Compulsory internships by foreign medical graduates as per MCI list valid as 'one-time measure': NMC

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) issues a notice regarding validation of the compulsory rotatory medical internships (CRMIs) as per the old Medical Council of India (MCI) list. The commission informs that the such internships will only be valid as a one-time measure. This applies to students who began their internship in these colleges on or before October 21, 2022.

After 'various requests and representations', NMC has decided that this applies to students who began their internship in these colleges on or before October 21, 2022. Any internship started after this date in non-teaching hospitals will be considered invalid.

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In November 2022, the foreign medical graduates protested against the decisions made by the NMC regarding CRMIs as students that received their UG course completion certificates on or before June 30, 2022, would have to complete two years of internship instead of the usual one year. The commission said that this move was taken to make up for the loss of clinical training for students in the pandemic.

In addition to this, the students were also concerned with the decision that the board would only accept CRMIs under the new NMC list of approved colleges and not as per the previous MCI list. NMC claimed that list was released to the state medical councils in July 2022 but the students were apparently not aware of the list.

In October 21, 2022, NMC then released the list for the students and emphasised that internships must only be taken in the colleges on that list. This move left students who had enrolled into colleges as per the old MCI list stranded. The decision as per the latest NMC notice validates the CRMIs completed or started in the MCI-approved list of colleges only on or before October 21, 2022 brings relief to such students.