How long does it take for doctors to recover the cost of medical studies?
₹5,000 a year in government colleges to more than ₹20 lakh in private colleges and even higher in deemed varsities. The fees for postgraduation studies are on similar lines and it also varies, depending on the specialization course. The fee structure is different for doctors pursuing higher studies abroad.
A doctor’s earnings largely depends on the specialization course, the hospital where they work —government or private hospitals and clinics (in case of private practice)— and the town or city they are located in. Mint spoke with some doctors to understand what it takes to be a medico, including the costs and how much time it took them to recover the costs. Government colleges Dr.
G Praneeth Kumar Reddy, 36, says he didn’t have to spend much for his medical education. It started with two years of coaching classes in 2002. NEET was not in place then (it started in 2013), but there were state entrance exams.
He paid ₹70,000 to a coaching institute. Reddy says he got admission in 2004 to the government medical college in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, where the annual fees was just ₹10,000. So, his total course fee came to ₹50,000.
He drew a stipend of ₹10,000 per month during internship. Additionally, Reddy had to bear living and food costs of ₹5,000 per month ( ₹60,000 per annum) since he didn’t stay in a hostel. “I avoided hostel and preferred an accommodation outside.
If I had opted for the hostel, the costs would have been much less as I would have only needed to pay for the mess fees," he says. By the time he graduated, Reddy had spent a total of ₹3 lakh. After MBBS, Reddy spent two years preparing for entrance exams again, this time for postgraduate studies, from 2010 to 2012.
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