WFME will not remove the need for PLAB, USMLE, but it will open doors that were otherwise getting shut for Indian Doctors

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) recently achieved a major feat when it announced that it had bagged the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) recognition for the next 10 years. As part of this recognition, all the 706 existing medical colleges in India will become WFME accredited, and the new medical colleges that will be set up in the coming 10 years will automatically become WFME accredited.

While many people thought that the WFME recognition would mean that Indian doctors would no longer be required to clear exams like USMLE or PLAB, that is not the case. The requirement of these exams still stands.

The World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) recognition does not remove the need for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) exams. However, it makes all Indian doctors eligible to apply for the exam, something which may not have been possible otherwise.

This comes in light of the fact that these exams have established an essential requirement recently placed on the eligibility criteria, requiring that medical students across the world be enrolled in an institution that is listed on the World Directory of Medical Schools.

In specific, USMLE ( STEP 1 And Step 2) criteria state that a student outside the US and Canada is eligible if, at the time of the application AND on the day of the examination:

"A medical student officially enrolled in, or a graduate of, a medical school that is outside the US and Canada, listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools as meeting ECFMG eligibility requirements, and that meets other eligibility criteria of the ECFMG."- Source USMLE Site

Similarly, the Basic Criteria for PLAB states

(1) The primary medical qualification must be in allopathic medicine that:

(a) has been awarded by an institution listed on the World Directory of Medical Schools, and

(b) is currently acceptable to the GMC.

In both of these exams, to be eligible, it is important that the institution where the doctor has taken the medical education is listed in the World Directory of Medical Education.

What's the World Directory of Medical Schools?

The World Directory of Medical Schools has been developed through a partnership between the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®), a member of Intealth.

Therefore, WFME is a participating organisation in the World Directory of Medical Schools and as soon as an institute gets recognised by WFME, its students become listed under the Directory.

After NMC bagged the WFME recognition for all the medical colleges running under its purview, all our doctors belonging to the medical institutes under NMC have now become eligible to appear for these foreign postgraduate medical entrance tests like USMLE and PLAB.

This is indeed a big relief for all the doctors who are planning to pursue their further education and career abroad. Moreover, the relief is not just limited to doctors of the top-line medical institutions of India but extends to all medical colleges of the country, even those that are going to get established. 

Speaking to the Medical Dialogues team, Dr. Yogender Malik, a member of the NMC Ethics and Medical Registration Board, explained "It is a matter of pride that NMC bagged the WFME recognition in record time. Normally, it takes an institute of organization around one and half to two years to get this recognition, and usually, it is given to a much lesser number of medical colleges. However, in the case of India, we managed to get recognition in less than a year. Further, since the NMC has taken the recognition, it is applicable and beneficial to all the 706 existing medical colleges in India, which have become WFME accredited. The new medical colleges that will be set up in the coming 10 years will automatically become WFME accredited."

Also Read: NMC gets World Federation for Medical Education Recognition- Indian Medicos to get ease of pursuing PG in these countries