The Hindu : New Delhi News : Dream turns into nightmare for medico

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 14, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Dream turns into nightmare for medico

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JULY 12. The dreams of Priyankan Sharan to don the Army uniform and serve in its medical corps today lie shattered. Rather than doing his internship after passing the final examinations from Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, in first division in December 2003, he is running from pillar to post to get a waiver of the bond amount of Rs 6 lakhs levied on him for asking for a no-objection certificate to opt for internship outside the college after being refused the same in AFMC on medical grounds.

Son of a government school teacher, Priyankan had opted for the AFMC Pune as the family income was limited and it was the only medical college which assured a job as soon as the internship began after four-and-a-half years of studies, which too came cheap.

But after three smooth years, life turned around for the young medico. He was declared "medically unfit'' for commissioning by the Board in May 2003 after being diagnosed as a case of "congenital block vertebra leading to secondary canal stenosis along with PIVD C 5-6''.

For the non-traumatic and non self-inflicted disease, a neurosurgeon advised him operative management. But as his final MBBS exams were just months away, Priyankan requested for postponement of the surgery, a demand which was turned down. Then the medical student also requested the President of the Medical Board to withhold the same till his exams were over and offered to voluntarily undergo surgery - which could have even rendered him paralysed for life.

But Priyankan was told that the commissioning (which started with the internship) could not be delayed for six months or more, which would have been needed for his post operative recovery. Also, the boy was not assured of his {lcub}Service Liability'' after surgery, which, as per him, was "insignificant'' as even after it he would not have been fit for commission as per the Medical Board and Prognosis.

Ironically, Priyankan says, while the neurosurgeon and the Medical Board insisted on a surgery, all the neurosurgeons consulted by him at AIIMS Delhi, PGI Chandigarh and NIMHANS Bangalore advised against surgery as that would have been too dangerous. "So while the neurosurgeon at AFMC had insisted on a surgery within a week, a year on I am still alive and ambulatory,'' he quips.

But though Priyankan appeared in and passed his Final Exams, he has already lost an year as he was not allowed to start his internship. Further, when he requested that he be issued a no-objection certificate so that he is able to complete his internship elsewhere and get a doctor's registration with the Medical Council of India, he was told to pay the bond amount of Rs 6 lakhs.

With neither his father nor he in a position to pay the amount, the budding doctor has approached the Defence Minister through the proper channel as also through the Union Minister of State, Oscar Fernandes, for waiver of the bond amount. Priyankan is hopeful that his request would be granted as in the recent past at least five other such cases - of Harish Chaturvedi, I.B. Singh, Virender Singh Chauhan, Harminder Singh Dhaliwal and Lalit Mohan - have got a favourable response, he claimed.

And a waiver, he says, will pave the path for his pursuit of higher education. Having missed out on the January 31 deadline for AIIMS PG admissions and March 31 deadline for internship in AFMC, he is hoping that he would be able to make the July 31 deadline for the next session of AIIMS PG programme.

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