Compulsory 1 year rural Service - Stance of interns and postgraduates of medicine and dentistry in Hyderabad City, Telangana: A cross-sectional survey

• Main Authors: P Parthasarathi Reddy, Md Shakeel Anjum, M Monica, Koppula Yadav Rao, Irram Abbas Hameed, Jaidupally Ramvilas Reddy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2017-01-01
• Series: Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
• Subjects: Government order; interns; postgraduates; rural service
• Online Access: http://www.jiaphd.org/article.asp?issn=2319-5932;year=2017;volume=15;issue=4;spage=383;epage=387;aulast=Reddy

Introduction: India is the second most populated country in the world, with more than 68.84% of the people residing in the villages. There is no proper health services are available in these areas. To achieve this target of XII 5-year plan by 2017, a scheme of compulsory rural postings for doctors was implemented by the state of Andhra Pradesh. Aim: The aim is to know the stance of interns and postgraduates (PGs) of medical and dental profession on compulsory 1-year rural posting. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on interns and PGs in all the medical and dental colleges located in and around Hyderabad. The colleges which gave permission for the survey were included in the study. A pretested (Cronbach α = 0.81) self-administered questionnaire was developed based on the government order passed in the year 2011. Results: A total of 653 students participated in the survey comprising of 379 dental and 274 medical students. About 65.1% of medical and 59.9% of the dental students agreed that students get benefitted with the 1-year rural posting. Around 25.8% and 15.6% of students from medicine and dentistry, respectively, were willing to establish private practice in a rural area. Conclusions: Majority of the students were positive toward the 1-year rural posting. Students quoted the reasons such as less pay, lack of proper infrastructure, and higher salaries in the private sector for showing disinterest in joining rural service.