It is understood that the National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed to make it mandatory for every student taking admission in medical colleges to adopt and nurse a rural family and meet it at least once in a month during the period of their studies. This will reportedly enable the students who remain in touch with the rural families to ascertain the requirements of the villagers so that they are prepared to take up rural jobs. The medical students will have to submit a report of the medical condition of the adopted families as part of their medical education. This is a novel idea and will go a long way in removing the shortage of doctors in the rural areas when implemented. As per statistics 66% of the population lives in rural areas while 75% of the doctors prefer urban postings. People living in the villages are more susceptible to falling prey to the various diseases due to malnutrition and the unhygienic way of living. This proposal by the National Medical Council when implemented will go a long way in bringing down the mortality rate in the rural areas.
