Medical Students from Ukraine Upset with NMC's 2-year Internship Rule, stage protest

Bhopal: Upset with the National Medical Commission (NMC) rule that mandated a two-year internship programme for foreign medical graduates, Ukraine returned medical students on Monday staged a protest.

Referring to the fact that Indian medical students are required to undergo only one year of internship, the medical students from Ukraine protested at the Bhopal office of NMC.

The COVID-19 pandemic and then the war between Ukraine and Russia had put a question mark on the future of several Indian medical students, who are enrolled at foreign medical institutes in China and Ukraine.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that after rescuing the medical students stuck in war-hit Ukraine, the Union Health Minister was contemplating the possible options for those students, so that they could complete their medical education in India.

Also Read: NMC relief: Final year MBBS medicos hit by COVID, Ukraine war can attempt FMGE, practice after 2 year Internship

Several organizations came forward and urged the authorities to accommodate Ukraine returned medical students in the Indian institutes as a one time measure. In fact, a PIL had been filed in the Supreme Court as well seeking direction to the Central Government to integrate Ukraine Medical students into Indian medical system, keeping in view the ongoing crisis between Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, the Ukraine-returned medicos had staged protests in a few states.

Finally, taking cognizance of the situation, the Supreme Court had directed the NMC for formulating policy within two months in order to grant temporary registration for those MBBS graduates who have completed their medical education abroad but were unable to fulfill the requirement of practical training in their parent institutes outside of India.

Last year, NMC decided to frame a scheme and granted relaxation to medical graduates who completed their MBBS course from a foreign medical institute without undergoing physical clinical training.

While NMC allowed the Indian Students in the last year of their MBBS course to appear in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), it also clarified that after qualifying the exam, such foreign medical graduates would be required to undergo CRMI for two years. The doubling of the internship period is aimed at overcoming the deficit in clinical and practical skills training.

Therefore, the FMGs are allowed to get registration to practice in India only after completing the two-year CRMI programme. As per the latest media report by the Free Press Journal, Ukraine returned medical students in Bhopal are upset with this discrimination regarding the duration of internship with the Indian medical students. Raising the issue, the students protested outside NMC office in Bhopal on Monday.

Commenting on the matter, Dr. Udit Soni, who led the protest told FPJ, ‘It is total discrimination by NMC. We are Indians also but we have to complete two years’ internship while for the rest, it is just one year.’

Meanwhile, a petition challenging the mandatory internship for the medical graduates from abroad is also pending before the Apex Court bench.

Also Read: Supreme Court allows 2 attempts for Penultimate Foreign Medical Students to clear final MBBS exams without enrolling in India medical colleges