Goa Medical College plans to add 70 MBBS Seats, Seeks NMC Nod to Start New PG Courses

Panaji: More medical aspirants in the State are likely to get a chance of pursuing their undergraduate medical education as Goa Medical College (GMC) is planning to increase around 70 MBBS seats, thereby taking the total number of MBBS seats from 180 to 250.

Apart from this, the medical college also plans to add new MD/MS and super-speciality courses in MCh pediatric surgery, hand surgery, and DM neurology. Further, the institute wants to offer speciality course in DM medical oncology and it also plans to increase PG medical seats in department of surgery, anesthesiology and psychiatry.

GMC also intends to commence new PG medical courses in emergency medicine, critical medicine, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Commencing PG courses in echocardiography and physiotherapy in the oncology system is also in the wish list of the medical college.

One of the oldest medical institutes in the country, Goa Medical College (GMC) was established back in 1691. It is run by the government and an organic institute of the Goa University. The college has 180 MBBS seats available for admission.

It also has 14 super-specialty seats including two seats MCh Neurosurgery that were added back in the year 2021. Further, the institute has 121 Postgraduate medical seats in a variety of disciplines. Among these PG courses in geriatric medicine, immunohematology, and blood transfusion were introduced back in 2022.

In 2019, 30 MBBS seats had been added to the seat matrix of the medical college for the students belonging to the reserved category of economically weaker section (EWS).

Also Read: NMC nod to new MD Courses at Goa Medical College

Medical Dialogues had last year reported that the college was granted with NMC nod for 10 new super-specialty seats in six departments including cardiothoracic surgery, urology, plastic surgery, cardiology, cardiac anesthesia and nephrology.

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, now GMC plans to add around 70 MBBS seats and add new MD/MS and Super-Speciality courses to its seat matrix. Referring to this, the Dean of the institute, Dr. S M Bandekar told TOI, "We have applied to National Medical Commission (NMC) to start super-specialty courses - MCh pediatric surgery, hand surgery, and DM neurology."

The medical college also wants to offer a DM Medical Oncology speciality course. An outpatient department (OPD) for oncology patients has already been started at the institute and the construction process for the regional cancer centre is likely to be completed by the end of the year.

Back in 2013, six allied health science degree courses were initiated at the medical college with an intake capacity for 50 seats. Further, the seat capacity was doubled in 2015 and another ten seats had been added in the year 2019 for the EWS quota. However, this section does not have an independent building and the students are accommodated in the existing classrooms, adds the Daily.

Speaking about this, Bandekar said that an independent building will be constructed for allied health science and a proposal has already been submitted to the Government.

While an academic official from the medical college agreed that the students of applied health sciences are inconvenienced sometimes because of the absence of an independent section, the official also pointed out that the students get to study these courses within Goa, which was improbable around a decade ago.

“Those courses are highly job-oriented. After getting their degrees, the students need not go outside the state for jobs,” the official mentioned.

Also Read: NMC nod for 10 seats in 6 Super Speciality Courses at Goa Medical College