Tread this path cautiously

Updated on: Monday, June 28, 2010

Contemporary medicine is challenging and dynamic and attracts thousands of students every year. But competition being fierce and the number of seats being limited means that a lot of students are unable to get admission into medical colleges in India.

Herein lies the catch
Some students go abroad to realise their dreams but this is a path that needs to be tread cautiously as a good number of students have not been allowed to practice medicine or teach in Indian medical colleges, especially those obtaining degrees from unrecognised colleges in countries such as China, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. These students have been caught in a labyrinth of litigations, with their careers almost doomed.

Apply to the MCI
According to the rules of the Medical Council of India (MCI), the nodal governing body for medical education in India, Indian students aspiring to pursue undergraduate courses in medicine in any foreign institution should apply to the MCI for the issuance of an Eligibility Certificate (permission to pursue medicine abroad) and after returning with the degree, appear for the screening test conducted by the National Board of Examinations. Once the student has cleared the test, he or she will be granted an MBBS — equivalent of their foreign degree in India. The regulations relating to foreign medical studies and the recognition procedures (the licence to practice in India) are detailed in the MCI website www.mciindia.org.

Follow the guidelines
Says Dr. G. Samaram, President of the Indian Medical Associa-tion: “The MCI has a definite set of guidelines for foreign medical studies. Students should get admission into good colleges as they have to return and appear for a screening test followed by a compulsory one-year house surgeon term/ internship.”
VR Ram, Chief Executive, Medico Abroad says students intending to join an MBBS course in a foreign medical university need to fulfill the following eligibility criteria:
Ram adds: “Students must submit an application to the MCI in a prescribed format (disclosing the name of the varsity they are attending) before going abroad. After this they will get approval from the MCI to pursue a foreign medical degree which will be sent directly to them in the form of an Eligibility Certificate. Students failing to get this will not be allowed to sit for the screening test nor will they be registered with the MCI or the state medical council.”

Verify the list
The most authentic method of verification is to check the list of approved colleges released by the National Board of Examinations, under the government’s Ministry of Health. A specific Screening Test Code is allotted to every recognised college in each of the countries. In addition, the MCI recommends that the university in which the student is seeking admission should be listed in the WHO Directory of World Medical Schools. On March 10, 2008, the government issued a notification recognising PG medical degrees awarded in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, referred to as English-speaking countries. There are about 12 such nations, from where PG degrees are recognised. Log on to www.mciindia.org.

Tread this path cautiously

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