The certification of a list of 679 Recognised Non-Teaching Hospitals for Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship has been revealed in a recent circular by the head of the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC). For medical graduates from other countries who were having trouble signing up for the compulsory internship programme in India, this validation is a relief. According to the circular, dated May 9, 2023, this relaxation is given as a one-time measure, and foreign medical graduates (FMGs) will be assigned to these non-teaching hospitals through the appropriate State Medical Councils.

Foreign medical graduates face Difficulties

Numerous medical graduates from other countries were having trouble finding internships in India. Foreign medical graduates are required to pass the FMGE and complete the internship requirement imposed by the NMC. These procedures must be followed in order for FMGs to receive registration to practice in India. However, media reports said that getting internship employment was tough for almost 2,000 FMG doctors. Only about 30% of the students who passed the required FMGE test in January were able to obtain internship positions in Rajasthan alone.Of the 1,365 exam-qualified applicants, 966 are still awaiting a spot in an internship.

 Similar to this, in Haryana, over 40 students were still looking for internship opportunities, and the counselling process had not yet started in many Indian states.

FAIMA Expresses Worries

The difficulties faced by FMGs across India, particularly in Delhi, have lately been brought to light by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA). To address the worries of foreign medical graduates in India, FAIMA wrote to the head of the National Medical Commission and urged prompt action. The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) promised that the Apex medical commission would offer a solution within a week after a meeting on May 4.

FMG Concerns Addressed in NMC Circular

The NMC released a circular that addressed a number of important problems in response to the worries voiced by FMGs. The circular covered a variety of topics, including the Commission’s validation of online study, the applicability of the NMC Public Notice dated July 28, 2022, the need for FMGs to reside in their home country during the internship, the completion of internships in segments at hospitals and medical schools, and the question of stipend payments to FMGs.

The NMC took into account several requests and inquiries regarding the lack of internship spaces for FMGs from various State Medical Councils. At the NMC Chairman’s Coordination Meeting with the Presidents and Members of the four NMC Boards on May 2, 2023, these requests received a favorable appraisal.

The List of Non-Teaching Hospitals is Validated by UGMEB.

The Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) decided to validate the list of Recognised Non-Teaching Hospitals for Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship issued by the former Medical Council of India after carefully analyzing the situation and the difficulties FMGs encountered in completing their internships. A year after the circular’s release, to May 2024, the validation is given solely for the purpose of conducting internships for foreign medical graduates. The circular’s annexure contains a list of recognised non-teaching hospitals for the mandatory rotational medical internship. It’s crucial to remember that this relaxation is only offered once.

The circular additionally stated that only the relevant State Medical Councils will be used to allocate FMGs to these non-teaching hospitals. This guarantees that the procedure continues.

According to data provided by the Apex Medical Commission, Maharashtra has the most non-teaching institutions that have given permission for medical graduates from other countries to engage in the internship programme. NMC has approved 74 similar facilities in Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh, which has 72 hospitals accredited for this purpose, comes in second.

Along with these, the NMC has recognised additional hospitals in the following states: 30 hospitals in Andhra Pradesh, 1 hospital in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 27 hospitals in Assam, 29 hospitals in Bihar, 21 hospitals in Delhi, 49 hospitals in Gujarat, 6 hospitals in Himachal Pradesh, 20 hospitals in Kerala, 45 hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, 40 hospitals in TamilNadu, 62 hospitals in Karnataka, 17 hospitals in Orissa, 42 hospitals in Punjab and Haryana, 2 hospitals

In addition, 15 military hospitals and 27 railway hospitals across India have received approval from NMC to accept FMG students for the Internship Programme. The NMC’s relaxation came at a time when it was difficult for thousands of foreign medical graduates to join India’s obligatory internship scheme. Foreign medical graduates must pass the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) before completing the internship requirement set forth by NMC. The FMGs are only awarded registration to practice in India after that.

We appreciate it that you’re here to read our in-depth guide to the internship for foreign medical graduates (FMG) in India. We will give you detailed information on the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) most recent clarification of the Compulsory Rotatory Medical Internship (CRMI) in this article. To ensure a seamless entry into the Indian healthcare system as an aspirant FMG, it is essential to comprehend these requirements.

Knowing about the FMG Internship

What is FMG? 

Individuals who received their medical degrees from universities outside of India are known as Foreign Medical Graduates, or FMGs. These people want to work in medicine in India and improve the healthcare system there.

The Importance of CRMI A medical graduate’s journey to becoming a licenced practitioner in India requires them to complete a mandatory rotating medical internship (CRMI). It is a one-year internship programme designed to give FMGs real-world experience in a variety of medical specialties while assisting them in gaining important skills and abilities.

CRMI Clarification from NMC

The qualifications for FMGs pursuing CRMI in India were recently clarified by the National Medical Commission (NMC). The goal of this explanation is to establish clear rules and clear up any past uncertainty that FMGs may have had. Let’s examine the main ideas presented in the NMC’s explanation.

Eligibility requirements

Specific qualifying requirements have been established by the NMC for FMGs wishing to participate in the CRMI programme. These standards consist of:

• Degree Accreditation: FMGs must possess a medical degree that is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS) or another authoritative international directory.
• The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), commonly known as the MCI/NMC Screening Test, is a requirement for FMGs. The medical expertise and knowledge of FMGs are evaluated by this exam.
• Medical Council Registration: In order to pursue their CRMI, FMGs must first get temporary registration from the relevant State Medical Council (SMC).

The Clarification’s Goal

The NMC has carefully thought through the concerns surrounding the internship for FMGs in cooperation with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. These clarifications are being made in order to ensure transparency and respond to issues that stakeholders and State Medical Councils have raised. The NMC attempts to give full information and promote understanding among the numerous parties involved by combining the rules and directions.

Important Provisions for FMGs in the CRMI Regulations of 2021

Foreign medical graduates must do at least a twelve-month supervised internship in India. In compliance with the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations 2021, they must submit applications to the Commission for internships. For FMGs to graduate from their internships, their internships must be finished within two years of passing the final MBBS, FMGE, or NEXT Step-1 test.

FMGs will be assigned to medical schools or other organisations that are authorised to offer Compulsory Rotating Medical Internships (CRMI) to Indian Medical Graduates in order to streamline the internship procedure. The corresponding State Medical Councils will distribute the colleges. The corresponding State Medical Councils will distribute the colleges. The colleges, linked hospitals, and Community Health Centres must be approved by the Commission to run the CRMI programme before the counselling or seat allocation procedure can begin.

• Online Study Validation by Commission

The Commission allowed exceptions during the Covid-19 outbreak, despite the fact that it has never authorized or verified medical credentials (both theoretical and practical) only through online mode. In accordance with the existing curriculum, medical colleges and institutions in India are permitted to offer online courses that are reinforced with practical and clinical training. The NMC standards do not recognise online study for medical degrees, including its theoretical and practical components.

• Application of NMC Public Notice on FMGs from July 28, 2022

On July 28, 2022, the NMC released a public notice that clarified the rules that apply to foreign medical graduates (FMGs). The notice states that the two-year internship clause only applies to FMGs who were in their last year of medical qualifying studies when they were forced to return to India because of events like COVID-19 or the Russia-Ukraine War. These FMGs must pass the FMG Examination after successfully finishing their medical qualification and must then do a Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) for two years, with a schedule of 12 months to be repeated. A hospital affiliated with a medical college is where this internship must be finished.

• Domicile Requirement by FMGs for Internships

State Medical Councils are not allowed to refuse FMGs access to medical universities for internships based only on where they reside. If they meet the requirements, FMGs are free to do their internships in any medical college located in a State or Union Territory. The allocation procedure shouldn’t take the domicile requirement into account.

• Partially completed internship by FMGs

An FMG is free to continue the second year of their internship in another medical college, a State, or a Union Territory if they have previously finished the first year of their internship in one medical college in India. Due to this flexibility, FMGs can select from a variety of seats to host internships.

• Stipends are paid to FMGs.

By way of a circular dated 19.05.2022, the NMC asked all Directorates of Medical Education and State Medical Councils to make sure that no FMG interns, whether Indian or foreign, are charged an internship fee by medical colleges or institutions. It was emphasized that FMGs in the relevant States/Union Territories should receive stipends and other benefits on par with Indian Medical Graduates.

• Putting Stipend Guidelines into Practise

Although the NMC has said that the appropriate authority applicable to the institution/university or State should determine the stipend level for FMG interns, the execution of these rules is at the sole discretion of the relevant State authorities. The State authorities are responsible for resolving this issue in circumstances when there is no budgetary provision in the allocation of annual budgets for stipend payment to FMGs.

• Foreign medical graduates are granted a one-time relaxation

The NMC has approved a one-time waiver due to the lack of internship seats for FMGs in several States and Union Territories as a result of the implementation of the two-year internship requirement. The list of Recognised Non-Teaching Hospitals for Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship published by the former Medical Council of India is validated by this relaxation for a period of one year beginning on the date of the circular. With this approach, FMGs will have the chance to finish their internships. However, only through the relevant State Medical Councils can FMGs be allocated to these non-teaching hospitals.

• Validation of Recognised Hospitals that Are Not Teaching

The NMC has approved the recognition of recognised non-teaching hospitals for mandatory rotating medical internships as a temporary measure. The former Medical Council of India published a list of these hospitals, and it is currently valid for a year. Subject to the allocation procedure overseen by the State Medical Councils, this validation permits FMGs to pursue their internships in these facilities.

• FMGs are distributed to non-teaching hospitals.

The relevant State Medical Councils manage the procedure of allocating FMGs to non-teaching hospitals for their internships. These councils are essential in ensuring transparent and fair allocation based on seat availability and FMG merit. The goal is to give FMGs a variety of interesting internship opportunities in various healthcare settings.

• Guidelines for State Medical Councils and Medical Education Directorates

The National Medical Commission’s (NMC) directives and directions for FMG internships are crucially carried out by the State Medical Councils and Directorates of Medical Education. They are in charge of organising and making it easier for FMGs to receive medical colleges, including non-teaching hospitals. The recommendations place a strong emphasis on following the eligibility requirements, abstaining from discrimination based on residence, and making sure that FMGs get stipends and other facilities in accordance with the NMC’s instructions.

Important clarifications and rules regulating the conduct of internships for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in India have been published by the National Medical Commission. These rules cover a wide range of topics, including the applicability of the NMC’s public notice, domicile requirements, part-time internship completion, stipend payment and implementation, a one-time relaxation for FMGs, recognition of non-teaching hospitals, and the function of State Medical Councils and Directorates of Medical Education.

To maintain a seamless and open internship procedure for FMGs, it is crucial that all parties involved—including State Medical Councils—adhere to these rules. By doing this, we can make it easier for FMGs to become a part of the Indian healthcare system, improve their clinical expertise, and raise the standard of healthcare and medical education in the nation as a whole.