Fifty PG Medical Seats go the Punjab Way: MCI

Faridkot: The MCI's overall seat distribution amounting to 3000 more PG seats across the country has seen 50 go Punjab's way. Of these 50, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College (GGSMC) got 45 post graduate seats, raising the seat number from 53 to 98. Government Medical College, Patiala got the remaining five, leaving Government Medical College, Amritsar devoid of any new seat.

The Union Health Ministry, had been recommended post graduate seat increase in clinical subjects, for Government Medical Colleges by the MCI, for the academic year 2017-18. The recommended seat increase is based on the MCI revision of the teacher student ratio. The MCI notification issued highlights the teacher student ratio as 1:3 for professor and 1: 2 for associate professor, for all government medical colleges.

Speaking about the consequences of the present seat increase, the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) Vice-Chancellor, Dr Raj Bahadur said, it would result in improvement being brought about in patient care, as junior doctors went a long way to become the back bone of a hospital. He said the number of specialists would also be on the rise, with the increase in PG seats. The department of anaesthesia had been granted a mighty leap from the present 2 seats to 10.

The Government Medical College, Patiala's, distribution of five seats within its departments includes: 3 obstetrics and gynaecology; and 1 seat each in ophthalmology and psychiatry departments. Admissions to these seats will be held when the counselling begins at the BFUHS. Half of the seats to the college will be filled through the central quota, reports HT.

The number of seats available for various courses after the increase are MD (respiratory medicine) 3,MS (orthopaedics) 5, MD (DVL) 7, MD (psychiatry) 4, MS (general surgery) 11, MD (paediatrics) 5,MD (general medicine) 10, MS (opthamology) 7, and MS (ENT) 6.