A combined examination for recruitment of medical doctors to various services and posts under the Central government is conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission in accordance with the norms of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There would be nearly 350 vacancies.
Services and posts
The usual services and posts are indicated below:
Assistant Divisional Medical Officer in the Railways
Assistant Divisional Medical Officer in Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service
Junior scale posts in Central Health Services
Medical Officers in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi
General Duty Medical Officer in New Delhi Municipal Council
You may apply for admission to the examination in respect of any one or more of the services/ posts. You will be given an opportunity to indicate your preferences for the services / posts at the appropriate time. You need to submit only one application, even if you want to beconsidered for different services/ posts.
Conditions of eligibility
You should not have attained the age of 32 years as on January 1 of the year of the examination. There will be the usual relaxation in the upper age limit for the eligible categories. You should have passed the written and practical parts of the final M.B.B.S. examination. Final year students may also apply; but they should produce proof of having passed the written and practical part of the final M.B.B.S. examination along with the detailed application to the Commission, after qualifying in the written examination.
Those who have not completed the compulsory rotatory internship are eligible for admission to the examination. But they will be appointed only after they complete the internship. Candidates should be physically and medically fit, in accordance with the prescribed norms.
Structure of the exam
The overall structure comprises two parts.
Part I – Written examination; two papers ; 2 x 250 = 500 marks
Part II – Interview: 100 marks.
Let us look at the contents of the written papers in some detail.
Paper 1 has three components, with a total of 120 questions
General ability: 30 questions
General medicine: 70 questions
Paediatrics: 20 questions
General ability: Indian Society, Heritage & Culture, Polity, Economy, Human Development Indices and the Development Programmes; Natural Resources, their distribution, exploitation, conservation and related issues; Basic concepts of Ecology and Environment and their impact on health and economy; Impact of changing demographic trends on health, environment and society; Indian Agriculture, Industry, Trade, Transportation and Service Sectors; Natural and man-made disasters and their management; Food adulteration, Food processing, food distribution, food storage and their relevance to public health; Recent trends in Science and Technology
General Medicine: Cardiology, Respiratory diseases, Gastro-intestinal, Genito-Urinary, Neurology, Hematology, Endocrinology, Metabolic disorders, Infections/Communicable Diseases (Virus, Rickets, Bacterial, Spirochetal, Protozoan, Metazoan, Fungus), Nutrition / Growth, Dermatology, Musculoskelatal System, Psychiatry, General Paediatrics
Paper 2 also has three components, with a total of 120 questions
Surgery: 40 questions
Gynaecology and Obstetrics: 40 questions
Preventive and Social Medicine: 40 questions
Surgery: General Surgery [Wounds, Infections, Tumours, Lymphatic, Blood vessels, Cysts / sinuses, Head and neck, Breast, Alimentary tract ( Oesophagus, Stomach, Intestines, Anus, Developmental), Liver, Bile, Pancreas, Spleen, Peritoneum, Abdominal wall, Abdominal injuries], Urological Surgery, Neuro Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Thoracic surgery, Orthopedic surgery, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, Traumatology
Gynaecology and obstetrics: Obstetrics (Ante-natal conditions, Intra-natal conditions, Post-natal conditions, Management of normal labour or complicated labour); Gynaecology (applied anatomy, Applied physiology of menstruation and fertilization, Infections in genital tract, Neoplasma in the genital tract, Displacement of the uterus); Family planning (Conventional contraceptives , U.D. and oral pills, Operative procedure, sterilization and organization of programmes in the urban and rural surroundings, Medical Termination of Pregnancy)
Preventive social and community medicine: Social and Community Medicine, Concept of Health, Disease and Preventive Medicine, Health Administration and Planning, General Epidemiology, Demography and Health Statistics, Communicable Diseases, Environmental Health, Nutrition and Health, Non-communicable diseases, Occupational Health, Genetics and Health, International Health, Medical Sociology and Health Education, Maternal and Child Health, National Programmes
The questions in both the papers will be of the multiple-choice objective-type, with four options in each question. Wrong answers will be penalised through negative marks; one-third of the marks assigned to the question will be deducted as penalty. Giving more than one answer will be treated as a wrong answer, even if one of the given answers happens to be correct. Consequently there will be the usual penalty for the error. However, if a question is left blank, there will be no penalty. Calculators are not permitted in the examination hall.
Interview / personality test
Candidates who qualify in the written examination will be invited to attend the interview / personality test to be conducted by the UPSC.
The interview will be in the form of a comprehensive personality test. It will not be a cross-examination. This exercise is a supplement to the written examination in which the general awareness in relation to the medical profession as also academic knowledge in medicine and surgery has already been assessed.
The interview would focus on aspects such as the candidate's intellectual curiosity, critical powers of assimilation, balance of judgment and alertness of mind, ability for social cohesion, integrity of character, initiative, and capability for leadership. There is a common form for submitting applications to the UPSC, which is available in the main post offices.
The form along with an Information Brochure, an acknowledgement card, and an envelope for sending the application costs twenty rupees.
A fee of hundred rupees has to be paid in the form of a Central recruitment fee stamp to be affixed to the application form and got cancelled by the post office. SC/ST and physically challenged candidates as well as women applicants need not pay this fee.
