No rural stint? You won’t get PG medical seat in Maha

OF THE 4,500 STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR THE RURAL STINT, TILL AUGUST

2018, ONLY 1,500 HAD APPROACHED DMER FOR POSTINGS, THE REMAINING 3,000 HAVE NOT TRACKED BY DMER

MUMBAI: Less than a week after medical aspirants t ook t he National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test for post-graduate courses (NEET-PG), the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) has said only those from the state who have completed the mandatory oneyear rural stint after MBBS will be eligible for admissions in Maharashtra.

The results for NEET-PG exam are expected by the end of the month. The final admissions schedule for PG medical courses will be announced soon. Maharashtra has close to 2,700 PG medical seats, across government-run, private and deemed institutes.

Currently, after the completion of MBBS, students have six months to apply for the rural stint. In October 2017, the state medical department had proposed to add a year of rural medical stint to the existing 5.5 years of the course.

The rule was relaxed for a year but will be applicable from this year. This means students will have to start their rural stint immediately after their MBBS, before applying for PG courses.

Of the 4,500 students eligible for the rural stint, till August 2018, only 1,500 had approached DMER for postings. The remaining 3,000 students have neither reached out nor been tracked by DMER.

“We won’t give warnings to students who didn’t complete their rural internship after graduation. The rule is clear. Our admission brochure will highlight it, once the schedule is released,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, director, DMER, adding,

“Some of the 3,000 students are either studying abroad or might have started working in another country. It is not easy to track students once they leave the country. But those who approach the government or PG admissions will not be allowed to do so without fulfilling the mandatory criterion.”

Parents and students feel the rural stint is important for all MBBS graduates, but are worried about working in places with poor facilities.

“The rural stint is acceptable as l ong as t he government makes sure that students are placed in hospitals where they can work and learn for a year. Instead of simply forcing students to complete the rural internship, the government should invest more in rural hospitals for the benefit of locals as well as the resident doctors,” said a parent, on condition of anonymity.