Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in Jammu & Kashmir have finally been allotted internships for their Compulsory Rotating Medical Internships (CMRIs) today, May 29, says the Jammu & Kashmir Medical Students Association (JKMSA). This comes after a series of protests by the FMGs all across the country against the limited number of internship vacancies for over a month now.
The JKMSA took to Twitter to make this announcement and expressed its gratitude to Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, the Jammu & Kashmir Medical Board and the Jammu & Kashmir Medical Council.
“All FMGs in the state have been allotted internships on an urgent basis by the Government, and the issue of insufficient internship seats for FMGs in Jammu & Kashmir has been resolved. It's thanks to the dedication of our government and the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council that students were allocated internships so quickly,” says Dr Wasim Khan, President of JKMSA.
Initially, 417 FMGs from Jammu & Kashmir qualified for internships. However, only 230 among them were accommodated for internships, leaving the rest of the FMGs behind. After agitation from the FMGs, and the National Medical Council (NMC) notice allowing non-teaching hospitals to offer CMRIs as well, 150 of the remaining FMGs got placed into internships at various Government Medical Colleges in the state.
Finally, the last 37 remaining FMGs also got allotted to internships yesterday as well, reveals Wasim Khan. “Each of these remaining students has informed us about their allotment; this is how we are certain that the issue has been resolved,” he adds.
In addition, FMGs in Delhi have also gotten their internship seats on May 16.
What is the issue?
Since last month, FMGs in India have been raising the issue of inadequate internship seats in medical colleges, despite being eligible for them. Last month, FMGs in Rajasthan went on strike due to the limited number of seats. Similar concerns were raised by FMGs in Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Punjab.
On April 26, FMGs in Rajasthan started an indefinite sit-in protest at Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur and refused to move until the government responds.
In order to be able to practice in India, FMGs must clear the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE), and practice medicine for two years.