Rural stint must for doctors eyeing PG seat

New Delhi: MBBS doctors aspiring to pur­sue post graduation will now have to under­take a one-year rural posting to be eligible for such a course.

In a major decision aimed at improving rural healthcare in India, the Union govern­ment has decided to make it mandatory for all MBBS doctors to undergo one-year rural posting to sit for post graduation entrance examination.  

According to health ministry sources, a proposal to this effect was cleared by the ministry recently and Medical Council of India (MCI) is in the process of issuing a notification.

"The decision will be applicable from the next academic session (2014-15). All MBBS graduates seeking a post-graduate degree would have to work for one year in a village before they can take the PG en­trance examination," said an official. He said the MBBS course structure and duration will stay the same.

The decision came after two years of deliberations, as the earlier proposal of increasing the duration of the MBBS course to include a rural posting for doctors was scuttled after stiff opposition.

But now the ministry seems to have decided on it in view of the scarcity of medical professional in medical facilities in the rural areas. Health ministry statistics show there is over 60% shortage of general doctors and over 80% of specialist doctors in rural India.

"The initiative to make rural posting compulsory is key to addressing the need of more doctors for rural areas. It will be notified soon," said Dr Jagdish Prasad, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS).

Those candidates who do not want to do a rural posting would
be free to practice MBBS after they get de­grees following the internship.

The MBBS course structure and dura­tion will remain the same. The only change is one year rural posting will be made the eli­gibility condition for those wanting to pur­sue MD and MS.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK