Karnataka Medical officers protest branch restrictions for in-service quota

Bengaluru: Medical officers of the Karnataka Health Department, willing to pursue postgraduate medical courses under the in-service quota, are protesting against the restrictions imposed by the Government.

For allotting postgraduate medical seats under the in-service quota this year, the Government had mandated that the medical officers to pursue six branches if they are choosing doctor of medicine (MD) or master of surgery (MS) courses, and only nine branches if they are pursuing diplomate of national board (DNB).

Taking note of a mismatch between the department-wise requirements of staff and the preference of the doctors, the Government had earlier specified that in-service officers would be allowed to pursue MD/MS courses only in six branches, including emergency medicine, traumatology and surgery, critical care medicine, forensic medicine, anesthesia, and MD (family medicine).

It had been decided by the State that those seeking other subjects under the in-service quota will not receive deputation. However, some of the medical officers have challenged the decision of the Department in court.

Also Read: Karnataka increases In-service Reservation from 15 to 20%

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, having only a limited number of choices, most of the officers- except for about a dozen- applied and were allotted only DNB seats in the recent Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) mock allotment. Commenting on the matter, a medical officer, who was allotted a DNB seat, told TOI, "Doctors from departments like Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) or ESI were allotted MD or MS seats even under different branches, but not us. Most of us will now be forced to pursue DNB, which is not even taught in medical colleges but in taluk or district hospitals."

He further added, "The quality of education will be very different in medical colleges under National Medical Council (NMC) norms. They are usually in district centres, and we will learn more. But with DNB, we will rarely see any complicated, serious cases in taluk hospitals. We will have less practical exposure."

Highlighting that DNB includes obstetrics & gynaecology, paediatrics, and orthopaedics, the officers have questioned the staffing logic. In this regard, another medical officer questioned, "Under DNB, there are options like obstetrics & gynaecology, paediatrics and orthopaedics. Does that not mean there is a need for such specialists in the health dept? Then why are we not being allowed to pursue them as a master's course, which is of higher quality anyway?"

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) condemned prioritising DNB over MD/MS seats. Speaking to TOI, an office bearer, said in the condition of anonymity, "For almost 30 years, in-service quota is being provided. Why suddenly bring in these rules? They are taking away doctors' freedom of choice by restricting the branches."

The Department, however, has justified its stand, stressing that its needs assessment is precise, focusing on primary care over tertiary specialties. In this regard, Harsh Gupta, the Principal Secretary of the Health Department, said, "What we currently need in our PHCs, CHCs and taluk hospitals are doctors specialised in family medicine or emergency care itself. We have requirements only in a few specialties now, and we should only sponsor those. Our requirements are different from tertiary hospitals of medical education department. Medical officers are allowed to pursue other specialties for MD/MS, but they should let go of in-service quota. If they get in through their own merit, we will consider them for deputation."

"We must also consider the fact that under DNB, we won't be losing our human resources for three years, which is the case with MD/MS. DNB is an equivalent course and officers will get more clinical exposure as they will face similar cases in their daily practice, as they do during the course. They also get medical college exposure for up to six months," he further added.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that earlier this year, the Karnataka Government laid down new rules, tightening the rules for in-service doctors, willing to pursue PG medical courses.

It had been specified that Karnataka-based Medical officers, willing to pursue higher education, would either be able to avail in-service quota for counselling during allotment, or they would be permitted to be sent on deputation to higher education courses during which they would be eligible for course fee, salary, and other service benefits.