Numerous Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in the country have expressed that the guidelines and regulations by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for FMGs are "hostile" and "unfair".
This is especially with regards to the NMC guidelines which mandates those FMGs who had a break in the penultimate (second-last) year of study and completed their MBBS course through online mode, to undergo two years of clinical clerkship and one year of Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI).
Foreign medical graduates have expressed that this three-year internship requirement by the NMC has caused them significant harm mentally, academically, and financially.
Dr Ritesh Rathee, an FMG who completed his MBBS degree in China, told EdexLive, “This requirement of a three-year internship by NMC is unfair to the FMGs. We are being made to repeat the same thing for three years, no new training is being provided. It does not add to our medical training. It already takes six years to finish one’s MBBS degree and having to do three years of internship, makes our course duration at least ten years. We are spending ten years of our lives on an undergraduate course without any employment.”
It is important to note that NMC also mandates that FMGs complete their internship within ten years from the date of joining their foreign medical institutions to procure qualifications equivalent to MBBS in India.
What does NMC exactly say?
As per a public notice released by the NMC on December 7, 2023, it was mentioned that FMGs who completed the last two years of their MBBS course through online mode are required to undergo three years of internship in order to get permanent registration in India or to be eligible to apply for postgraduate medical examination.
The notice said that it was in lieu of deficiency in their training from their parent foreign medical college.
However, medical graduates highlighted that there is inconsistency in the implementation of NMC guidelines by several states. While a few states have mandated three-year internships for FMGs, graduates from the same batch in other states are not required to do so.
Dr Sehaj Mahajan, another foreign medical graduate, expressed, “Most of the FMGs are undergoing internships without any stipend. But that is not our major concern, we only want the NMC to consider our request and allow two years of CRMI for FMGs who returned due to unforeseen circumstances. FMGs are suffering mentally and financially because of these requirements.”
Students' association raises concerns
The All India Medical Students Association - Foreign Medical Students Wing (AIMSA-FMSW) also wrote to the NMC on March 14, 2024, urging the authority to reconsider its requirements in light of students’ mental well-being.
“The existing screening test, along with compensatory one year of clerkship for online mode of study only and students who have not compensated in there respective college due to the pandemic & war condition, coupled with a 1-year internship, adequately assesses their quality, knowledge, skills, and patient care management. An additional year would further exacerbate their mental and physical well- being,” the letter added.
Gaining support
Other medical associations have also lent their support to the foreign medical graduates.
Yesterday, on April 3, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) posted on social media platform X, “The current sentiment in the country regarding Foreign Medical Graduates has a hostile undertone to it. 3 years of internship (+clerkship) in particular, is not only too rigid, but also inhumane at many levels, compunded with the adversities that these students have already had to face in the face of #COVID & #UkraineWar. We urge @NMC_IND to listen to the various demands and pleas of affected students and help settle their multiple issues with rounds of talks.”
