While the issue of internship unavailability for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) is still ongoing in most Indian states, the Federation of Resident Dcotor's Association (FORDA) has highlighted another one of FMG's concerns.
On Tuesday, June 20, the association wrote a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya shedding light on the disparities in permanent registration of FMGs post internship.
The letter mentions that many state medical councils have misinterpreted the notice released by the National Medical Council (NMC) dated July 28, 2022 that mentions that Indian students who were in the last year of their undergraduate (UG) medicine course and have completed the final year online, on or before June 30, 2022, will be eligible for registration only after completing the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) for two years.
Discrepancies in implementation
"There were students who had qualified the June 2022 FMGE exam before the NMC notice came in. There are a few state medical councils that have given permanent registration to these candidates after one year of internship and they have moved on in their career or taken up PG courses as well. Meanwhile, a few candidates are still waiting for their registration," said Dr Aviral Mathur, President, FORDA.
Dr Mathur mentioned that there are discrepancies in the way different states have interpreted and implemented the NMC notice.
"This is very unfair that students who are from the same batch and qualified for the same exam are being treated differently. Now, taking back permanent registration of students who have already been given is not the way forward. We want to see uniformity across all the states and for permanent registration numbers to be provided to the rest of the FMGs as well," he added.
The letter to the Union Health Minister mentioned that states such as Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have denied or withheld permanent registration for FMGE candidates with one year of internship experience.
On the other hand, Dr Ashwini Dalmiya, Executive Member of the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) and President, Delhi Medical Association (DMA), said that since the order was passed by the Supreme Court of India, no modifications can be done now.
"The NMC notice came out based on the Supreme Court order. It clearly mentions that if anyone has completed their last year of a bachelor's degree online due to several factors, they will be required to undergo two years of CRMI. This is uniform for all states and cannot be changed now," Dr Dalmiya explained.
Edex Live has approached NMC for further clarification on the issue. The copy will be updated once we get a response.
