As per the new NMC guidelines, a new topic
called AETCOM (Full form: Attitude Ethics Communication) got recently
introduced into the medical curriculum. AETCOM classes are supposed to train
budding doctors for dealing with patients and their families in a more
understanding and intelligent manner. In short, they are trying to make sure
that doctors themselves do not end up being responsible for the violence
against them. In these classes students are taught about the intricacies of
patient care and sometimes the medicolegal impact of their decisions as
doctors.
AETCOM questions come in exams for five marks
in every paper and of course these 5 marks are our favorite among all the two
hundred marks we have to write for. Reason? Its basically creative writing. The
questions which come are like:
1. Write a short note on doctor-patient
relationship.
2. Write a short note on the rights of
a patient.
3. Write a short note about the care of
patient sample.
While writing these answers the Shakespeare
inside every medico wakes up, and people end up writing some unique, phenomenal
and awe-inspiring answers which have been a constant source of entertainment
for the examiners for the past few years (alongside our other answers which
tend to be laughable too)!
We are actually supposed to read some really
long PDFs on these topics from the NMC website, but literally no one does that.
This is the beauty of AETCOM, this is the only part you don’t have to study but
you can expect to write in the exams. Though most of us write other answers too
without knowing anything about the topic, but that’s a tale for another day.
AETCOM classes come with fun activities too,
for students. Like, once we were asked to perform a play about the correct and
incorrect approach of a doctor towards his/her patients. I remember having
immense fun while writing the script for this good doctor-bad doctor play with
one of my batchmates.
At other times random pairs are made and they
are asked to do role play as a doctor and a patient and communicate about some
prevalent disease like, malaria, dengue or tuberculosis. I must mention here
that the poor person who has to play doctor is the one to suffer in these
plays. Why? This is because the teacher expects him/her to know everything
about the treatment plan, long term complications and preventive measures of
the disease and communicate the same to the patient who at times (especially if
it’s me) asks some really difficult questions just to add to the trouble! And if
he does not know the answers then he’d better get ready for impending doom!
In today’s society however violence against
doctors and AETCOM classes exist and thrive simultaneously. Every time a doctor
is wrongfully accused, provoked to commit suicide or is manhandled it leads us
to wonder, can AETCOM classes really prepare us for the things we might face as
interns or doctors? Only Time can tell.
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