Serving in rural areas a must for all medical graduates

Mumbai: The state government plans to retrospectively implement the mandatory rural service bond for MBBS students who took admission to the course in 2010, state medical education minister Girish Mahajan said. For doctors, working in rural areas for a year is a mandatory provision made by the state government. Soon, a list will be compiled online of students completing their medical education, for their requirements in rural, semi-rural and tribal areas for serving the bond.

Asked about 4,500 students passing out from state and civic-run medical colleges, Mahajan told this newspaper, “No one is exempted from the rule. The rural service rule is applicable to all, regardless of which college they pass out from.”

Mahajan said that he would be looking to initiate action against students who had passed out of privately-run medical colleges but failed to honour the mandatory rural service bond. The minister said that there were no doctors in rural areas and no one was ready to go there. They were coming up with a multi-specialty hospital in such areas but till such time, they needed medical
students to tackle emergencies.

While Dr Sagar Mundada, chairman, youth wing, Indian Medical Association (IMA), said, “The DMER and minister should consider our side also. Rural hospitals usually lack medical infrastructure, no specialty services are available which makes students back out.”