Realms of Social Accountability in Medical Education: the Indian Conundrum

Abstract

[...]institutions find it difficult to balance financial compartmentalization for advanced technologies on one hand and commitments to address social determinants of the community on the other hand. According to MCI Vision 2015,7 the cardinal objective of undergraduate medical education is to produce an Indian medical graduate who can serve in the community as a physician of first contact and provide necessary preventive and curative services. [...]the trend of corporate downsizing followed in some private sectors is said to negatively influence teachers' professional attitudes and make them more concerned about their institution's competitive advantage than about doing what is ethically responsible.9 As per the World Health Organisation's definition,10 social accountability is "the obligation of all stakeholders to direct their education, research and service activities towards addressing the priority health concerns of the community they have a mandate to serve" Indian medical graduates, rather than focusing on being an intellectual or an astute professional, need to appreciate the non-medical expertise of being a health advocate, communicator, collaborator and leader.11 This requires willingness to be immersed in the community and to become self-aware.