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Give us postgraduate seats, we would work in primary health centre, say MBBS doctors

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In order to press their long pending demand to make undergraduate and postgraduate seats equal, over 200 MBBS students, interns and postgraduate aspirants came out together on city street on Monday. Wearing black T-shirts which displayed the caption of their campaign “Save the doctors”, they organised a protest march and light the candles at Haji Ali. Similar protests were organised in Hyderabad, Bhopal, Jaipur, Bangalore and Guwahati also.

There is a dearth of postgraduate seats in India making entrance exam very competitive. According to MCI statistics, as against 47,688 MBBS seats, there are only 12,500 postgraduate (clinical) seats. Other 7,000 seats are in non-clinical side, a less preferred option. Their online petition has got support from 11,000 people. These have been forwarded to union health ministry.

Charu Dutta Arora, an intern of TN Medical College says, “The government policies towards doctors and poor are flawed. Nation needs specialist doctors. If government doubles the PG seats in public medical colleges and one year rural stint is added in PG course, a large number of specialist doctors would be available to serve at primary healthcare centres instead of simple MBBS.”

Early this year, central government has put a rider of one year rural posting for PG aspirants. The medical fraternity is dead against the move as it takes away a precious year of MBBS doctors without an assurance of a PG seat later. Besides, fate of aspirants from the states like Maharashtra is unclear as they don’t have vacancies in rural area.

The issue has got a social angle too.“MBBS course is already 5 and half years. With one year rural posting, by the time we would complete PG, we would be already nearing 28-29 years. Students of other profession are by the time settled,” says Shweta Lonamdkar, a final year MBBS student of Topiwala Nair Medical College suggesting family pressure on girls to get married.

Doctors pointed out that due to continued negligence of government number of students appearing for pre-medical exam is going down. ““If injustice meted continues, youngsters would not come in this profession. We need to save the doctors to save the nation,” says Dr Sanjay Meriya.

Doctors demand better social security and good medical facilities at villages absence of which is believed to be deterrent for them. “We want to serve poor, we are doing philanthropic work but our community is wrongly being targeted by media and actors like Amir Khan,” says Dr Kuntal Sen.

Doctors pin their hope on formation of new Medical Council of India board later in the year. “Till now, MCI is being governed by handful of nominated members. Elected board will have freedom for such reforms,” says Dr Shivkumar Uttare, IMA member and honorary professor of Grant Medical College.

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