POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS' DRP WOES

The District Residency Programme has been introduced on the heels of the pandemic, without adequate planning or preparation, complained postgraduate students.

- Sheena Sachdeva

Rahul Kumar, a second-year resident at postgraduate Osmania General Hospital Hyderabad, has to travel 50 km every day to Area Hospital Patancheru, on the city's periphery. He has been going since May to fulfil requirements of the District Residency Programme. Introduced by the National Medical Commission (NMC) in 2020, the DRP is a training programme for postgraduate students that simultaneously aims to address staffing shortages in district hospitals.

However, its hasty implementation on the heels of the Covid pandemic has caused widespread disruption. While all states started placing students from April and May, many did not hold up their end of the deal which was providing places to stay, paying for the commute and similar support. The students discovered they would be assigned district postings only in March.

"The revised notice of DRP mentions accommodation within the posted hospitals, and if the authorities cannot arrange it in the hospital, they should provide it in nearby places within 2-3 km. Further, transport facilities or charges will be provided along with proper safety for the resident doctors. But ironically, none of these are provided," explained Kumar (name changed on request).

Resident doctors and their representative bodies across states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and others, said that without proper planning, implementation of the DRP has been chaotic.

NMC rules