'Good move': Doctor hails national panel's relief for medical students hit by COVID, Russia-Ukraine war

New Delhi [India], July 29 (ANI): After final-year medical students from the pandemic and war-hit China and Ukraine were allowed to appear in Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE), doctors hailed the decision saying 'good move' as the students will get clinical exposure in Indian condition.
Speaking to ANI, Dr Anil Chandna, EC member of Dental Council of India and Member of Delhi State Dental Council said, "Good move for these students as a one-time measure. The internship program will be 2 years for them. They will get ample time to have clinical exposure to Indian conditions. But this will not be a precedent for next year."
Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) is a screening test that foreign medical students have to clear to practise in the country.
Only students who have completed the courses and have been granted a certificate of completion on or before June 30, 2022 will be eligible for this one-time relaxation by the National Medical Commission, an apex body regulating medical education in the country.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has provided a major relief to the students hit by the Russia-Ukraine war and COVID-19 by deciding to grant relaxation to medical graduates who have completed their MBBS course from foreign colleges without undergoing clinical training.
"Indian students who were in the final year of their UG medicine course (due to COVID-19, Russia-Ukraine war returned to India) and have completed their studies and granted a certificate of completion of the course on or before June 30 will be permitted to appear in Foreign Medical Graduate Exam," read NMC public notice.
After qualifying for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination FMG exam these students are required to undergo the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) exam for a period of 2 years, "Such FMG students are required to undergo compulsory rotating medical CRMI for a period of 2 years to make up for the clinical training which could not be physically attended by them during the undergraduate medicine course in the foreign country," added the notice.
Earlier, the internship duration was one year but now this will be two years of clinical exposure.
According to Dr Anil Chandna, EC member Dental Council of India and Member Delhi State Dental Council, the one time measure is a good move. "In the internship program which will be 2 years for them, they will have ample time to have clinical exposure to Indian conditions. But this will not be a precedence for future years," he said.
Earlier ANI reported that Union Health Ministry is working on a scheme to accommodate Russia-Ukraine hit medical students so that they could complete their medical graduation in India. Several rounds of meetings were also held between NMC and Union Health Ministry to find the solution.
It is pertinent to note that under Operation Ganga, more than 18,000 thousand Indians were evacuated from Ukraine.Under the central government's 'Operation Ganga', 76 flights were sent to Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova to rescue Indian citizens stuck in Ukraine.
From 'Operation Sukoon' to 'Operation Safe Homecoming' and 'Operation Rahat', India has successfully evacuated its citizens in war zones over the past three decades. (ANI)