Maharashtra Doctors to get more than 1400 new Senior resident posts

Mumbai: Bringing good news to the doctors in Maharashtra and especially those who want to pursue teaching career, the State is in the way of adding more than 1400 new senior residency posts from the next academic session starting in July.

This comes after recently the bonded resident doctors under the umbrella of Maharashtra Association of Bonded Resident Doctors (MABRD) had appealed in this regard before the authorities, adds HT.

The resident doctors had earlier pointed out how limited number of posts for senior residency was ultimately marring the medical education in the State, which is facing an acute shortage of medical teachers.

While earlier there were only limited posts for pursuing senior residency, now the Maharashtra doctors are going to get better chances to become assistant professors in the medical colleges. 

After completion of MBBS course, when the doctors pursue three-year post graduate programme i.e. MD/MS/DNB, they become junior residents. Senior residency can be taken up after completion of PG medical courses and mandatory one-year bond service period. 

Previously, writing to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), MABRD had pointed out that while the number of postgraduate seats in the colleges are increasing continuously, the number of senior residency posts have not been increased in the same ratio. This resulted in a situation where several PG medical graduates were without senior residency. 

Also Read: NMC to do away with positions of Tutor, Demonstrator, Registrar, bring them all under Senior Resident nomenclature

As per the latest media report by Hindustan Times, recently the members of the association also met the medical education secretary Dr Ashwini Joshi, joint secretary Dr Shivaji Patankar and DMER director Dr Dilip Mhaisekar to discuss the issue.

While commenting on the meeting, the president of MABRD, Dr. Pranav Jadhav informed that the during the meeting, they discussed the requirement for more senior residency posts, pay disparity among resident doctors belonging to different medical colleges in Maharashtra, one pay and accommodation facilities given to senior residents etc. He termed the meeting to be fruitful and added, "We hope that all MD/MS pass out candidates will be given senior residencies so that it makes them eligible for the post of assistant professor."

Apart from this, the meeting also discussed several other topics including the elimination of post of tutors in medical colleges. Medical Dialogues had last year reported that releasing the draft Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations 2021 (TEQ), the National Medical Commission (NMC) had decided to do away with the posts of tutors to reduce confusion.

NMC had stated, "The existing posts of Tutors/Demonstrators/Registrars in all the Departments shall be re designated as Senior Residents."

"Henceforth all the Departments in Broad Specialties including Pre –Clinical and Para –Clinical Departments will have the designation of Senior Resident. All other designations like Tutor/Demonstrator/Registrar or any other designation practiced earlier stands deleted," further clarified the Regulations.

On the other hand, while NMC had enforced strict TEQ rules for the non-medical teachers and reduced the number of posts allotted to them, later it changed its stand and decided to follow the old rules.

NMC had also issued a public notice in this regard and mentioned, "In compliance of the above mentioned directions issued by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare vide order dated 03.01.2022, the provisions regarding percentage of non-medical teachers/number of faculty in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Bio-Chemistry would continue as per the Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998."

Therefore, non-medical candidates with a master's degree in subjects such as biochemistry and physiology are allowed to teach in the medical colleges. HT adds that the resident doctors are highly opposed to this move and they claimed that better qualified people who have already completed their PG medical education in medicine as well as one year residency are already available in large numbers.

Meanwhile, speaking to HT, the DMER director Dr Dilip Mhaisekar said that the process for increasing the senior residency posts has commenced already. Further pointing out that there are not many takers for posts in smaller cities, he added, "We can't allow the doctors to choose their postings as this is done on merit basis. The need for additional SR posts has been communicated to the government, and has also been approved in principle. We expect receive an official decision on adding 1400 posts in medical colleges by January."

Also Read: NMC reverses its Stand on TEQ norms for non medical teachers, says old rules will be followed