IMA launches web portals to develop career opportunities for young doctors

The Indian Medical Association has decided to launch a portal for MBBS graduates to find employment.  

The aim of the portal is to open up employment opportunities for young doctors, said R.V.Asokan, national president of IMA. He was in Chennai on Sunday for an event organised by the association.  

“There is a myth that there is a shortage of doctors. It is not true. We have an excess of doctors. In the southern States the ratio of doctors to patients is 1:500, whereas the Union government has informed Parliament that all India ratio is 1:830,” Dr. Asokan said.  

Currently the country has 1,09,800 MBBS seats and 65,000 postgraduate seats. “Every year 45,000 students are left behind post NEET-PG (exam). These doctors do not go back to jobs but prepare for the exam again by taking up coaching. They are unemployed, some of them are married and dependant on their family. There is a lot of frustration,” Dr. Asokan added, explaining the reason for creating a web portal.  

The web portal would help a candidate find employment if their profile matched the requirement, he said.  

In October the association would open an overseas vertical to enable young doctors apply for positions elsewhere. As a third vertical there would be a portal to offer overseas career development orientation. “We are bringing in all these three – national employment, overseas employment and overseas career development into one scheme,” Dr. Asokan said.  

On whether young doctors would be willing to relocate to distant States considering the language barriers they may have to surmount, Dr. Asokan said, “Doctors are produced for the country. There is an excess of doctors across the southern States. In Kerala, where I have been working for the past 42 years, the ratio is now 1:500. Along the western States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa too there are sufficient doctors.  

When the Union government introduces another 72,000 seats the number of doctors would touch 10 lakh. “This is more than what we need. With the National Health Mission appointing ad hoc doctors, the opportunities for government jobs have been closed,” he explained.  

The dignity of the profession was hurt because of the ad hoc appointments and the fact that many doctors were asked to do one-day night shifts, he said.  

Instead of focusing on opening more medical colleges, the government should open more nursing colleges to build a strong paramedical force, Dr. Asokan suggested.