Vol , Issue Date of Publication: February 18, 2026
DOI: https://doi/org/10.20529/IJME.2026.009

Views
, PDF Downloads:

The ethical drift in medical education: Prioritising post graduate entrance preparation over professional competence

Thirunavukkarasu Arun Babu
Vijayan Sharmila
Abstract:

There is an emerging and deeply concerning shift in the culture of undergraduate medical education in India, with many MBBS students increasingly prioritising their preparation for postgraduate (PG) entrance examinations, such as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) and Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI-CET), over conventional academic learning and bedside clinical exposure. This sometimes begins from the very first year of training. The rapid expansion of commercial, technology-driven coaching platforms has amplified this trend. While such platforms have facilitated access to learning resources and support exam preparation, their disproportionate influence on student priorities raises significant ethical questions regarding the purpose and integrity of undergraduate medical education.


Copyright and license
©Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2026: Open Access and Distributed under the Creative Commons license ( CC BY-NC-ND 4.0),
which permits only non-commercial and non-modified sharing in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

Full Text

HTML | PDF

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Please restrict your comment preferably to 800 words
Comments are moderated. Approval can take up to 48 hours.

Help IJME keep its content free. You can support us from as little as Rs. 500 Make a Donation