LAHORE - Punjab Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department is all set to implement Centralized Joint PG Induction System with selection of first batch of postgraduate trainees under Punjab Residency Program during the current week, ignoring all threats of Young Doctors Association.

Expressing serious reservations, the YDA Punjab has already rejected the recently devised system and announced protest to press for the demand of reverting to the old mechanism that allows head of the institutions to fill vacant posts of PG trainees. As per the protest plan, the YDA is going to besiege the Punjab Assembly today against the new mechanism and criterion for selection of trainees under Punjab Residency Program.

The department has already started the process of filling 686 vacant posts of PG trainees under FCPS and 118 slots under MD/MS/MDS Program. More than 1400 candidates have submitted applications online on websites of three universities - King Edward Medical University (KEMU), University of Health Sciences (UHS) and Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMC) - till Tuesday (midnight), last date for admission in MS/MD/MDS and FCPS.

The Joint Admission Committee will determine merit of candidates on the basis of entrance test for MS/MD/MDS Program and scoring system for FCPS through a central matching system and allocate the specialties and institutions. The first list of eligible candidates in various specialties will be displayed on July 23.

As per the health managers, the new policy is aimed at bringing transparency and merit in induction of trainees under various postgraduate training programs. The new policy provides opportunity of applying online and thus saving students from going through the ordeal of going from one institution to the other for getting information about vacant seats, applying and convincing head of the institution for his/her induction as PG trainee.

They hope that the new system will also help overcoming shortage of specialists in neglected specialties like Anesthesia.

The YDA, however, rejected the policy and resorted to the protest for forcing the health managers to revert to the old one.

“YDA rejects the policy as a whole. We don’t think there is any logic behind carrying out entrance test for PGR induction. It is the candidate’s right to select specialty and institution. If there is shortage of specialists in any field, the government should encourage doctors through incentives and not by force”, said YDA Spokesman Dr Khurram Shehzad.

YDA has staged series of protests to stop health managers from implementing the new policy. In the next stage, it has planned to take control of the building of Punjab Assembly today in order to press for the demand of reverting to the old criterion for PG induction. Whereas, Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department has directed heads of medical institutions to ensure presence of consultants at wards during duty hours, PGRs and House Officers at OPDs, Emergency and Indoors as per duty roasters.

The heads of units have been directed to submit a detailed report about absentees and any interruption of work at OPD, Wards and Operation Theaters during the protest of YDA.

The health managers have termed all the reservations of YDA unfounded, saying some people were simply saying no to the new policy without pointing out objectionable points. They say that intending trainees were applying in large numbers and irrelevant persons were raising the issue for vested interests. They say that the government would go ahead with the plan of facilitating the intending trainees and overcoming shortage of specialists in specialties like anesthesia by implementing the new induction policy.