The National Medical Commission (NMC) has declared that post-graduate medical admission counseling will now exclusively take place online. According to the recently notified “Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023,” all rounds of counseling for PG seats across India will be conducted online by state or central counseling authorities. The merit list of respective exams will solely determine admissions through common counseling for all medical institutions.

The NMC emphasizes that no medical college or institution is permitted to admit candidates independently. In a bid to ensure transparency, medical colleges must declare the fees for each course during the seat matrix entry, failure to comply will result in the seat not being counted.

Changes have been introduced in the examination system, incorporating formative assessment and the option of multiple-choice questions in university examinations. Dr. Vijay Oza, President of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board of the NMC, notes that these changes aim to enhance objectivity in examinations and align with international standards.

Regarding the District Residency Programme (DRP), the regulations reduce the previous requirement for district hospitals to have 100 beds to 50 beds. This adjustment is designed to facilitate the implementation of the DRP for better student training in district health systems and hospitals, strengthening healthcare services at the grassroots level.

The regulations also address difficulties faced by post-graduate students in registering their degrees after passing examinations. Once a medical college is granted permission to start PG courses or seats, the course will be treated as recognized for student qualification registration.

Furthermore, undergraduate medical colleges can now initiate postgraduate courses from the third year, compared to the previous initiation from the fourth year in clinical specialties. Non-teaching hospitals owned and managed by the government can also start postgraduate courses without having undergraduate colleges, enabling the establishment of postgraduate medical colleges in smaller government hospitals or district hospitals.

The regulations introduce a minimum standard requirement document specifying infrastructure and faculty requirements for postgraduate institutes. All students are mandated to undergo courses in research methodology, ethics, and cardiac life support skills.

To ensure compliance with the regulations, a penalty clause is included, which may entail monetary penalties, a reduction in the number of seats, or a complete stoppage of admissions. These regulations aim to streamline the post-graduate medical education process, fostering transparency and quality standards.

Source: PTI

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