FMG Internship in Punjab: Only 36 out of 73 FMGs Allotted Seats

Faridkot: Only 36 out of 73 foreign medical graduates in Punjab have bagged their entry to the mandatory internship programme in India, The Tribune has reported.

Although 73 medical graduates from abroad have been waiting to commence their internship since February 7, the Punjab Medical Council (PMC) offered them only 36 seats on Tuesday.

As per the rules, it is mandatory for the foreign medical graduates to clear the screening test i.e. the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) and thereafter undergo internship for one/two/three years according to the National Medical Commission's guidelines. 

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that around 100 foreign medical graduates were waiting to commence their two-year compulsory rotating medical internship (CRMI) at Punjab Medical institutes even after clearing the FMGE screening test. PMC was reportedly dithering to allot the internship seats to the FMGs because of the pending issue of payment of stipend to these students.

Also Read: Row over Stipend: Around 100 FMGs in Punjab Waiting to Start Internship

As per the latest media report by The Tribune, among the 73 FMGs who were waiting to start their mandatory internship, the PMC offered seats to only 36 students on Tuesday. All of these 73 medical graduates from abroad passed the Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE) screening test and have been waiting to start their internship since February 7.

There are 11 medical colleges in Punjab. However, the 36 FMG Internship seats are in three colleges. Among these 36 seats, 27 seats are available at Faridkot, 8 seats in Patiala and 1 seat is available in DMC Ludhiana.

The Daily has reported that while some medical colleges have already filled their internship quota, some of the private medical institutes in Punjab are not interested to offer the Internship programme to the FMGs as they do not want to pay any stipend to the intern doctors. 

Commenting on the matter, the Registrar of PMC, Dr. Akash Deep Aggarwal told the Daily, "We can’t force autonomous medical institutes to admit FMGs for internship as it their prerogative. In October 2023, the PMC had offered 100 seats to FMGs for internship."

Meanwhile, pointing out that the scarcity of FMG Internship seats will increase after the conduction of the next FMGE test, the medical graduates from abroad proposed a solution of allowing the FMGs to undergo internship training at non-medical institutes as the PMC did last year. 

Around 50 FMGs from Punjab were sent to the Government Multi Specialty Hospital in Chandigarh last year for internship. However, PMC Registrar Dr. Aggarwal said that they cannot force the Chandigarh Hospital for the internship of the State students since it was their prerogative.

Tribune has reported that around 46 of these FMG interns were shifted from Chandigarh hospital to Mohali, Fairdkot, Patiala, and Jalandhar medical colleges.

Also Read: NMC Relief: FMGs who have sufficiently compensated classes in physical onsite in lieu of online classes eligible for one year mandatory internship