MULTAN, April 28 As many as 31 graduating students of Nishtar Medical College will be forced to do house job on honorary basis because of the unavailability of the required number of paid seats at Nishtar Hospital, it is learnt here.

Pakistan Medical Association Multan chapter former information secretary Dr Imran Rafiq said house job was the most important year for a graduating student as without completing it he could not legally practice as a doctor.

“House job is the transition of theoretical phase of education to the practical phase and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council does not issue registration to the medical student who will not complete a year-long house job in a teaching hospital recognised by PMDC.”

The Nishtar Hospital management is conducting interviews for hiring of house officers. The government offers Rs18,000 to a house officer.

Nishtar's medical superintendent Dr Zafar Iqbal Niazi said the number of paid seats of house officers here was 160 while the hospital administration received 191 applications from graduating medical students of only NMC.

He said the hospital received 55 applications from students of other public medical colleges of the province while 16 candidates from private colleges and one candidate from a foreign medical college applied for the house job.

“As the number of paid seats is limited, the remaining candidates will be offered honorary house job.”

Young Doctors' Association Multan chapter president Dr Mazhar Chaudhry said earlier the number of paid seats for Nishtar Hospital was only 90 but later in 2008 the provincial government had created additional 70 seats.

He said this year 205 students of Nishtar Medical College passed their final examination.

“It is a common practice that hospitals usually offer paid house jobs to students of those medical colleges that are attached to those hospitals. It is a great injustice that the doctors are performing their house jobs without getting even a single penny and it will be very difficult for them to meet their expenses.

“The issue of unpaid doctors can only be resolved, if the government creates at least 110 paid house jobs and 50 without any delay to adjust candidates of Nisthar college.” he said.

NMC principal Dr Laiq Ahmed Siddiqi said a request had been sent to the high-up for creation of more paid house jobs for Nishtar Hospital.

He said the college administration demanded that the government increase the number of posts equal to the number of admissions of first year. “The number of admissions in first year in the college is 230.”