NEW DELHI: You are ineligible for the post of ENT, urology or dental surgeon if you cannot use both legs, but eligible if your disability affects both arms. “Why are those with both legs affected barred from these surgical specialties while allowing those with both arms affected? Do they conduct surgery with their legs?” asked a doctor with disability about the bizarre identification of posts.
The strange identification of posts for doctors with disabilities came to light when the organisation Doctors With Disability: Agents of Change (DwDAoC) raised the issue of institutes of national importance including all the AIIMS advertising posts for recruitment without including the latest identified posts for persons with disabilities. Though a January notification of the social justice and empowerment ministry has identified hundreds (593) of more posts for those with disability than the last notification in 2013, DwDAoC has challenged the very concept of identifying posts, especially in the medical field.
“The identification of posts for doctors with disabilities continues to categorise people according to body parts such as OA OL BL (one arm, one leg, both legs) rather than seeing their functional ability. Unlike post-graduation in other disciplines, in medicine, it combines active duty with studies. No matter what their disabilities, if they have a post graduate degree in a specialty, it means they are capable of carrying out the job for which they have specialised. However, many such specialists cannot get a job as posts in their specialty have not been identified as being open for persons with their specific disability,” explained Dr Sharad Philip, a DwDAoC member.
The January notification identifies posts in urology and ENT (ear, nose, throat), two surgical specialties, as open to OA, BA, OL (one arm, both arms and one leg) but not for someone with both legs affected (BL). There is a surgeon super specialising in urological surgery both of whose legs are affected who conducts surgeries using a standing wheelchair. However, he will be ineligible for any post as he is ‘BL’. Similarly, in the case of psychiatry, persons with visual disability are excluded. However, Dr Philip, who has low vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, has completed post-graduation in psychiatry in the premier institute for mental health in India, NIMHANS, Bangalore. Going by the government’s notification, he will not be eligible for any faculty post in psychiatry. However, the notification identifies the post of faculty of medicine for persons who are blind or have low vision.
There are also essential activities listed against each post. These include S (sitting), ST (standing), KC (kneeling and crouching), MF (manipulation with fingers), SE (seeing) and C (communication). Of these, kneeling and crouching is listed as a functional requirement for posts in surgical specialties like ENT and urology and for psychiatry. Senior residents in psychiatry do not have to kneel or crouch, but have to be capable of bending and lifting. DwDAoC’s letter pointing out these “absurd” stipulations has been forwarded to the social justice and empowerment ministry for “appropriate action”.