Nagpur: In a major relief to MBBS students who returned from war-torn Ukraine, the National Medical Commission (NMC) on Friday issued a circular allowing foreign medical graduates who have not completed their internships because of circumstances beyond their control to complete them in India. However, there has been no clarity on the guidelines regarding students who haven’t completed their courses yet, putting them in the tight spot.
NMC, the regulatory body that oversees medical education and medical professionals in India stated that if the candidates have passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), their applications for completing the internship may be processed by the State Medical Councils.
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“There are also some foreign medical graduates with incomplete internships due to such compelling situations which are beyond their control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and war etc. Considering the agony and stress faced by these foreign medical graduates, their application to complete the remaining part of internship in India is considered eligible,” the NMC said in the circular.
Though, the move is set to benefit thousands of Indian medical students who had to abandon their studies and return to India as Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine; however, the NMC hasn’t taken a call on those who haven’t completed the courses yet.
“The State Medical Councils should ensure the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) conducted by the National Board of Examination (NBE) should be cleared by the candidates seeking registration in India. If the candidate is found fulfilling criteria, provisional registration may be granted by the state medical councils for a 12 months’ internship or balance period, as the case may be,” the circular reads.
The NMC also requested that State Medical Boards obtain an assurance from medical colleges that no fee will be charged to Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) for completing their internship. “The stipend and other facilities to FMGs should be extended equivalent to Indian medical graduates being trained at the government medical colleges as fixed by the appropriate authority,” it added.
Speaking to Nagpur Today, Rushil Mirzapurkar, a medical student returned from Ukraine said that their teachers had urged us to approach NMC as even they were unsure about anything till March 13.
“On our college WhatsApp group, our teachers had asked us to wait till March 13, as even they are clueless regarding any update. However, they had suggested that we approach NMC regarding any guidance. Though, the NMC’s move has brought much needed respite to students; it, however, lacks clarity,” Rushil said.
– Shubham Nagdeve
