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.

The National Medical Commission (NMC), which compelled foreign medical graduates from Ukraine to complete a two-year internship, provoked protests from them on Monday in Bhopal. The students brought up the fact that medical students in India only have to complete a one-year internship. This problem emerged because some Indian medical students who were enrolled at foreign medical institutes in China and Ukraine were placed in unsafe circumstances as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The Union Health Minister intervened to save these students, and he was looking into ways to allow them to finish their medical schooling in India.

Various organizations demanded that medical students from the Ukraine who had returned as refugees be given temporary housing at Indian institutions. Given the ongoing turmoil between Ukraine and Russia, a public interest litigation (PIL) was also launched in the Supreme Court asking that the Central Government incorporate these students into the Indian medical system. The medical students from Ukraine who had returned had also protested in a number of places.

The Supreme Court took notice of the circumstance and ordered the NMC to develop a policy within two months granting temporary registration to MBBS graduates who completed their medical education abroad but were unable to complete the practical training requirement in their parent institutes outside of India. The NMC decided to alter its policy for medical graduates who received their MBBS degree from a foreign medical school without participating in physical clinical training last year. 

The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) was open to Indian students in their last year of MBBS, but the NMC also required foreign medical graduates who passed the exam to complete a two-year CRMI programme. The length of the internship will be doubled in order to make up for the lack of training in clinical and practical skills. As a result, FMGs can only register to practice in India once they have successfully completed the two-year CRMI programme.

The Free Press Journal said that Ukrainian medical students who have returned to Bhopal are dissatisfied with the difference in internship length between them and Indian medical students. On Monday, the students demonstrated in front of the NMC office in Bhopal, and the protest’s organizer, Dr. Udit Soni, criticized the NMC for treating them unfairly. “NMC is completely discriminating. We are also Indians, but unlike the others, we must finish a two-year internship, he said to FPJ. A petition opposing the requirement of an internship for foreign medical graduates is also pending before the bench of the Apex Court.