Non-service PG students demand reduction of bond period & posting in parent dept
CHENNAI: After the non-service postgraduate students met the Director of Medical Education regarding the reduction of the two-year bond services, they also demand posting in super specialty departments to utilise their skills well.
Citing the lack of requirements of expertise of MD and MS in rural Primary Health Centers, the doctors say that MBBS doctors can serve in such posts instead.
The members of the Non-Service Postgraduates Tamil Nadu Nadu Resident Doctors Association say that a major part of their first year residency and a part of the second year was devoted to COVID-19-related activities, which impacted the practical learnings and the bond period is adding to their problems.
“The three-year residency is posted in a compulsory two-year bond posting in rural PHCs, and we do the work equivalent to an MBBS graduate. It is gross underutilisation of our skills and knowledge. For 2 years we hardly do any surgical cases and lose our skills. Currently, we need to pay 40 lakhs to break the bond. This is too high an amount for anyone to break the bond. The government holds our certificates till the bond period is completed so we cannot get a job in private hospitals also,” said Dr V Vignesh Rajendran, President, Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors Association.
The representatives from the Doctor’s Association for Social Equality say that it will be better served if post-graduates trained in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, orthopedics, obstetrics, and gynecology are posted in tertiary care centres in their respective departments, it will ensure benefit to the public directly.
The medical fraternity is requesting to reduce the bond up to 1 year or abolish the bond completely.
“If we are posted in tertiary care centres in our parent department during the bond period, the government can effectively utilise us for 1-2 years and our skills can be refined further. Posting us in Primary Health Centers will be only lead to the waste of skilled manpower,” he said.
