NMC national task force to examine suicide among medical students

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The task force’s mandate

The mental health of medical students has been a cause for concern in the recent past, with rising cases of depression and suicide.

“To address this issue, a National Task Force has been constituted by the anti-ragging committee of the National Medical Commission,” said an office order issued on 21 February.

According to the terms and references, the task force is expected to study existing literature and data on mental health and suicide of medical students, analyse factors contributing to these challenges, and propose evidence-based strategies for improving mental health.

The task force will also reportedly visit the colleges where incidents of suicides have been reported.

It is expected to submit a comprehensive report by 31 May outlining key findings and actionable recommendations for improving the mental health of medical students.

The task force will have to submit a monthly progress report to the Anti-Ragging Cell of the NMC.

It is expected to convene regular meetings — either virtually or in person — as necessary to fulfil its mandate.

It may also co-opt members on a need basis to facilitate its study and timely finalisation of the report.

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Suicides, dropouts

In response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, the NMC has disclosed that over the past five years, a total of 122 medical students ended their own lives, while another 1,270 medical professionals discontinued their studies.

The RTI application, submitted by activist Dr Vivek Pandey, sought specific details of both undergraduate and postgraduate medical students who died by suicide during the last five years, concluding in December 2023.

Additionally, the application requested information on medical students who voluntarily withdrew from their educational institutions during the same timeframe.

As per the information furnished by the commission on 7 February, 64 out of the 122 medical students who tragically ended their lives were enrolled in the MBBS programme, and the remaining 58 were pursuing various postgraduate medical courses.

Among the latter group, 12 students were pursuing MS in clinical branches, 36 were enrolled in MD programmes within clinical branches, and 10 were engaged in MD/MS pre- and para-clinical branches.

The NMC further detailed that out of the 1,270 students who discontinued their studies, 153 were pursuing MBBS, while 1,117 were engaged in postgraduate medical studies.