Cooper Hospital DNB medicos upset with delayed implementation of assured stipend hike

Mumbai: The medical students pursuing their Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses at the civic-run hospitals in Mumbai are upset with the delayed implementation of the assured stipend hike.

Last year, the State Government approved a Rs 10,000 hike in the monthly stipend paid to the DNB students. However, HT has reported that the same has yet to be implemented.

Earlier this year, aiming to raise their demands regarding the implementation of the stipend hike, the Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College (HBTMC) and Dr R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital chapter of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) had decided to go on a mass leave on January 14. 

Also Read: DNB doctors at ESIC institutes getting less stipend than MD, MS! Matter in Supreme Court

Consequently, they received an assurance from the administration. Referring to the same, a graduate student of HBTMC told Hindustan Times, "After we announced this, the administration assured us that the hike would come soon but nothing has happened so far."

Another issue that the doctor highlighted was the disparity in the appointment letters issued to the doctors. While the PG medical students pursuing Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Surgery (MS) students are appointed as resident medical officers (RMOs), the doctor alleged that DNB students are sometimes appointed as house officers or registrars.

Commenting on the matter, a DNB RMO from Cooper Hospital told the Daily, "We have been reaching out to the administration since July 2024 when the hike was given to other RMOs, which also included the pending arrears since March. However, we have not received anything. Also, there is a huge disparity between the stipends of other RMOs and us. They get food and library allowances and we don’t, as we are treated as house officers or registrars even though the appointment letter mentions ‘Resident Doctor’."

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) awards the DNB degrees to those who complete a three-year training programme in any of the 30 broad specialties. As per the rules, a DNB degree is equivalent to a Master of Medicine (MD), Master of Surgery (MS), Doctor of Medicine (DM), and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh) for all purposes. At HBTMC, currently, 106 students are pursuing the DNB specialty courses. Last year, NBE released stipend guidelines for the DNB Post Diploma students.

Earlier, the State Government had also issued an order on March 4, 2024, and specified that all the medical colleges were bound to pay the stipend as prescribed by NBEMS or pay a basic stipend as per the basic government policy, whichever was higher.

Meanwhile, when questioned about the matter, the Dean of Cooper Hospital, Dr. Sudhir Medhekar mentioned that there was an "administrative error" in the directive issued by BMC. Explaining the issue, he said, "The order mandates a hike for ‘DNB superspeciality students’ while it should have been all DNB students, specialty and superspeciality."

"We have sent a proposal to the concerned authorities, and the DNB speciality students should get their hike soon," he added.

Also Read: DNB Post Diploma Admissions 2024: NBE Releases Stipend Guidelines, Check All Details here