One year of rural service for medical students will be made compulsory from this year, Medical Education Minister S.A. Ramdas announced this at the graduation day of the first batch of the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) here on Saturday.
(This is the 51st batch of the erstwhile Bangalore Medical College.)
As many as 148 candidates graduated on Saturday.
Despite not receiving an enthusiastic response from the audience when he asked their opinion on the proposal, Mr. Ramdas said, “If anyone wants to go to court, they can. We will fight it out. The State government will bring a law making one year of rural service for medical students compulsory after internship.” Undergraduates would be paid according to the junior scale and postgraduates according to the senior scale, he said. Legislation in this regard would likely be in place by this month-end, the Minister added.
Reservations
BMCRI toppers had their reservations about this proposal. Misbah Fathima Azmath, who took home four medals, said while the intention of the proposal was good, the way it would be implemented was important. “The government should ensure that amenities in rural centres are simultaneously upgraded. Also, the dates of postgraduate (PG) entrance exams should be altered to accommodate the rural service,” she said.
Prabhjot Kaur Sekhon, winner of six medals and the best outgoing student award, felt that the move would only lengthen the course by another year.
Earlier, presenting the annual report, O.S. Siddappa, Director and Dean of the BMCRI, said the intake of undergraduate students had been increased from 150 to 250.
Dr. Siddappa said there was a proposal to increase the number of PG seats from 147 to 223. From the academic year 2013-14, new courses such as hospital administration, hand surgery, geriatrics, endocrinology and immunohematology would be started, and the institute had asked the Union Government for financial assistance of Rs. 274 crore for this, he said.
Delivering the convocation address, Devi Prasad Shetty, founder-chairman, Narayana Hrudayalaya Group of Hospitals, called upon the doctors to serve the poor, as it was they who would be grateful and remember their service. He also advised them not to take medals and grades too seriously, as internships were the real tests for doctors.
