The PHMS Row

PHMS (Provincial Health and Medical Services) is maybe the hottest topic to debate upon today in the medical field. This service, which was started in order to give relief to people resided in rural areas and to help medical services be available in the rural areas has surely become something that most medical students are protesting against in Uttar Pradesh. To find the reason, let's go underneath the protest and slogans against the government and focus on the actual service. So, PHMS was started as a programme for students who had completed their under graduation course, which in medical science is known as MBBS. Under this programme a student who has completed his/her MBBS can then take up the provincial health and medical services which was a service in which the student had to spend his duty life in rural areas to provide medical help there, but as the people realised that not much work and a great level of brilliance was required to do the job, many students started taking the job instead of pursuing higher studies.But, this was the introduction of the topic that we are discussing about, the rule that the uttar pradesh government recently declared regarding this service. The Uttar Pradesh imposed a rule that if a medical post graduate aspirant had spent 3 years in the provincial medical services, he/she would be granted 30 extra marks in his/her entrance post - graduate examination, which speaking truly, is a very harsh decision to those who want to speciallize in various fields and then help the country in any other form. The decision which was passed some days after the counselling of uppgmee (Uttar Pradesh Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination) was not taken with much joy and happiness from the aspirants, and fact says that in 2016, 13 students got more than the maximum marks in the examination, which, as you might be thinking is hilarious, but listen to those who have suffered from this step (i prefer 'attack') and who have failed to make it to the top colleges in the state even after working hard and getting the results. The student who had topped the exam on the basis of merit, thanks to the joint order given by the supreme court and the up government in 2016 had slipped to 73rd rank in his state. The person who could have gotten radiology had gotten psychiatry, thanks to the attack.

So, let's discuss the topic today, let's think what the government didn't think, and let's do what the government thought was unnecessary, let us put forward our point of view on this decision. According to me, this step was a total disaster and yes, i know the fact that 'the people who have given so many years to the country should also get some benefit' and that 'this will attract many people towards this service'. First of all, yes i agree that it will attract many people but the point here is that it will only make the situation worse as people will not do it with interest and passion but feeling it a burden on them, which will lower the quality of work done there, which even right now need lot's of work; and yes 'the people who serve the country' should get some advantage but what about the people who want to first pursue higher studies, first do a speciality, then help the country by maybe becoming an army doctor or by bringing laurels to the country in the research sector. But by this step, the U.P government has literally said to the aspirants, 'if you want to pursue post graduation, you have to do our service first'. That is it from me, please write down in the comments below your views about the topic. Thank you for reading this very patiently till the end.