Medical Council of India moots mandatory stipends for intern doctors
TNN | Feb 6, 2019, 05.29 PM IST
NEW DELHI: Thousands of MBBS students working as interns in private medical colleges could gain with the board of governors of the Medical Council of India issuing a public notice proposing to make it compulsory for such colleges to pay stipends at par with what is paid by state or central governments. Interns in most private medical colleges are forced to work for free or paid paltry salaries.
The public notice, issued by the board of governors last week, stated that it was considering amending the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 to include a provision to this effect. It sought comments and suggestions on the amendment within 15 days.
The MCI had received complaints from various states on non-payment of stipends in private medical colleges for several years. In May 2016, the state medical council in Kerala had received a complaint which it forwarded to the MCI in January 2017 stating that the issue was not under its purview.
Private colleges in Kerala were found to pay less than Rs 4,000 per month as stipend. This was even after the state government ordered an increase in stipend from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for all interns in government, private and self-financing medical colleges in June 2015.
In the meantime, interns from Karnataka too complained to the MCI. A private college in Karnataka with 150 seats would save Rs 3.6 crore per year from not paying stipends since the state government mandated rate is Rs 20,000 per month. However, the MCI decided in its executive committee meeting held in September 2017 that the issue was beyond its purview as the graduate medical education (GME) regulations do not provide for payment of stipend to interns. This was despite a recommendation from the MCI academic committee in favour of the interns.
The MCI’s post graduate medical education (PGME) regulation has a clause stipulating that post-graduate students will be paid the same stipend as in state government-owned institutions. No such clause exists in the GME regulations. However, MCI has in the past amended rules where it felt the need. In one such instance, it changed the Code of Ethics Regulations 2002 in February 2014 to take away its own power to regulate doctors' associations, thus allowing them to take money as sponsorship from pharma companies.
Yet, despite several complaints from hapless MBBS interns from various states, the council did not change the GME regulations to make payment of stipend to them mandatory. Following this decision, the Indian Medical Association too had written to the MCI supporting the interns.
TNN | Feb 6, 2019, 05.29 PM IST
NEW DELHI: Thousands of MBBS students working as interns in private medical colleges could gain with the board of governors of the Medical Council of India issuing a public notice proposing to make it compulsory for such colleges to pay stipends at par with what is paid by state or central governments. Interns in most private medical colleges are forced to work for free or paid paltry salaries.
The public notice, issued by the board of governors last week, stated that it was considering amending the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 to include a provision to this effect. It sought comments and suggestions on the amendment within 15 days.
The MCI had received complaints from various states on non-payment of stipends in private medical colleges for several years. In May 2016, the state medical council in Kerala had received a complaint which it forwarded to the MCI in January 2017 stating that the issue was not under its purview.
Private colleges in Kerala were found to pay less than Rs 4,000 per month as stipend. This was even after the state government ordered an increase in stipend from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for all interns in government, private and self-financing medical colleges in June 2015.
In the meantime, interns from Karnataka too complained to the MCI. A private college in Karnataka with 150 seats would save Rs 3.6 crore per year from not paying stipends since the state government mandated rate is Rs 20,000 per month. However, the MCI decided in its executive committee meeting held in September 2017 that the issue was beyond its purview as the graduate medical education (GME) regulations do not provide for payment of stipend to interns. This was despite a recommendation from the MCI academic committee in favour of the interns.
The MCI’s post graduate medical education (PGME) regulation has a clause stipulating that post-graduate students will be paid the same stipend as in state government-owned institutions. No such clause exists in the GME regulations. However, MCI has in the past amended rules where it felt the need. In one such instance, it changed the Code of Ethics Regulations 2002 in February 2014 to take away its own power to regulate doctors' associations, thus allowing them to take money as sponsorship from pharma companies.
Yet, despite several complaints from hapless MBBS interns from various states, the council did not change the GME regulations to make payment of stipend to them mandatory. Following this decision, the Indian Medical Association too had written to the MCI supporting the interns.
