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The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) has submitted a formal letter to the National Medical Commission (NMC), highlighting concerns regarding the stringent requirements outlined in Section 3.6 of the Draft TEQ (Teacher Eligibility Qualifications) Regulations. This section addresses the equivalence of DNB (Diplomate of National Board) qualifications with MD/MS degrees for teaching purposes.
Key Issues
Hospital Bed Strength Requirements:
According to the draft, DNB qualifications are considered equivalent to MD/MS only if completed at institutions with:
500+ beds for all hospitals, otherwise they have to do Senior Residency of 1 year extra to become equivalent to MD/ MS for Teaching Positions in a medical college.
FORDA has argued that these criteria are overly restrictive, making it difficult for many capable institutions and graduates to meet eligibility standards.
Relaxation Sought
FORDA has proposed lowering the minimum requirements and modifying the clause to; 300+ beds for multi-specialty hospitals and 100+ beds for single-specialty hospitals, otherwise they have to do Senior Residency of 1 year to become equivalent to MD/ MS for Teaching Positions in a medical college.
They emphasised the inclusion of hospitals with sufficient capacity and specialty services to address the growing demand for qualified medical educators.
FORDA has argued that many reputed single-specialty hospitals have fewer than 100 beds but provide exceptional training and services.
Concerns Regarding MBBS College Requirements:
The draft TEQ regulations also specify bed-capacity norms for MBBS medical colleges ie For a MBBS intake of 250 students, the affiliated hospital must have at least 900 beds, but Specialty-specific minimum bed capacities, such as 225 beds for general medicine and 100 beds for pediatrics etc, are also mandatory.
Minimum Bed Requirements acc to NMC’s Draft wrt MBBS Seats
- 50 MBBS – Min 220 Beds
- 100 MBBS – Min 420 Beds
- 250 MBBS – Min 900 Beds (specialty
wise minimum bed capacity requirement – General Medicine: 225, Pediatrics: 125, Dermatology: 10, Psychiatry: 25, General Surgery; 200, Orthopedics: 100, ENT: 30, Ophthalmology: 30, OBGY: 125, ICUs: 30).
FORDA says these requirements as excessively stringent and unnecessary, potentially impacting medical colleges’ ability to meet intake goals and contribute to the healthcare workforce.
Relaxation Sought
The minimum requirement of bed capacity in case of hospital with particular single specialty should be kept as minimum 100 or more beds. There are many such single specialty hospitals with 100 or more beds for particular single specialty. Here are some such particular single specialty hospitals, bed count and number of intake seats in DNB Broad Specialty (equivalent to MD/MS).
Some Disproportionate Examples of Eligibility for Teaching Based on Draft Regulations
1. Respiratory Medicine
Eligible: MD/MS from any medical colleges with 225+ beds in General Medicine.
Not Eligible: DNB from single-specialty hospitals (e.g., National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases having 470+ beds for Respiratory Medicine) without additional one-year senior residency.
2. Ophthalmology
Eligible: MD/MS from any medical colleges with 30+ beds in Ophthalmology.
Not Eligible: DNB from single-specialty hospitals (e.g., Arvind Eye Hospital having 450+ beds for Ophthalmology) without additional one-year senior residency.
3. Pediatrics
Eligible: MD/MS from any medical colleges with 125+ beds in Pediatrics.
Not Eligible: DNB from single-specialty hospitals (e.g., Rainbow Children Hospital, Hyderabad having 250+ beds for Pediatrics) without additional one-year senior residency.
FORDA gave numerous examples and suggest DNB qualifications from multi-specialty hospitals with 300+ beds or single-specialty hospitals with 100+ beds should be considered equivalent to MD/MS without the requirement of additional senior residency.
The Medical Bulletin
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