Maternity - Solution to Residency Problem

We have this problem of an abundance of residents when new residents join shortage of residents when a number of them go on exam leave. Before the Health University took over the medical colleges from different universities in the state, our college was affiliated to Bombay University, now known as Mumbai University. Postgraduate students used to be admitted twice a year. It was good sense to do so. When the students of the first batch went on exam leave, students six months their juniors would be there to take over the job of Registrars. After the Health University took over, the postgraduates are taken only once a year. This year they gave two students per year to each professor instead of one per year as per the old rule. Now there are so many residents at one time that they do not get enough work. There are too many, so that everyone feels someone else will do the job, and sometimes no one ends up doing it. When they go on exam leave, there is suddenly a shortage, and second year residents have to take over the job of Registrars for which they are often not ready. I had written to the directorate of the medical education asking for reverting to the old method of taking students in twice a year, but they seem not to have received my letter, or did not think it was good sense. So the trend continues, and neither the students nor the institutes benefit. I used to feel that students should concentrate on education first, and think about marriage and family afterwards. It was my observation that either their studies or their babies suffered if they married and had babies before they obtained their degrees. They would not listen to me and get married and get babies anyway, irrespective of how far they were through their residency program. Now I have started feeling differently. By the time they qualify and start their professions they get to be about twenty eight to thirty years old, which is no time to get married and start families. They might do it in time and enjoy the best years of their lives in a way different from enjoying their studies. From the point of view of the institute and residency program managers, this move is a good move. The women go on maternity leaves and drop a post, sometimes two posts. When they drop a post, they lag behind the regular ones by six months. They have their families, and we have residents in a staggered manner. Everyone is happy.