House Surgeon Meaning, Salary, Duties and Differences

A house surgeon is a medical intern. It is the name used in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and nearby states for the twelve month compulsory rotating internship done after the final MBBS exam. Stipends run from about Rs 12,000 a month in Uttar Pradesh to Rs 34,310 at Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi.

House surgeon: key takeaways

• House surgeon and intern are the same post. The Tamil Nadu recruitment board writes it as "House Surgeon (CRRI)" in its own notifications, meaning the compulsory rotating internship.

• The year is 52 weeks across 13 departments. Community Medicine takes 12 weeks, Obstetrics and Gynaecology 7, Medicine and Surgery 6 each, plus a 4 week elective block.

• Pay varies more than fourfold by state. Rs 12,000 in Uttar Pradesh against Rs 30,000 in Karnataka and Rs 34,310 at Maulana Azad Medical College.

• Foreign medical graduates are paid far less in some states. Six Telangana government colleges report Rs 5,000 a month for FMG interns against Rs 25,906 for others.

• A house surgeon holds provisional registration only. That means working under a named supervisor, and it is the supervisor who carries the legal responsibility.

• Leave is 15 days for the whole year. Medical leave counts inside those 15 days, and anything beyond extends the internship, usually unpaid.

House surgeon salary by state

This is the figure most people come here for, so it goes first. The amounts below are what medical colleges themselves reported to the regulator for undergraduate interns. Our MBBS in India hub covers the course that leads up to this year.

Every figure comes from the stipend details published by the National Medical Commission, a 30 page list covering 804 colleges with returns running to December 2025. Our page on internship salary in MBBS carries more detail, and the MBBS internship stipend web story shows the spread in one screen.

Kerala is one of the few states that writes the post as House Surgeon (Medical) in its own pay tables rather than as intern. The figure it reports is Rs 27,300 a month.

Why some house surgeons are paid Rs 5,000

Two gaps show up clearly in the regulator's own list, and both are worth knowing before you choose where to do your internship.

Foreign medical graduates are paid less in several states. Six government medical colleges in Telangana report an intern stipend of Rs 5,000 a month. At least two label it in their return as the rate for FMG interns, against Rs 25,906 for other interns in the same state. One private Telangana college records its figure as Rs 5,000 to foreign graduates only. Our page on FMG internship stipend rules covers where that leaves a returning graduate.

Private colleges often pay well below the state rate. In Telangana, nine private colleges list the state figure of Rs 25,906 in one column and pay Rs 2,000 to Rs 8,000 in the other. In Andhra Pradesh, nine private colleges list Rs 22,527 and pay Rs 3,500 to Rs 10,000. In Karnataka, 21 private colleges list Rs 30,000 and pay Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000. A number of rows read nil or not mentioned.

The rule itself says every intern shall be paid a stipend as fixed by the appropriate authority for that institution, university or state. It sets no national minimum, which is how the spread above becomes possible. The Supreme Court directed the regulator to collect these figures. Since the financial year 2024 to 2025, every college must publish its stipend on its own website and update it monthly.

The house surgeon year: full posting schedule

Twelve months, thirteen mandatory departments, and a four week elective block. This is the schedule as the regulation sets it.

The thirteen mandatory postings come to 48 weeks and the elective block adds four, which is the 52 weeks the stipend rule pays for. The internship must be completed within two years of passing the final exam. Our guide to the MBBS internship covers how colleges run the rota.

What a house surgeon actually does

The work is clinical from day one, under a named supervisor in every department.

• Ward work. Examining allotted patients, completing case sheets, and following their progress through the posting.

• Emergency duty. Rostered by the department, including nights. The national regulation sets no cap on hours, so the rota is the college's own.

• Procedures. Urethral catheterisation, Ryle's tube insertion, pleural and ascitic aspiration, oxygen administration, assisting at biopsies and bone marrow aspiration.

• Community posting. Diagnosing common illness and advising primary care, knowing the essential drugs list, recognising emergencies and referring appropriately.

• The log book. A record of work verified and signed by the medical officer supervising it, with the head of unit and head of department certifying each posting.

At the end, the Dean or Principal issues a cumulative certificate of satisfactory completion, and that certificate is what the university needs before awarding the MBBS degree.

What a house surgeon cannot do

This is the part that surprises families, and it follows from the registration status rather than from the hospital.

A house surgeon holds provisional registration from the state medical council, granted for the purpose of internship training. Provisional registration is not a licence to practise independently. That licence comes with permanent registration, after the internship is finished.

In practice this means three things. An intern works under the direct supervision of a designated supervising physician or mentor, who is a faculty member. That supervisor carries responsibility for the ethical and legal issues arising from the work. And by the Directorate General of Health Services hospital manual, interns neither independently prescribe treatment nor certify deaths.

Training still covers both. An intern is taught to handle common acute emergencies, to know their own limits, and to refer in time.

Leave rules for a house surgeon

• Fifteen days for the whole year. Taken with prior permission, and not all of it inside a single one or two week posting.

• Medical leave sits inside those fifteen days. Anything beyond needs a duly constituted medical board to recommend it.

• Maternity leave follows the prevailing central or state government rules for that institution.

• Paternity leave is two weeks, taken together or as two separate weeks within the internship year.

• Going over extends the year. The extension equals the excess leave and is served in the department where it was taken. Stipend is normally not paid during an extension.

House surgeon vs junior resident vs senior resident vs RMO

Four titles that sound similar and mean four different things. The deciding factors are the qualification held and the registration behind it.

One point worth knowing. Junior resident covers two different people. A postgraduate student doing MD or MS is called a junior resident, and so is a doctor appointed to a non-PG junior residency after internship. Our page on RMO vs medical officer vs junior resident separates them, and the senior resident and junior resident web story covers the step above.

RMO sits apart from the other three. It is a hospital employment title used mainly by private and corporate hospitals rather than a post defined in any regulation. Our guide on how to become an RMO doctor covers what employers actually ask for.

The pay ladder in one order

Kerala publishes all four grades in a single government order, which makes it the clearest picture of how pay rises with each step.

The jump from house surgeon to first year junior resident is more than double. Postgraduate students also have a statutory right to the state government rate wherever they train, which interns do not. Our pages on the PG resident stipend in India and senior residency after MD or MS cover the two steps above.

What happens after the house surgeon year

1. Collect the completion certificate. The Dean or Principal issues it at the end, and nothing moves without it.

2. Get the MBBS degree awarded. The university awards it only after the internship is certified, so the degree and the internship are tied together.

3. Apply for permanent registration with your state medical council. No medical graduate is eligible for it without completing the internship in India.

4. Decide the next step before the year ends. NEET PG, a non-PG junior residency, a government medical officer post or work abroad. Our page on career options after MBBS sets them side by side.

5. Foreign graduates have an extra step. Internship in India follows the screening exam, and our page on FMG internship and registration covers the order.

How many hours does a house surgeon work?

There is no national cap, and that is worth knowing rather than guessing at.

The internship regulation sets the postings, the leave and the stipend rule, but it says nothing about working hours or night duty. The nearest official statement is the hospital manual used by central government hospitals. It puts the grade immediately above interns on night duty from 9 pm to 9 am, and leaves intern rostering to each department.

So hours depend on the college and the department. Ask current house surgeons at the college rather than the office, because the rota is set locally.

House surgeon: the bottom line

A house surgeon is an intern doing the compulsory twelve month rotation after final MBBS. Twelve weeks in community medicine, seven in obstetrics, six each in medicine and surgery. Fifteen days of leave for the whole year. The stipend depends almost entirely on which state you are in.

The year matters for two reasons beyond the training. Without the completion certificate there is no degree and no permanent registration. And where you do it decides whether you earn Rs 12,000 a month or nearly three times that.

House surgeon: frequently asked questions

Sources

• National Medical Commission, Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship Regulations, 2021, with the posting schedule, leave and stipend rules

• National Medical Commission, stipend details reported by 804 medical colleges

• National Medical Commission, directions of 16 April 2024 on reporting stipends paid to interns and residents

• National Medical Commission, Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023

• National Medical Commission, Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, defining junior and senior residents

• National Medical Commission, Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023