Mumbai: For decades, the medical and engineering profession have been among the most sought-after for millions of young Indians and their families. However, the job market reality for MBBS graduates can often be less favourable than anticipated.
Recently, a viral image circulated on social media, capturing a crowded scene of candidates competing for just 20 junior resident doctor positions at Delhi’s Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Dr. Dhruv Chauhan, Who is a National Zonal coordinator of Indian Medical Association Medical Students Network (IMA MSN) tweeted, “20 posts, 500+ candidates… MBBS is the New B.Tech. Yes, this is the condition when you try to get a job after passing MBBS.”
The image went viral, drawing users into a discussion that shed light on the demand-supply imbalance when it comes to doctors.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that India's doctor-to-patient ratio peaked in 1991 at 1.2 doctors per 1,000 patients, but as the country's population grew, the ratio decreased to roughly 0.7 in 2020.
Understanding rural gaps
The government has nearly doubled the number of undergraduate medical seats in private and public colleges to 101,043 as of March from 51,348 before 2014, according to health ministry data. More than 1.76 million students appeared in tests for those seats last year.
Still, there were more than 3,000 doctor vacancies at 31 government hospitals, including more than a dozen specialised institutes, according to a parliamentary reply by the health ministry in February.
Outside the big cities, the lack of specialised care is especially acute. The government says there was a near 80% shortage of surgeons, physicians, gynaecologists and paediatricians at community health centres in rural India as of March 2022.
There were 4,485 specialists in position at these small hospitals against a requirement of 21,920.
Opportunity disparity
Experts and students share insights on the complex disparity of medical opportunities across the country.
Dr Atik Shaikh of AIMS Hospital and Research Centre in Pune provided insight into the matter, indicating that, “Delhi which is a popular location for medical professionals, gives one of the best incomes for rookie resident doctors which therefore attracts a lot of applicants.”
Dr Shaikh says, “Every MBBS student wants to be placed at such a hospital.”
According to Dr Abhijit Rajesh Helge, President of the Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), "it is critical for policymakers, healthcare authorities, and the Ministry of Health to focus on ensuring a balanced ratio of doctors to available positions.”
"I believe this scenario is in Delhi," says Aaradhya Sinha, an MBBS student at Grant Government Medical College in Mumbai. “The reason is the good salary and the opportunity to learn.”
Another MBBS student at BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Nisha Adhvaryu, says this situation is nothing new.
“There is an imbalance between supply and demand,” according to Adhvaryu, as there are too many doctors in urban regions and not enough available positions.
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