The National Medical Commission (NMC) has made an important step towards alleviating the concerns of medical students who have passed their final year MBBS exams but are unable to engage in the mandated internship programme due to their medical colleges’ awaiting recognition status. With a recent move, the NMC has permitted all of these medical graduates to gain provisional registration with the relevant State Medical Council, regardless of the status of their medical institutions’ recognition. This decision provides relief to many medical students around the country who are encountering challenges in furthering their careers.

Background: The Pending Recognition Problem

Many colleges in India are now awaiting accreditation from the supreme medical authority. This circumstance has caused problems for both medical students and graduates from these universities. Medical graduates are unable to participate in the postgraduate medical admissions process due to a lack of recognition, stifling their professional development. The inability to register with the State Medical Faculty due to a lack of recognition exacerbates the dilemma, leaving aspiring doctors in limbo.

The Situation of Medical Graduates in Uttar Pradesh

• Approximately 300 medical graduates in Uttar Pradesh are dealing with the ramifications of their colleges’ awaiting recognised status.
• These graduates are unable to register with the State Medical Faculty and hence cannot take postgraduate entrance examinations.
• Because of the lack of recognition, medical graduates from the 2017 batch are vulnerable, as they are unable to participate in necessary exams.
• The scenario also affects the 2018 MBBS class, who are set to finish their studies and face an uncertain future.
• While one medical college just got NMC certification, the fate of others is unknown, prolonging the state’s fight for medical graduates.

Government Doon Medical College Graduates’ Predicament

• Medical graduates from Uttarakhand’s Government Doon Medical College face comparable issues.
• Their inability to participate in important post-graduate entrance exams is hampered by their lack of recognition from the supreme medical body.
• These graduates are unable to take examinations such as the National Eligibility-cum-Entry Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG), Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INICET), United States Medical Licencing Examination (USMLE), and Professional Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB).
• Recognising the gravity of the situation, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) recently petitioned Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, blaming the NMC’s blanket permit for compounding the problem.

Provisional Registration Relief from the NMC

The NMC has issued a Public Notice explaining its remedial measures in response to the plight of medical students and graduates due to pending recognition. According to Shambhu Sharan Kumar, Director of UG Medical Education Board, all Indian Medical Graduates who have cleared their final MBBS examinations until the Academic Year 2022-2023 will be granted provisional registration in the concerned State Medical Council and subsequent internship in their Parent Colleges immediately, regardless of the recognition status of their medical colleges. The NMC’s action aims to reduce the difficulties that medical graduates experience and ensure that they can continue with their internship programme and other job prospects.