What a DCH means on a doctor's profile
The DCH is the two-year postgraduate diploma in paediatrics; a DCH holder is a qualified children's doctor, many of whom later add the MD.
The DCH is the two-year postgraduate diploma in paediatrics, and after the DGO it is the diploma most often recorded on this site — chiefly by paediatricians in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, a good number of whom also record a later MD (Paediatrics). A DCH holder is a qualified paediatrician: they run children's outpatient practices, manage newborns and admit sick children. The MD adds a year and a dissertation, and is the route into neonatology and the other paediatric super-specialities.
A postgraduate diploma is two years of training after the MBBS, entered through NEET-PG and awarded by a university under the same regulations as the degrees; the National Medical Commission's Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 set two years as its length against three for a broad-speciality degree. A diploma holder is a trained specialist in the branch, and may go on to complete the MD in Paediatrics or a DNB with the diploma counted towards it. Many profiles here record both — the diploma first, the degree later.
How to check whether a doctor holds a DCH
- Read the register entryA doctor's record on the Indian Medical Register names the qualification the state medical council recorded at registration, and further qualifications where the doctor has had them added. If the doctor says they hold a DCH and the register shows only the primary degree, the DCH has not been registered — which is common and not by itself a warning, but it does mean the register cannot confirm it.
- Check the college was recognised for the courseThe NMC's College and Course Search lists which institutions are recognised for which courses. a DCH from a college not recognised for it on the year in question is a qualification the NMC does not recognise, whatever the certificate says.
- Ask the awarding body when it mattersUniversities verify degrees on request, usually for a fee; a hospital credentialing a doctor does this, and a patient can ask whether it has been done. On this site a qualification is marked verified only when it has been checked against the awarding body and the date is shown; otherwise it is marked as supplied.
775 doctors record a DCH
None of them has the qualification checked against the awarding body yet. All are recorded as supplied. Counts are read from the live database and refresh hourly.
Specialities they practise
- Paediatricians · 759
- General physicians · 5
- Gynaecologists · 5
- Cardiologists · 1
- Endocrinologists · 1
- ENT surgeons · 1
Where they practise
Questions people ask
- Is a DCH a recognised qualification in India?
- Yes, when awarded by an institution recognised for it. The National Medical Commission maintains the list of recognised qualifications and of the institutions permitted to award each; a DCH from a college that was not recognised for the course in that year is not a recognised qualification, and a registering body can refuse to enter it on the register.
- Is DCH enough to practise as a specialist?
- Yes. A postgraduate diploma is a recognised specialist qualification in its branch, and diploma holders practise as specialists across India. It is shorter than the three-year degree in the same branch and does not by itself qualify the holder for super-speciality training, which is entered from an MD, MS or DNB.
Every profile lists its qualifications as supplied and says which of them have been checked against the awarding body and when. Where none has, the profile says so.
General information about medical qualifications in India, checked against the sources listed on 25 Sep 2026. Not advice about your situation. Errors can be reported through the corrections process.