While Resident Doctors Are Overworked, We're Jobless Despite Qualifying NEET-PG

Some of us, NEET-PG qualified doctors, are struggling to make our ends meet.

NEET PG 2021 qualified doctors are waiting for their counselling and admissions

(Illustration by Chetan Bhakuni)

For over a month, we have been hearing about resident doctors protesting because of the delays in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG). They have been overworked because of the absence of a complete batch of doctors.

And we all know that the delay has been caused because of the central government asking for more time from the Supreme Court to submit its report of the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) category quota.

While on one hand, the resident doctors are struggling with the work pressure, the MBBS doctors are still waiting to be admitted to the medical colleges and hospitals after clearing the NEET-PG exam.

Our counselling and admissions have been delayed by almost a year. My friends and I are sitting idle without any job because as a matter of fact, we can't join a hospital for work and then leave it once the counselling dates are announced. That’s not how contracts with the hospitals work.

I live in Faridabad with my family, so my expenses are still managed but many of my friends are struggling to make ends meet because they have come to bigger cities from their villages to prepare for their exams which they have cleared. But without a job, their lives have been a real struggle.

Many of my friends have their ranks very close to the cut-off marks. So, they aren’t sure if they will be able to get the desired branch or hospital. Because of the lack of clarity, they are not sure if they need to prepare for another attempt of NEET-PG or wait for the counselling of this one.

To manage my daily expenses, I sometimes give private consultations but there is nothing permanent I have at my hand as I don’t know when the counselling will happen.

This delay has not only given us mental stress but also added financial burden. It is also affecting our professional career as our CVs will show a year without work.

The devastations caused during the second wave are still fresh in our memory. God forbid that doesn't happen again but for that, we need to strengthen our healthcare infrastructure. Experts have been warning that we might have a surge in the number of COVID cases soon.

How does the government plan to tackle another wave of COVID-19 without the presence of one complete bach of doctors?

I request the government to expedite the counselling process and do some justice with us. Don’t just call us covid warriors in your speeches and treat us with lack of dignity.

(The author is an MBBS Doctor who has qualified NEET-PG 2021 and is waiting for the counselling. All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)