SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 24: Resentment has surfaced among junior doctors from various medical colleges in Jharkhand, including RIMS Ranchi, over the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) selection of office bearers for the Junior Doctors Network (JDN) Jharkhand chapter.
Junior doctors criticized the IMA for allegedly adopting a “pick and choose” approach, rather than holding proper elections for the JDN office bearers, leaving some colleges underrepresented.
Several junior doctors expressed their dissatisfaction on Saturday, claiming that the IMA’s decision was arbitrary and that all six medical colleges in the state were not fairly represented in the JDN body. According to them, candidates who were interested in contesting for positions should have been given the opportunity.
Concerns over selection process and representation
Under the directive of the IMA’s national body, the Jharkhand chapter of IMA formed a 13-member JDN state committee. Dr. Vikash Kumar from RIMS Ranchi was appointed as president, and Dr. Raghvendra Rathore from MGMMCH Jamshedpur as secretary.
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“We have no objection to Dr. Vikash Kumar and Dr. Raghvendra Rathore, as both are the best people to lead. But IMA should have conducted elections for the selection of other office bearers instead of nominating them. Several junior doctors were interested in contesting for different posts, but IMA did not give them the chance,” said a junior doctor from RIMS.
Junior doctors also raised concerns about the letterhead used to form the JDN Jharkhand chapter. They argued that, as the JDN is a wing of IMA, the letter informing the national body should have been sent on the IMA’s official letterhead, rather than that of the JDN. This discrepancy raised suspicions among the doctors about the transparency of the process.
Lack of representation for key medical colleges
Junior doctors further pointed out that while forming the JDN body, the IMA did not ensure proper representation from all medical colleges in the state.
Although RIMS Ranchi and MGMMCH Jamshedpur received prominent positions, Dhanbad’s SNMMCH, which is the third oldest medical institution in the state, was given only one member in the committee.
Other colleges like SBMCH Hazaribagh, MMCH Palamu, and PJMCH Dumka were also underrepresented.
Dissension within JDN
Tensions have also been growing within the JDN, which was formed nine months ago. On Friday, a delegation of JDN members met with the principal secretary of health in Ranchi to discuss issues regarding the service bond and penalties. However, only representatives from MGMMCH Jamshedpur and SBMCH Hazaribagh attended the meeting.
Representatives from RIMS Ranchi, SNMMCH Dhanbad, PJMCH Dumka, and MMCH Palamu were notably absent.
A junior doctor from RIMS explained that a memorandum was presented to the health minister on the MGMMCH letterhead instead of JDN’s, which led to their decision not to attend the meeting.
