J&K gets 20 more DNB seats in GMCs, DHs

JAMMU, March 15: As a step towards strengthening Diplomate of National Board (DNB) in Jammu and Kashmir, 20 more seats have been sanctioned by National Board of Examinations in Medical Science (NBEMS) under DNB for the institutions of J&K during the start of the Session 2023.

These seats shall be in addition to the earlier granted DNB seats.

As per official data Government Medical College Srinagar received approval for 2 seats in FNB Paediatric Anesthesia, JLNM Hospital, Srinagar received 3 Post MBBS DNB seats in General Surgery, DH Udhampur received sanction of 5 seats under Pediatrics, General Medicine and Orthopedics DH Poonch received 2 seats in General Medicine DH Ganderbal got sanction for 2 seats each in DNB General Medicine and Diploma Pediatrics, DH Kulgam received 2 seats in Family Medicine while CHC Kupwara got 2 seats in Diploma Pediatrics.

Mission Director, NHM, J&K, Ayushi Sudan, while giving details about the development said that implementation of the DNB courses at the District Level in J&K has been termed as a best practice in the Country. Under DNB programme in the UT, a total of 250 seats were granted to the accredited departments during Session 2022 consequent to the concerted efforts and hard work of the administrative department H&ME J&K, NHM J&K and the team of health institutions being monitored by Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Bhupinder Kumar.

“All the efforts are being made to scale up the DNB courses in all the District Hospitals and potential CHCs of J&K. During upcoming session, J&K is planning to submit more than 30 applications including almost all District Hospitals”, she added.

Pertinent to mention that the DNB courses have been introduced in the District Hospitals and new Government Medical Colleges besides old GMCs and SKIMS in order to strengthen the institutions, decongest the GMCs and to address the shortage of specialists in the UT of J&K.

Implementation of DNB courses has led to an equitable distribution of health care services and manpower especially in far flung and hard to reach areas. This has also proved beneficial for the population who have very meagre access to health care services in their areas, leading to low referrals from DNB institutions to Tertiary care institutions thereby further decreasing the Out of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) of patients.