Work stress drives PG doctors to quit: One in seven drops out, AIIMS Delhi records 16% attrition
Data reveals a fifteen percent dropout rate among postgraduate medical students across premier Indian institutions, driven by severe workloads, mental stress, and harassment, while hundreds of undergraduate MBBS seats remain vacant nationwide.
Data reveals a fifteen percent dropout rate among postgraduate medical students across premier Indian institutions, driven by severe workloads, mental stress, and harassment, while hundreds of undergraduate MBBS seats remain vacant nationwide.
Data reveals a fifteen percent dropout rate among postgraduate medical students across premier Indian institutions, driven by severe workloads, mental stress, and harassment, while hundreds of undergraduate MBBS seats remain vacant nationwide.
New Delhi: Earning admission to one of the country's premier medical institutions does not guarantee completion of a postgraduate degree. Nearly one in seven doctors drops out midway, unable to cope with crushing workloads, poor working conditions, mental harassment and lack of institutional support.
As many as 476 of the 3,123 doctors admitted to nine All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, over the past three years have discontinued their courses, resulting in a 15% attrition rate, according to data obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Compiled by the United Doctors Front (UDF), an association of resident doctors, these figures highlight the scale of attrition at some of the country's most sought-after medical institutions.
AIIMS Delhi records 16% dropout
At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, 93 of the 591 junior residents admitted in 2024 and 2026 resigned, translating into a 16% dropout rate. The dermatology department recorded the highest number of withdrawals. Of the 51 doctors admitted in 2024, 14 dropped out, while six of the 38 admitted in 2023 discontinued their courses.
AIIMS Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest dropout rate among the institutions surveyed, at 31%, followed by JIPMER, Puducherry, at 27%, and AIIMS Nagpur in Maharashtra at 21%. The figures for other institutions are: AIIMS Jodhpur (13%), AIIMS Kalyani (12%), AIIMS Rishikesh (12%), AIIMS Patna (10%), AIIMS Raipur (8%) and AIIMS Bibinagar (5%).
Dropout rates at medical institutions
- AIIMS Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh): 33 of 106 students admitted dropped out (31%)
- AIIMS Nagpur (Maharashtra): 39 of 190 (21%)
- AIIMS Jodhpur (Rajasthan): 66 of 503 (13%)
- AIIMS Kalyani (West Bengal): 24 of 193 (12%)
- AIIMS Rishikesh (Uttarakhand): 70 of 595 (12%)
- AIIMS Patna (Bihar): 20 of 192 (10%)
- AIIMS Raipur (Chhattisgarh): 24 of 317 (8%)
- AIIMS Bibinagar (Telangana): 3 of 56 (5%)
- JIPMER, Puducherry: 104 of 387 (27%)
84% of PG students report mental stress
The pressure of postgraduate medical training is also taking a toll on the mental health of resident doctors, with 84% of PG medical students reporting mental stress. As many as 64% said working continuously for 24 to 36 hours affected their mental health, while 31.2% reported having experienced suicidal thoughts.
The UDF has sought an urgent inquiry into the dropout trend and called for restrictions on working hours and an independent grievance redressal mechanism. It has also demanded an end to harassment and exploitation in the name of medical training.
411 MBBS seats still vacant
Meanwhile, 411 MBBS seats remain vacant across the country even after the completion of the special stray vacancy counselling round for all-India undergraduate medical admissions. The number is nearly six times the 60 to 70 seats that remained vacant last year.The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) had conducted the special round to fill seats left vacant after four rounds of regular counselling. Of the 948 vacancies taken up in the special round, only 537 were filled.