Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday declared that the NEET-PG will be postponed for at least four months and the exam will not be held before August 31, 2021. "Students will also be given at least one month of time after the announcement of the exam before it is conducted. This will make a large number of qualified doctors available for COVID duties," the prime minister announced.
The state and union territories have been asked to make all efforts to reach out to each such prospective NEET candidate and request them to join the COVID-19 workforce. It was also decided that medical interns will be deployed for COVID management duties under the supervision of their faculty, as part of the internship rotation. "The services of final year MBBS students can be utilised for providing services like teleconsultation and monitoring of mild cases after due orientation by and under the supervision of faculty. This will reduce the workload on existing doctors engaged in COVID duty and provide boost to efforts of triaging," said the official PIB release.
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The services of final year students (broad as well as super-specialties) as residents may continue to be utilised until fresh batches of PG students have joined. BSc/GNM qualified nurses also can be deployed in full-time Coronavirus nursing duties under the supervision of senior doctors and nurses. "The individuals providing services in COVID management will be given priority in forthcoming regular government recruitments after they complete a minimum of 100 days of COVID duty," it added.
The medical students/professionals sought to be engaged in COVID-related work will be suitably vaccinated. All health professionals thus engaged will be covered under the insurance scheme of the government for health workers engaged in fighting COVID-19. "All such professionals who sign up for a minimum of 100 days of COVID duty and complete it successfully will also be given the Prime Minister’s Distinguished Covid National Service Samman from the Government of India," it read.
