Doctors’ association opposes walk-in interviews for specialist recruitments

The association says an exam-based recruitment process is the most just, transparent, and efficient method. File

With Health Minister Ma. Subramanian announcing that walk-in interviews would be held to fill 658 posts of specialists, a few doctors associations have opposed the move and have demanded conduct of examinations for recruitment.

Registering their opposition, the Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA), in a statement said, in 2020, recruitment through walk-in interview was conducted and the services of the candidates were regularised without conducting Special Qualifying Examinations. No communal reservation was followed.

The Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB) was constituted to address the delay in recruitment by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission to fill vacancies in the Health Department so that common people do not suffer. MRB should recruit doctors every year by conducting examinations according to merit and reservation. Recruitments through walk-in interviews are a bane to the health system, SDPGA said.

The association said that when regular MRB candidates with post graduate qualification are posted in institutions under the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and work in rural areas, it is not appropriate to post walk-in candidates directly in institutions falling under the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services and Directorate of Medical Education (DME) and Research. This is against the spirit of Government Order 354 in which movement to DME side is based on Civil Medical List seniority.

They pointed out that the Health Minister had said in the past that no walk-in interviews for doctors would be conducted. SDPGA demanded conduct of examinations for speciality recruitment instead of walk-in interviews. The Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors Association (TNRDA) urged the State government to reconsider the proposed walk-in interview method for recruitment of specialist doctors in the Tamil Nadu Medical Services.

In a statement issued, the association said an exam-based recruitment process is the most just, transparent, and efficient method to ensure high-quality specialist appointments. It listed out their concerns over walk-in interview recruitment. There was a lack of transparency as a direct interview process lacked a structured evaluation of candidates’ knowledge and expertise, leading to potential bias. Next was compromised meritocracy as selection without an objective examination may result in non-uniform standards across different specialties.

TNRDA demanded immediate cancellation of the proposed walk-in interview method of recruitment, implementation of an entrance exam-based selection for Tamil Nadu Medical Service specialist recruitment and a structured, transparent recruitment process involving written exams followed by interviews based on merit rankings.