TN doctors raise concerns over transparency in recruitment of 2642 Assistant Surgeons

Chennai: Following the Tamil Nadu Health Department’s counselling for recruiting 2,642 assistant surgeons to tackle the state's doctor shortage, doctors from the 2018 MBBS batch have raised serious concerns over alleged irregularities in the selection process.  

These doctors, registered with the state medical council who applied for the post by submitting original registration certificates claimed that around 400 doctors submitted provisional registration certificates instead of the original, which directly contradicts the eligibility criteria set by the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB).

Medical Dialogues last week reported that Health Minister Ma Subramanian announced that 2,642 doctors would receive their appointment orders immediately after completing the counselling process. The selection process followed an online examination conducted by Tata Consultancy on January 5, in which approximately 24,000 doctors participated. The counselling process, which will conclude on February 15, will allow doctors to choose their preferred postings.

Also read- 2642 doctors to get appointment letters, says Health Minister Ma Subramanian

Meanwhile, the core issue in this case revolves around the recruitment board’s directive that job opportunities will be granted only to doctors registered with the Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC). However, the doctors alleged that MRB is calling doctors who registered with the council even after July 15, 2024, for certificate verification, and this is a clear violation of the MRB notification.

Initially, the MRB had set May 15, 2024, as the last date for TNMC registration for applicants. However, following requests from some doctors who couldn’t meet this deadline, the MRB revised the cut-off to July 15, 2024. While this extension was created to address delays, some candidates allegedly submitted applications using provisional TNMC registration certificates instead of the original. The move is reported to be welcomed by the board. 

Questioning the transparency of the recruitment process, Dr P Vignesh, MRB assistant surgeon aspirant, told TNIE, "The MRB notification clearly stated that only doctors registered with the TNMC by May 15, 2024, were eligible to apply. But later the MRB notification was revised to extend this date to July 15, 2024, after representations from doctors who couldn’t register with the TNMC before the earlier cut-off date. Though these doctors couldn’t register with the TNMC even after the extended date due to delay in getting the degree certificates from the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University due to various reasons, they applied for assistant surgeon posts using the provisional registration."

Adding to the frustration, the doctors claimed that they made repeated attempts to contact MRB officials for clarification but failed. “We tried reaching out to both MRB and senior health officials, but could not reach them." the doctors added. 

Dr. V Paranthaman, another aspirant said, "Around 400 doctors have applied for MRB using provisional registration numbers. The notification states that only registered medical practitioners are eligible to apply. This is not only a violation of the notification rules but also affecting the seniority."

Previously in March 2024, several doctors preparing for the Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB) examination expressed dissatisfaction with the Health Department's handling of vacant positions and the allocation of merit marks. They were particularly concerned about the department's decision to issue a fresh notification for 2,553 assistant surgeon posts, despite 1,251 vacancies remaining unfilled from the April 2023 MRB exam. Following this, they moved to the Madras High Court against the recruitment process. 

Also read- Tamil Nadu doctors to move High Court against recruitment for 2553 posts of Assistant Surgeons