-training facilities.
- Enforce regular, documented teaching timetables and protect resident duty hours.
- Ensure timely stipend/payment disbursal and reduce clerical load on trainees.
- Fast-track faculty recruitment and deploy visiting faculty or simulation sessions as stopgaps.
- Establish confidential mental-health support (counsellors, peer helplines, structured wellness programmes).
Guidance for students & faculty
- Students: Record and report stipend delays, unsafe conditions or chronic workload issues to student bodies or institutional grievance cells; use peer support and mental-health services.
- Faculty: Prioritise supervised clinical teaching, advocate for protected teaching time, and help set up wellness and mentoring programmes.
- Administrators: Monitor teaching quality, fix infrastructure gaps, and communicate clear duty-hour and stipend policies.
Conclusion
The FAIMA survey is a clear wake-up call: to maintain clinical standards and safeguard trainee wellbeing, medical education must restore regular teaching, strengthen practical skills training, fill faculty gaps and provide robust mental-health support.
FAQs
1. Who ran the survey?
Ans: FAIMA conducted a national survey of students, residents and faculty.
2. What are the top problems?
Ans: Skills-lab shortfalls, irregular teaching, excessive clerical duties, faculty shortages and mental-health stress.
3. Will this change policy?
Ans: The findings are a strong case for audits, targeted investments and regulatory attention; action will depend on institutional and regulatory follow-up.
4. What can trainees do now?
Ans: Raise issues through official grievance channels, seek peer/faculty support, and use any available counselling services.
My self Anita Sahani. I have completed my B.Com from Purbanchal College Silapathar. I am working in Dev Library as a Content Manager. A website that provides all SCERT, NCERT 3 to 12, and BA, B.com, B.Sc, and Computer Science with Post Graduate Notes & Suggestions, Novel, eBooks, Health, Finance, Biography, Quotes, Study Materials, and more.
