PG medical maternity rules leave women doctors paying the price
A woman in her thirties from Tamil Nadu says she deferred marriage after completing her MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery), a 5.5-year programme, to pursue a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), a postgraduate speciality degree. To enter a specialised stream, she had to clear the NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test–Postgraduate), a mandatory national-level entrance examination for postgraduate medical courses. However, she was unable to clear the exam on her first attempt. During this period, as she waited another year to reattempt the examination, she was advised by her parents to get married, with the assurance that she could clear NEET PG the following year. Her parents expressed concern that, at nearly 25 years of age, delaying marriage further might make it difficult for her to find a suitable match. She got married. The following year, she cleared NEET PG and secured admission to a government medical college in Tamil Nadu for a three-year M.D. programme in general...