Union Government’s move to introduce an exit exam for MBBS graduates would go a long way in weeding out deadwoods from the profession. The move comes in the wake of concerns over the falling standards of doctors being produced in the country. The pass percentage in the All India Post-Graduate Medical Entrance Examination for MBBS graduates in Jammu and Kashmir is 37.84 per cent as compared to 84.32 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 73.56 per cent in Chandigarh. Even states like Uttar Pradesh have better percentage of 51.56 per cent which is much higher than Jammu and Kashmir. The results itself speak volumes about the standards of medical education in J and K and subsequently the patient care and health services. One can rate them as poor. The bad state of health services is visible if one visits any government hospital whether it is GMC, SMGS in Jammu and their sister concerns in Srinagar. The scenario is same overcrowded beds, poor hygiene and doctors either over capable or under-capable are not bothered about patient care but busy in their private practices. Most of the hospitals have no standardised services with favourites adjusted in city and nearby areas resulting in overstaffing at some places. Each year 1,00,000 doctors take part in graduate medical examination across the country and only one-fourth manage to clear and some with poor pass percentage. There is a need to revamp the capacity for pos-graduate doctors to have more specialists by monitoring the quality of MBBS doctors especially in Jammu and Kashmir where the state of health sector is in shambles. If the State Government is really serious to improve health of medicare industry then there is an urgent need to revamp the policy to make an accountable health care system.
