Doctors write to NMC to oppose animal use in PG Pharmacology and Physiology

Many doctors have written to the National Medical Commission (NMC) against the use of animals in teaching and training PG pharmacology and physiology courses.

After the National Medical Commission's (NMC) draft Postgraduate (PG) Medical Education Regulations 2021 has mandated the use of animals in training and teaching of PG pharmacology and physiology courses, many doctors have approached NMC to ensure that animals are replaced by more-effective and human-relevant techniques in PG courses.

These doctors are claiming that using animals is not necessary for teaching PG pharmacology and physiology courses.

NMC draft reads, "Animal experimentation should continue to be included as an integral part of the competency-based curriculum of Postgraduate Courses in Physiology and Pharmacology in medical institutions

and the concerned medical institutions shall ensure that all governing statutory regulations with regard to the use of animal experimentation in Postgraduate Courses in teaching and training of the said Postgraduate courses are strictly adhered to."

The doctors said in their appeal, "It is unnecessary to use animals for routine teaching and training of PG pharmacology and physiology students. Medical students-and India would benefit more if the students developed practical skills using human-relevant research techniques and gained experience in clinical aspects like epidemiological surveys, clinical postings, case-based learning and patient-centric teaching," as reported by Medical Dialogues.

The doctors opine that if the students continue to use animals for studying these courses they would miss the emerging animal-free trends and employment opportunities.

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