Struggling with shortage of doctors, the health ministry wants students studying abroad to come back and work in the country.
In a desperate attempt to prevent emigration of doctors, the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has decided to take an undertaking from physicians going abroad for higher medical education to return and serve the country for at least five years.
This undertaking will be mandatory for all US-bound medical students since the country seeks various certificates from the MoHFW while granting admission to its medical colleges. One of the certificates includes certificate of ‘no-obligation to return’ which the health ministry is not keen on giving any more. The ministry is also working out ways through which it can compel students going to other countries to return and serve the country for a few years.
The health ministry has already sent a policy paper in this regard to the Union ministry for law and justice for vetting.
“We are struggling with shortage of doctors, then how can I give a certificate to doctors that there is no need for them to come back to India. From this year we want to enforce this undertaking. If doctors flout this we can always write to the US government to debar them from employment in their country for flouting the undertaking,” said health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
There are three certificates that a doctor needs from the health ministry while going for higher education in the US. The first is “Statement of Need” for the course which the doctor wants to pursue in US. Based on this certificate, they get J-1 visa, which is valid for seven years. After which they have to come back.
However, if they want to pursue PhD or some other course they need to obtain “Exceptionally Needed Course” (ENC) certificate to extend their stay. According to this, there is no-obligation to return in case they seek employment abroad. The government is planning to stop issuing “no-obligation to return” certificates.
Azad said there is a shortage of over seven lakh doctors. He added that most of the doctors are products of government medical colleges who have got highly subsidised education. Each year about 3,000 doctors go abroad for higher studies, but only 30% of them come back.
To encourage rural postings among doctors, which will soon be mandatory for admission to PG medical courses, it has been decided that an additional weightage will be given in PG entrance examination at the rate of 10 % for each year of rural service a student has done. The maximum will be 30% which a student can get for three years service.
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