Facing shortage, govt goes all out to woo doctors

Its official now. The acute shortage of specialist doctors in government hospitals and several failed attempts at recruitment has led the state to admit one thing: Anyone less than 37 years of age with a valid MD degree applying for a government job in Punjab is most likely to get it.

Once a coveted service, the Punjab Civil Medical Service (PCMS) has almost no takers now. The number of vacancies in hospitals is outnumbering the job seekers. As a result there is hardly any competition among the applicants. They don't have to sit through an entrance test and their marks in MBBS and MD doesn't matter anymore.

Since no competitive examination is required to fill the doctor's posts , the cabinet had on August 28 taken the posts out from the purview of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) and asked the department of health to recruit the doctors on its own.

The department, in its efforts to woo specialist doctors, decided to facilitate them further by offering interested candidates walk-in-interviews for appointment.

The first ever walk-in-interview is scheduled on September 17, and the department is in overdrive to advertise the same. Large posters have been put up in the civil secretariat.

The walk-in-interviews will be a regular feature now. The department will update the status of vacant posts every month on its website and the special selection committee constituted by the government will hold interviews on the 16th of every month.

The state government, like several other states, is facing an acute shortage of doctors in government hospitals. While there are enough MBBS doctors who want to join government service - mainly with an aim to get the benefit of reservation in MD courses in state's medical colleges - there are hardly any specialist doctors who want to work in government hospitals..

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