Candidates admitted to a PG course have to execute a bond to serve the government for a period of one year, or face a penalty of ₹40-50 lakh.
Published Oct 03, 2022 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 03, 2022 | 11:03 AM
Specialist doctors are urging state governments to bring back family physicians. Finding a family physician near you is best for healthcare. (Creative Commons)
The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday, 2 October, announced that postgraduate and super-speciality students studying and practising in government medical colleges under the state quota — as well as Category- A (state quota) seats in private medical colleges from the academic year 2022-23 — after the completion of their course have to work in Andhra Pradesh Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (APVVP) and Directorate of Medical Education hospitals in the state for a year.
These medical practitioners have to provide service at secondary and tertiary healthcare centres in rural districts of the state.
The state government in its statement said that it is striving to bring Primary Healthcare Centres, Community Healthcare Centres, Area Hospitals, and District Hospitals to the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) and medical colleges and teaching hospitals to National Medical Commission norms.
The state’s director of medical education had already furnished such a proposal to reduce the deficiency of specialist doctors at secondary and tertiary healthcare levels.
He has also stated that as a result of this, fresh specialist graduates would certainly have a better chance of handling cases and taking decisions independently.
Therefore, rural and government service was essential for their own professional development.
This would apparently also be very useful for patients in the rural and tribal areas of the state.
“The Government after careful examination of the matter and keeping in view of the necessity of the specialty services to strengthen the healthcare, hereby introduce Compulsory Rural/Government Service to the Post-Graduate Degree/Super Specialty students, [sic]” said Government Order (GO) 251.
In other medical news, neighbouring Telangana has reserved a large chunk of MBBS and BDS seats in private medical colleges for students from within the state.
Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh, each candidate admitted to a PG course has to execute a bond to serve the government for a period of one year.
“If they violate the bond condition either by not joining or by not completing the stipulated service period of one year within a maximum period of 18 months after obtaining the PG Degree, a penalty of Rs.40,00,000 on PG degree candidates & Rs.50,00,000 for Super Specialty candidates shall be levied [sic],” the GO said.
It added that the services of the postgraduate and super-speciality students after completion of their course would be utilized on a payment-of-honorarium basis in the health institutions of APVVP as a first priority.
The services of the remaining students, if any, would be utilised in the health institutions of the Directorate of Medical Education.
