No Recruitment in 8 years: Karnataka Doctors’ Association Opposes Superspecialist Retirement Age Extension

The association expressed
concerns that this move would hinder career advancement opportunities for
younger doctors by prolonging senior faculty tenure, thereby limiting permanent positions.

The retirement age for
faculty is proposed to be increased from 60 to 65 for superspeciality courses, and there has been no permanent recruitment for the last 8 years. However, the association
members pointed out a number of issues related to the decision, including the
capability to handle extreme workloads and long hours of night duties at that
age.

The association is urging
the government to reconsider the proposal and instead focus on increasing
permanent recruitment in superspecialty departments to ensure fair career
growth opportunities for all medical professionals.

Talking to Medical
Dialogues on the condition of anonymity, one of the members of KARD pointed out
that the last round of permanent recruitment in superspecialty departments took
place in 2017. Since then, vacancies have primarily been filled through
contractual appointments, with doctors receiving a fixed monthly salary of Rs 70,000
to Rs 75000. The resident doctors argued that extending retirement age for only
superspecialists would further reduce prospects for younger medical
professionals, who are already struggling to secure stable positions in
government institutions.

“Karnataka medical institutions
produce about 70 to 80 superspecialist graduates every year. Hence,
Karnataka has one of the highest outputs of superspecialists. Nearly 400 to 500 young
superspecialists are all ready to join government service but govt needs to create
more permanent posts so that these people can have their career growth. If the
government go ahead with the proposal without holding any permanent recruitment
drive, it would be an injustice to them,” they claimed.