NMC to abolish Age limit of 45 years prescribed for Senior Residents

New Delhi: In a move that will bring relief to thousands of doctors wanting to start their career in the field of medical education, the National Medical Commission (NMC) might soon do away with the age limit of 45 years prescribed for the initial appointment of the Senior Residents.

Confirmation of this comes from the minutes of the meeting held by the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC earlier this year, a copy of which is with Medical Dialogues team 

During its meeting dated February 07, 2023, the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC examined the cases of the non-medical postgraduate students with MSC (Medical) degree and decided to recommend to NMC for abolishing the age-limit of 45 years prescribed for the Senior Residents in the Teachers Eligibility Qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations, 2022.

The matter came to be discussed before the PG Board of the Apex medical commission after the NMC received an application from a doctor on January 02, 2023 for the post of Senior Resident in the department of Pharmacology in a medical college in India.

The concerned doctor completed her post-graduation MD (Pharmacology) in 2022 at the age of 49 years. Meanwhile, the "Teachers Eligibility Qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations, 2022", specify that the graduate must be below 45 years of age at the time of initial appointment in the post of Senior Resident. 

"The posts of Senior Resident and Tutor are tenure positions not exceeding 3 years. The graduate must be below 45 years of age at the time of initial appointment," stated the Teachers Eligibility Qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations, 2022 which was published in the Official Gazette in February 2022.

Due to this rule, the concerned doctor could not be considered eligible for the post of Senior Resident in the Department of Pharmacology in a medical college in India.

Also Read: NMC releases TEQ qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations 2022

Further, the PG Board of NMC also received a request from another doctor stating that as per the TEQ regulations, 2022 the age at the time of initial appointment of senior resident/ tutor has been prescribed as less than 45 years. While, in normal circumstances, the academic year for the PG courses commence on 1st July of the respective year, but in the year 2021, the academic year started from February 01, 2022 on account of Covid pandemic.

Taking note of these applications, the PG medical education board also considered the cases of the non-medical pg students with MSC (Medical) degree. Thereafter, in order to ensure availability of more teaching faculty for filling up the pre and para clinical faculty positions in the medical colleges, the board decided to recommend to NMC for abolishing the age limit of 45 years for the Senior Residents.

"The Board examined the cases of the non-medical postgraduate students with MSC (Medical) degree and decided to recommend to NMC for abolition of the age-limit of 45 years prescribed for the Senior Residents so as to make available more teaching faculty to fill up the pre and para clinical faculty positions in the medical colleges."

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the President of PGMEB, Dr. Vijay Oza. Apart from Dr. Vijay Oza, the president of PGMEB and Dr. K. Senthil, the Part-time member of NMC PG Board, Mr. Aujender Singh, Deputy Secretary (PGMEB), Ms. Rita Singh, US (PGMEB) and Mr. Pramod Pant, Sr. PPS were also present in the meeting.

Senior Resident-ship (SRship) is a necessary entry point to medical academics in India. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that previously the age limit for the post of Senior Residents was 40 years. However, releasing the draft Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations 2021 (TEQ) NMC announced relief on the upper age limit of the senior residentship increasing the same from maximum of 40 years to now "below 45 years of age at the time of initial appointment"

Also Read: Relief: Age limit of Senior Residency increased in the new NMC TEQ rules