A communication from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), terming junior residents and senior residents working in medical colleges with post-graduation diploma as “non-teachers”, has left the community disappointed.
The medicos with PG diploma have objected to the stand taken by RGUHS and has said it against the guidelines of the Medical Council of India (MCI).
The Karnataka Medical Council in a letter recently asked RGUHS its opinion on whether junior resident/PG students are teachers in medical colleges. The KMC had sought clarification because of the on-going elections to members of the board of management of the council.
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The RGUHS, in its reply to KMC, on December 24 said: “Junior residents and senior residents are not considered teachers in a medical college as per MCI regulations.” With this letter, faculty with PG diploma working in medical colleges have lost the opportunity to contest in the KMC elections.
Pruthvi Chakravarthy, a medical practitioner with PG diploma, told The Hindu: “This is unacceptable. There are enough directions from the court and MCI to treat PG diploma holders as teachers,” he said. Dr. Chakravarthy, who till recently worked in a medical college, pointed out that with the latest stand taken by RGUHS some of his friends had lost a chance to contest the KMC elections.
G.P. Ramanath, senior resident with Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, said in a notification issued by MCI in August 2019 defined a senior resident as teacher. “Even in the past, the MCI has maintained that junior resident and senior residents are teaching staff. If we are not teaching staff, what else are we?” he asked.
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When The Hindu contacted S. Sacchidanand, Vice-Chancellor of RGUHS, he said the KMC, being a part of MCI, should not have asked the university for clarification. “When you ask me to define the job profile, I have to state that junior residents and senior residents work in the hospital, not in the college. The university has said the same,” he said. However, he said he had written to the KMC suggesting that it get the issue clarified from MCI.