2/18/2019 The Times Of India - Delhi eEdition *Polio-hit doc served for 2 yrs, new rule turns him ‘ineligible’*
*rema.nagara...@timesgroup.com <rema.nagara...@timesgroup.com>* After completing MBBS in 2016 from a government college and working as a junior resident for almost two years, Dr Mohammad Shaloo, who has postpolio residual paralysis, has cleared the post-graduate entrance exam but has been told that under the new Medical Council of India guidelines, he is “ineligible” to study further. Despite both his legs being polio affected, Dr Shaloo, from Makrana in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, was determined to become a doctor. He went to Kota for coaching and in 2011 got admission in the government medical college in Ajmer under the disability quota. After MBBS, he did eight months as a junior resident (JR) in the paediatrics department of his college and was then selected on a temporary basis as a JR in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department of RML Hospital in Delhi where he worked for a year. He then cleared the NEET PG exam. However, in Safdarjung Hospital’s PMR department he was told that as he had over 90% disability, he was “ineligible for admission”. The eligibility guidelines for undergraduate medical education fixed by MCI and notified on February 4 stated that those with disability beyond 80% would be ineligible for MBBS. This was despite the health ministry suggesting that the amendments to the Regulations for Graduate Medical Education 1997 should allow students with over 80% locomotor disability to appear for MBBS entrance and determine their functional competency with the aid of assistive devices if they were selected. “They have come up with these arbitrary guidelines for undergraduate medical education and now the same is being applied to post-graduate education. Dr Shaloo’s case shows how ridiculous this is. He has done his MBBS. How can you suddenly question his competency? Ironically, he was doing residency in the PMR department and these guidelines were framed by a single person in AIIMS PMR department,” said Dr Satendra Singh of Doctors With Disabilities. “After having achieved my dream to become a doctor, it hurt to see the word ‘ineligible’ on the disability certificate given by Safdarjung Hospital,” said Dr Shaloo, who said he was currently waiting for an order posting him in the Community Health Centre in Nagour district. “Why 80%? Why not 90%? You are disqualifying a person by an arbitrary number. Some disciplines in medicine might be difficult for persons with certain disabilities to cope with, but there are many others which would be suitable. Why can’t they identify the disciplines instead of just saying you are totally ineligible?” the colleague asked. “All my life I was helped by many people. I will not let this stop me,” asserted Dr Shaloo. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
