District Residency Programme

Abstract

Under the purview of the National Medical Commission in 2020, all Postgraduate students pursuing MD/MS in broad specialties across all its affiliated Medical Colleges began undertaking a compulsory residential rotation of three months termed as ‘District Residency Programme’(DRP) at District Hospitals/ District Health System as a mandatory requirement of their course curriculum. The postgraduate medical student undergoing training under DRP was termed as a ‘District Resident’ (DR). The DRP was applicable from the 2021 Postgraduate Batch onwards, with the goal of training doctors to comprehend the problems at the community level. Producing competent specialists is the aim of postgraduate medical education, and upon completion of the DRP, the DR should exhibit sufficient skills and knowledge of the concerned speciality. During DRP, residents should serve as speciality doctors with district teams and be posted in the concerned speciality team or services at the District Health System, working in areas concerned to their speciality to bridge gaps in medical education and healthcare delivery, especially in rural areas.