Andhra Pradesh Medical Council firm on National Medical Commission guidelines for foreign medical graduates
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Vijayawada: With foreign medical graduates (FMGs) intensifying their agitation and demanding the issuance of final medical registration (FMR) certificates, the AP Medical Council (APMC) has reaffirmed that it is duly following the National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines regarding the issuance of FMR certificates to FMGs in the state.
As per the guidelines, the FMGs who pursued their final year of the course through online mode are required to complete a two-year internship (12 months of internship and 12 months of clerkship). Meanwhile, those who completed both their pre-final and final year MBBS courses through online mode from India—after their studies were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war—are required to undergo a three-year internship (12 months of internship and 24 months of clerkship).
Addressing the media in Vijayawada on Friday regarding the FMG students' issues, APMC chairman Dr D Sree Hari Rao stated that the APMC is following all the rules, public notices, and instructions issued by the NMC. This includes the 12-month internship allotment across all medical colleges in the maiden counselling conducted in January 2023 for students who passed the FMG examination conducted by the national board of examination.
"Those FMGs who completed an MBBS course completely offline where they studied and who came back to India due to Covid-19 or the Ukraine war and later went back and finished their course were allotted a one-year internship. Whereas FMGs who came back to India and studied online and did not compensate for their online classes period with offline classes were allotted a two-year internship," the APMC chairman said.
"However, the NMC issued fresh guidelines in November 2023 and December 2023 stating that FMGs who returned and studied the penultimate year and final year online from India have to do two years of clerkship to compensate for their loss of clinical training, followed by one year of internship to make up for offline training.
Accordingly, orders were issued to principals of all medical colleges to communicate the same to the FMGs," he explained.
The medical council chairman noted that some FMGs did not want to do the second-year internship and filed a petition in the AP high court. "The high court magistrate, after hearing the plea, gave a judgement that all the rules issued by the govt of India and the national medical commission should be followed regarding online and offline study, and the compensation certificate submitted by the FMGs has no merit and dismissed the case," he added.
While some FMG students rejoined to complete their two-year internship and clerkship, some FMGs, without waiting for the final judgement, suddenly started dharnas, which the APMC is unaware of as no communication was made, resulting in the present chaotic situation.
Meanwhile, health minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav urged the FMG students to withdraw their protests and attend their duties, completing their internship and clerkship period as per the NMC guidelines. He urged the students to cooperate with the govt until a clarification is obtained either from the high court or from the NMC, as the APMC committee will be personally visiting Delhi exclusively to discuss the prevailing issues of the FMGs pertaining to the issuance of FMR certificates.
FMRs issued to 253 FMGs by APMC for completing (12 months clerkship & 12 months internship) between 2023 and 2025
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