Permission granted for enhancement of MD seats in pediatrics & medicine: Official
SRINAGAR: Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu has become the first medical college in Jammu and Kashmir to offer an MD in Biochemistry. This new course, starting in the current session of 2024, marks a major advancement in the region’s medical education.
According to details obtained by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), GMC Jammu has also been granted permission to enhance MD seats in Pediatrics and Medicine.
An official from GMC Jammu told KNO that the National Medical Commission (NMC) has allotted four MD seats in Biochemistry to the college. He said this is the first time an MD course in Biochemistry is being offered by any government institution in J&K.
Dr Rachna Sabharwal, Professor and Head of Biochemistry, led the efforts to start the MD Biochemistry course since she took over as HOD in August 2023, the official said, adding that she had identified this as the primary goal for the Biochemistry department on her first day as HOD and has now successfully achieved it.
According to the official, GMC Jammu had applied to the NMC to start the MD Biochemistry course and to enhance MD seats in the Medicine and Pediatrics departments. The Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of NMC reviewed the applications and found them satisfactory. Consequently, a total of 16 additional MD seats have been allotted to GMC Jammu, as per the NMC notification dated June 03, 2024.
With this addition, the total number of Post-Graduate MD/MS seats at GMC Jammu has increased from 198 to 214.
The NMC has approved six more MD seats in the Department of Pediatrics. The feat has been credited to Dr Ghansham Saini, Professor and Head of the Department of Pediatrics. Similarly, six more MD seats have been approved for the Department of Medicine, thanks to the efforts of Professor and Head of the Department of Medicine, Dr Fayaz Wani.
Principal, GMC Jammu, Dr Ashutosh Gupta, expressed pride in the college’s accomplishment. “The addition of 16 more MD seats in various streams is a matter of great pride for the institution,” he said.