A.P.'s Foreign Medical Graduates look for internships in other States, thanks to regulatory tangles
While there is no data that could give an exact number, many graduates think the number of those who left for other States, from the three batches of May and November 2024 and January 2025 could be easily more than 250. Many have chosen Telangana and Karnataka, while a few have also reportedly gone to Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.
FMGs, after completion of their medical courses, equivalent to MBBS in India, from foreign universities, have to clear Foreign Medical Graduates' Exam (FMGE) and complete a compulsory internship at an allotted medical college to be eligible for the PR, without which an FMG cannot study further or set up a clinic in India.
When the pandemic struck, many students came back to India as the mode of study was online. A compensation certificate was given by foreign universities to those who returned to the campus and completed training and wrote the final exams offline.
The National Medical Commission (NMC), however, issued multiple guidelines on these aspects. On June 7, 2024, it said every FMG who studied online during the pandemic should undergo a two-year internship. Following a backlash, the commission released another notification on June 19, 2024, stating one-year internship should be allotted to those who have compensation certificates.
Clear position elsewhere
In reply to an RTI query filed by FMGs, the States of Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat have responded that they are allotting one-year internship to those with compensation certificates.
But the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) is insisting on a two-year internship for FMGs for various reasons, including the lack of full details in the compensation letters. Last year, the reason cited by the APMC for the refusal of issuance of PRs was lack of a council body. Now, even after its formation, the delay continues.
While issuance of PRs remains pending, there is confusion also regarding allotment of internships for the batch of students who wrote the FMGE in January 2025. While counselling has begun, verification of certificates is going on. Usually, certificates are verified and internship allotment happens the same day, according to FMGs.
According to information from the Telangana Medical Council, out of 143 FMGs who came from other States for the counselling, most of them were from A.P. 'But since there were no vacancies, we could not accommodate all of them in medical colleges here,' said a member of the TG Medical Council.
When asked about it, APMC Chairman D. Sreehari Rao confirmed that a few students have left for other States, but there is no clarity on the number. When asked about what is causing the delay in conducting the counselling, the Chairman said the verification process is taking long.
Inconsistencies
'Students have not mentioned clearly the duration of the online studies when they returned to India. They all may be genuine cases, but many must not have known about the importance of mentioning these details. In some other cases, the return dates are not matching with their travel details. A few students, I have been told, have mentioned the dates incorrectly because of which we are vetting everyone's certificate carefully,' said Mr. Sreehari Rao.
The FMGs, on the other hand, wonder why should there be a problem in A.P. when the certificates are being accepted in Telangana and other States.
Taking note of their issues, State Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav had asked the APMC members to visit New Delhi and get clarity from the NMC. Until then, the future of FMGs, around 500 in number, continues to hang in balance.
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