Govt may reduce seats in surgical super-speciality courses that fail to attract doctors

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Fewer doctors are opting to become surgeons these days and non-surgical courses such as cardiology, endocrinology, urology, nephrology and medical oncology have emerged as the big draw for young medical professionals, according to the union health ministry data on admissions to speciality courses. 

In the 2018-19 academic year, 189 of the 2,029 seats in the super-speciality courses had no takers. Of the 189 unfilled seats, 168 belonged to the four main surgical disciplines of cardiothoracic & vascular surgery (CTVS), paediatric surgery, plastic surgery and neurosurgery, reports Hindustan Times.

Around 15,000 candidates took the entrance test in 2018-19, of which 10,143 qualified on a 50-percentile basis, according to data by the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to super-speciality courses.

In India, 137 medical colleges offer 2,029 seats in 41 super-speciality courses. The health ministry is now considering restricting the number of seats in those surgical super-speciality courses that doctors are not interested in pursuing, according to a health ministry official.