The delay in the counselling process for the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internships (CRMIs) for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) still seems to be a persistent issue across many states in India.
Recently, on Monday, June 12, the FMGs in Kerala staged a protest in front of the Kerala State Medical Council (KSMC) office in Thiruvananthapuram demanding provisional registration at the earliest.
An FMG from Kerala, who wanted to remain anonymous, told EdexLive, “The state is delaying the provisional process for all the FMGs due to which our internships are getting delayed. There are somewhere around 600 qualified foreign medical graduates who have been waiting for several months.”
The FMG informed that though the state medical council has started to issue provisional certificates after the protest on Monday, it is still unknown as to when a merit list will be released by the KSMC and when the counselling process will begin.
Moreover, the protestors also complained that the state medical council has not acknowledged the NMC circular dated May 9, 2023, which states that the FMGs will be allowed to get internship seats at non-teaching hospitals as well.
What does the NMC circular say?
Last month, as a one-time relaxation, the National Medical Commission (NMC) released a list of recognised non-teaching hospitals that will now be allowed to conduct internships for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) only for a period of one year.
The decision was taken following representation from various FMGs and other stakeholders from state medical councils regarding the issues being faced by FMGs in India due to the lack of internship seats.
However, as per the circular, the one-time relaxation is only valid till May 31, 2024. Now, the FMGs, who still haven’t been allocated seats for internships, are confused about whether or not they will be allowed to continue their one-year internship post-May 31 next year.
Dr Ashwini Dalmiya, Executive Member of the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) and President, Delhi Medical Association (DMA), said, “As far as my personal interpretation goes, it is pretty clear that the circular means the FMGs will have to complete their CRMI before May 31 which means they should have started the internship in June 2023. This is extreme apathy on the part of state medical councils who do not have any consideration for these students’ future.”
However, Dr Dalmiya agreed that there is some scope for interpretation in the NMC circular as few believe that if FMGs are allocated seats before May 31, 2024, they will still be allowed to pursue it in these non-teaching institutions.
NMC has not issued any clarification about the confusion leaving the issue in the hands of respective state medical councils.
FMGs in the majority of states in India, except Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, are still waiting for the allocation of seats despite the NMC directing the state medical councils to do so over a month ago.
