Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors

Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) is an association of resident doctors from all of the government, corporation medical colleges, and hospitals of Maharashtra, India. It was formed to address the problems faced by the resident doctors in all the government and municipal corporation run hospitals across the states. MARD strives to maintain unity among the resident doctors of Maharashtra by standing for each and every problem the resident doctors encounter.

Resident doctors are the ones who have completed their MBBS – Junior residents and who have completed their postgraduation – Senior Residents. The major workload and burden of any government run medical college and hospital is shared by resident doctors. Resident doctors work day in and out, sacrificing countless hours of sleep for the treatment, cure and help of common people and patients visiting at the hospital. Along with routine outpatient care (OPD), admitted patient care (IPD), academic activities, resident doctors have to study the subject thoroughly in order to provide quality care to the patients.

As a whole, the life of a resident doctor is pretty busy and lack of proper hostel and food facilities adds up to the physical and mental stress. Despite all these hurdles and obstacles, a resident doctor is cheerful and is ready to cater to patient care 24 7 at any point of time. But when the basic rights of a resident doctor are denied and facilities are not provided, a tired resident doctor seeks the help of MARD. Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors is an assembly and representation of resident doctors to represent their fraternity and provide timely and speeded solutions to their problems. All the MARD of each Govt medical college and hospital work in accordance with an elected representative body called as CENTRAL MARD. The current president of CENTRAL MARD is Dr Abhijit Rajesh Helge, he is pursuing his MD Dermatology from Grant Govt Medical College and JJ Hospital, Mumbai. He has done his MBBS from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhopal.

CENTRAL MARD fights for the rights and problems of resident doctors in the state of Maharashtra. There were many instances in the state where MARD firmly stood with the resident doctors against departmental toxicity and dictatorial rules.

Recently, the resident doctors of Maharashtra had a reason to celebrate as the state government approved a stipend hike following an indefinite strike called by CENTRAL MARD. The stipend increase, effective from March 1, 2024, is a significant victory for the resident doctors, reflecting the government's acknowledgment of their invaluable services. The hike of ten thousand rupees in the stipend of Junior Residents and senior Residents throughout the state is the largest ever hike in history, kudos to the unity of resident doctors and the leadership at the state level.