Kolkata: The age-old post of Resident Medical Officer (RMO) will no longer exist in the neighbouring West Bengal. The state would start appointing doctors as assistant professors instead, a senior official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
According to the official, the West Bengal Medical Education Services would be in charge of the recruitment to such posts. “The post of RMO cum ‘Clinical Tutor’ or ‘Demonstrator’ would be made obsolete,” the official confirmed. But the doctors who are currently serving as RMOs would continue doing so, he said.
“We have decided to do away with the post of RMO. But those who are currently in the post will continue to serve as such. We will further not recruit any doctor as RMO.
“In case those continuing as RMO possess the required qualification, they will be promoted. For the existing RMOs, there will be no change in the service rules,” the state health department official was quoted saying by the agency.
The state government though has set one condition for assistant professor recruitment. “A Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Master of Surgery (MS) will have to serve at least one year as a senior resident (SR) to fulfill the criteria and become eligible to sit for the recruitment process,” he said.
For the record, the RMO post is currently non-existent in the National Medical Commission (NMC). There are now two posts — teachers or faculty and resident doctors.
Resident doctors are categorised as senior residents (SRs) and junior residents (JRs).
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