VIJAYAWADA: Stepping in to curb excessive workloads and safeguard student welfare, Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr A Vishnuvardhan on Friday directed principals of all government medical colleges and superintendents of teaching hospitals to strictly enforce existing working hour guidelines and leave policies for Postgraduate (PG) medical students.
The DME mandated that PG medical students must not be assigned continuous duty exceeding 24 hours, nor should their workload exceed 74 hours per week.
Emphasising mental health and physical well-being, Dr Vishnuvardhan stated that every PG student must be granted one mandatory full day off each week, along with a post-night-duty off.
Duty rosters must be structured to ensure each student gets 7 to 8 hours of daily sleep, 30-minute breaks, and access to regular stress management and counselling sessions.
Under the updated framework aligned with National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines and Task Force recommendations, PG medical students are entitled to 20 paid casual leaves, 5 academic leaves and 52 week offs annually.
To ensure implementation, colleges must appoint an officer of Associate Professor rank or above as PG Registrar in every department. Furthermore, institutional heads must designate a nodal officer to submit reports to the DME office by the 10th of every month.
The DME warned that strict action will be initiated against principals, hospital superintendents, and Heads of Departments (HODs) who fail to conduct monthly review meetings or submit compliance reports.
Additionally, addressing basic amenity concerns raised by the Junior Doctors Association (JUDA), the Health, Medical, and Family Welfare Department instructed hospital authorities to provide potable drinking water and uninterrupted water supply in washrooms within a month.
Health Secretary G Veerapandian authorised superintendents to utilise CSR, Hospital Development Society (HDS), or College Development Society (CDS) funds for these works, warning of stern action if facilities are not upgraded within the stipulated timeframe.
