Goa Medical College PG course to be conditional

The dilemma facing the Goa Medical College (GMC) which is currently facing a crunch in specialist doctors could soon be a thing of the past if a proposal by the health Ministry in Goa sees the light of day and is actually implemented meticulously. As per the proposal, doctors who wish to specialize with a post graduate degree at the Goa Medical College will have to sign a bond which includes a clause stating that they would either have to work for a period of two years in a rural government hospital in Goa or in lieu, pay the state a fee of Rs 10 lakh.

The above was necessitated by the dire situation faced by GMC which finds itself drained of doctors after the post graduation course is over and therefore burdens the states medical resources undesirably. Students who finish their post graduation course leave the institution having no obligation to stay behind for any period of time thereby straining the whole chain of healthcare resulting in  a shortage of teaching staff at the entry level of the teaching faculty, assistant lecturer and upwards. The main departments affected by this attitude in the GMC include the surgery, medicine and orthopaedic departments.

The health Minister MR Vishwajit Rane has therefore reiterated that he will ensure strict implementation of this policy so that the state does not face this unnecessary crunch even after students passing out from the institution year after year. There are currently about 26 Post Graduate diploma seats and 39 post graduate degree seats at the Goa Medical College.

Such policies are however existing on paper in many other states of the country. However when it comes to implementation there seems to be absolutely no will and few states are actually enforcing the rules strictly.

Goa too had a rule for medical students studying the Post graduate course wherein they were required to sign a bond with a clause to work in the public health centres for atleast a year or in lieu, pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh. However there was hardly any will to implement this clause and the current problem has slowly manifested itself to pose an alarming vacuum in the state's health sector.