Over 200 medicos participate in ‘Save the doctor’ movement

Seeking equalisation of UG and PG seats in medical courses, more than 200 medicos staged a rally in the city on Monday.

This was part of the nation-wide ‘Save the Doctor’ movement, wherein similar rallies were taken out in different parts of the country in support of their demands.

Students and doctors walked from JK Grounds to Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, and from there to Gandhi Square.

Disparity

The rationale behind the rally, as explained by the organisers, is that India lacked specialist doctors due to inadequate number of PG seats in medical institutions.

It was argued that though India had the highest number of medical institutions, the disparity in the number of seats for UG and PG courses was too high. The participants were also opposed to the rural postings made mandatory and wanted it clubbed with the PG internship.

They expressed fears that if the scenario continued unchanged then India may have to rope in experts from other countries to fill the gap.

As against nearly 50,000 UG seats, there were only 12,000 seats for PG courses for which about 90,000 students compete, said organisers.

The movement is supported by Indian Medical Association and Association of Healthcare Providers.