Pervin Malhotra
Q. I am studying in Class XII (science stream) keen on joining the Army. Could you please tell me about the selection procedure? — Rupika KaushalA.At present women are inducted into the Army after Plus II only in the Medical and Nursing corps wherein they’re eligible for Permanent Commission (PC) jobs.While earlier, all other posts were for graduates and post-graduate women candidates as Short Service Commissioned Officers for a period of 14 years (with multiple extensions), the Centre is holding consultations to consider granting Permanent Commission to current women officers in the SSC. The final policy should be ready within six months.So, the time isn’t far when even the permanent commission will open up for women in the Army – making it the last military bastion to shed its resistance to women serving in the force until retirement. The Navy and Air Force shed their opposition to granting PC to women, way back in 2010. Currently, 350 women in both the forces are serving as PC officers, besides doctors and nurses who’ve historically served alongside their male counterparts.The concerns are no longer about women’s capability to serve on the frontlines but about the practical challenges of deploying women in active areas such as Kashmir and the logistical requirements of accommodating them in operational areas which were built exclusively for men. To be considered fit for the armed forces, women candidates must be in good physical and mental health and free from any disability which may interfere with the performance and efficiency at work.You haven’t mentioned which science stream you’ve opted for, but if you’ve taken physics, chemistry and biology, you can either join the Armed Forces Medical Service or Military Nursing Service. While you can join the former after completing MBBS from the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, entry to the latter is after BSc (Nursing) from the same medical college.
Passion for designing hospitalsQ.After doing my BArch, I’ve been working with a large architecture firm which is designing a hospital in the Middle East. While working on a small part of the design, I have developed a great interest in the medical vertical. Are there any specialized courses I could look at in this field, preferably in India? I tried looking but couldn’t find any. Am I missing something? — Jayant ChopraA.Of late, India has been witnessing an unprecedented boom in healthcare infrastructure. However, designing hospitals — specialty as well as multi-specialty, state-of-the-art medical colleges, labs, spas and related healthcare infrastructure is a highly specialised field that goes beyond the ambit of general architecture.To address this requirement, the National Institute of Healthcare Engineering & Architecture at PGI, Chandigarh plans to launch PG level courses such as MBA in Health Facilities Planning & Design and MBA in Healthcare Engineering & Management.These may be just what the doctor orders as far as you are concerned.Being multi-disciplinary in nature, graduates from various fields i.e. engineering, medicine, veterinary science and nursing, besides architecture and engineering would be eligible to apply for these courses which have been approved by AICTE and the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com