{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T19:18:21Z","timestamp":1788376701458,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787529600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The District Residency Program (DRP), introduced by the National Medical Commission (NMC), envisages a three-month mandatory posting of all Indian postgraduate (PG) residents in district hospitals. It is aimed at strengthening the district health system; however, its impact on specialty training in dermatology remains unclear.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>After obtaining institutional ethical clearance, we conducted an anonymized online survey among dermatology PG residents across India, who had completed their DRP posting. It was based on a pre-designed and validated questionnaire, circulated via social media resident networks. The objective and subjective responses were collated and statistically analyzed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Responses from 292 dermatology residents from government (156, 53.4%), private (91, 31.2%), deemed university (35, 12.1%), and government-aided (10, 3.4%) institutions were analyzed. Majority belonged to the PG-2022 batch (185, 63.4%). A significant hindrance to academics was reported by 96 (39.2%) residents, while it remained unaffected for 46 (15.8%). Thesis work was adversely impacted for 190 (65%) residents, with 133 (45.5%)reporting significant disruption. Dermatology procedural skill training during DRP was limited with no procedural dermatology exposure being reported by 159 (54.5%) respondents, while 42 (14.4%)performed procedures supervised, and 68 (23.3%) performed unsupervised. Accommodation was not provided for 229 (78.4%), while transport was not provided for 259 (88.7%) respondents. Lack of access to hygienic meals (206, 70.5%) and safety concerns (103, 35.3%) were significant issues reported. Regarding training outcomes, communication skills reportedly improved for 133 (45.6%). Exposure to the district health system was rated adequate by only 97 (33.2%), while only 59 (20.2%)felt that DRP strengthened district services. Only 93 (31.9%) agreed with the need for DRP posting during post-graduation, while 98 (33.6%) felt that it hampered their training.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Limitations:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Lack of formal psychometric validation of the questionnaire, a relatively small sample size, and the use of a voluntary online Google Form survey, which may have introduced selection and response bias.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Targeted reforms are essential to align the program with dermatology specialty education, while upholding public health objectives at the same time.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/idoj.idoj_857_25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T17:15:35Z","timestamp":1787591735000},"page":"661-667","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Questionnaire-based Evaluation of the Impact of District Residency Program on Dermatology Training: Challenges, Experiences, and Need for Reform"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-3093-8591","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bharti","family":"Aggarwal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, Delhi, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6022-5146","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chander","family":"Grover","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, Delhi, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"R3-20260902","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.4103\/jssrp.jssrp_15_22","article-title":"District residency programme in India","volume":"4","author":"Dharmshaktu","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Surg Specialties Rural Practice"},{"key":"R4-20260902","first-page":"18","article-title":"District residency program: From conceptualization to implementation","volume":"2","author":"Grover","year":"2024","journal-title":"Univ J Med Sci"},{"key":"R5-20260902","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2177","DOI":"10.4103\/jfmpc.jfmpc_1634_23","article-title":"District residency programme: An overview","volume":"13","author":"Desai","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Family Med Prim Care"},{"key":"R8-20260902","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"493","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-024-05489-w","article-title":"Early evidence of implementation of district residency programme: Experiences and challenges of residents in Rajasthan, India","volume":"24","author":"Raj","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ"},{"key":"R9-20260902","first-page":"e94709","article-title":"Voices from the field: Stakeholder perceptions regarding the district residency program implementation in the state of Kerala, India","volume":"17","author":"Chirukandath","year":"2025","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"R10-20260902","first-page":"698","article-title":"District residency programme for postgraduates in India: Dermatology residents' perspectives","volume":"91","author":"Adiga","year":"2025","journal-title":"Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol"},{"key":"R11-20260902","first-page":"e8706","article-title":"Workplace violence against doctors in India: A traditional review","volume":"12","author":"Dora","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"R12-20260902","first-page":"vi","article-title":"Reflections on the district residency program","volume":"8","author":"Basha","year":"2023","journal-title":"Res J Public Health"},{"key":"R13-20260902","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.25259\/NMJI_244_2024","article-title":"Reflections from the district residency programme posting in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra","volume":"38","author":"Khan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Natl Med J India"},{"key":"R14-20260902","first-page":"13","article-title":"Postgraduate residents' experience with district residency program from a Government Medical College in North India: A mixed-method study","volume":"19","author":"Grover","year":"2025","journal-title":"South-East Asian J Med Edu"},{"key":"R15-20260902","first-page":"569","article-title":"Duty or detour? The unfulfilled promise of the district residency programme in India","volume":"91","author":"Gupta","year":"2025","journal-title":"Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol"}],"container-title":["Indian Dermatology Online Journal"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/idoj.idoj_857_25","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T19:00:37Z","timestamp":1788375637000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/idoj.idoj_857_25"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]},"references-count":11,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4103\/idoj.idoj_857_25","relation":{},"ISSN":["2229-5178","2249-5673"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2229-5178","type":"print"},{"value":"2249-5673","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-07-19","name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-01-01","name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}