Woman radiologist at LRH resigns

PESHAWAR: Another woman doctor quit job in the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), the second in two weeks, citing alleged undue pressure from the management, a charge denied by the administration.

Dr Zeenat Adil had been working as senior registrar at the Radiology Department for 13 years.

She reportedly held her seniors responsible for making her quit the job, but senior faculty members dismissed her assertions.

Dr Mukhtiar Zaman Afridi, Medical Director of the LRH, told The News that she became victim of the new rules introduced under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical and Teaching Institutions Reforms Act 2015.

“The new rules say that a doctor working at the same position for eight years will need to improve his or her qualifications for promotion. And if the doctor fails to do so he or she will have to quit,” said Dr Mukhtiar Zaman Afridi.

Dr Zeenat Adil ?had a diploma in radiology and had level-II qualification.

For getting a promotion and becoming an assistant professor, Dr Zeenat Adil needed level-III qualification as per rules of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

The then Dean LRH Dr Arshad Javaid had issued a notice to improve her qualification in six months, but she couldn’t do so.

“After realising that she would not continue her services in the LRH without improving her qualification, she started blaming her seniors for forcing her to quit. This isn’t fair as nobody has forced her to leave,” said an official of the hospital administration.

Dr Mukhtiar Zaman also denied reports that she was forced to resign. “Let me clarify that these rules are applicable to all the faculty members. So one should not blame senior doctors or their supervisors for ?their failure to qualify exams,” he said.