Tamil Nadu plans to add 460 additional PG Medical Seats by 2026

Chennai: Bringing good news to the postgraduate (PG) medical aspirants, Tamil Nadu has proposed to launch new PG medical courses in 13 government medical colleges from the academic year 2026-2027.

Of these 13 medical colleges, 11 colleges were established in 2022, while the existing PG seats will be increased at the two-year-old Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital (KCSSH).

Issuing an official order in this regard, the State Government has granted permission to start new PG courses in the 13 GMCs and to increase the seats in the existing PG programmes at KCSSH.

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As per the latest media report by The Hindu, the Essentiality Certificate has already been issued, and the State has also granted permission to the Director of Medical Education and Research to apply for the approval from the National Medical Commission (NMC), the Apex Medical Education Regulatory Body in India.

Altogether 460 new PG seats have been proposed at the government medical colleges in Pudukottai, Karur, Ramanathapuram, Tiruppur, Tiruvallur, Namakkal, Virudhnagar, Nilgiris, Kallakurichi, Dindigul, Nagapattinam, Ariyalur, and Krishnagiri.

Except for the medical colleges in Pudukottai and Karur, the rest of the medical colleges are among the 11 new medical colleges that were added in the year 2022.

There are currently 38 PG seats at KCSSH, attached to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. Now, the State Government has proposed 28 additional seats across seven specialties of Nephrology, Urology, Medical Gastroenterology, Surgical Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Anaesthesiology, and Radiology.

Meanwhile, the State has proposed including MD courses in General Medicine, Paediatrics, General Surgery, Orthopaedics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Radio diagnosis, Anaesthesiology in the 13 medical colleges.

However, in response to the State's decision, some of the government doctors have highlighted the omission of institutions such as the Government Omandurar Medical College and Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital in Omandurar Estate.

Commenting on the matter, a doctor told The Hindu on the condition of anonymity, "The increase in seats could have been better distributed. Many of us expected an increase in seats in a number of specialties here according to the patient load, but have been left out."

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the Service Doctors and Postgraduates Association, A. Ramalingam, said that by increasing the PG medical seats, the State Government is gradually phasing out junior and senior resident posts, who, according to NMC norms, should be engaged in patient care.

"Instead of having the posts of junior and senior residents, the State government is misusing PGs as manpower to address the prevailing shortage of doctors. This should not be the case," he added.

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