The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a circular permitting Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) to enrol for internships at non-teaching hospitals nationwide. This decision follows requests from the All FMGs Association (AFA) and the Delhi Medical Council (DMC), who highlighted the challenges FMGs faced in securing internship seats due to limited availability.
The official notification states, “UGMEB has validated the list of recognised non-teaching hospitals for Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) issued by the erstwhile Medical Council of India, extending its validity until May 2024 exclusively for Foreign Medical Graduates.”
Additionally, the notice mentions, “In response to multiple representations from Medical Councils and FMGs regarding difficulties in securing internships, the period has been extended from May 2024 to May 2026, allowing FMGs more time to complete their internships.” The NMC has confirmed that the list of recognised non-teaching hospitals for CRMI is accessible on their website.
In 2023, NMC increased internship seats in Delhi to 587, enabling standalone postgraduate medical institutes offering DNB training and non-teaching hospitals to accommodate FMG interns. However, as reported by Education Times in April 2024, several major medical colleges in Delhi, including AIIMS and Maulana Azad Medical College, cited ‘administrative reasons’ for the lack of internship opportunities for FMGs.
This new directive aims to ensure that FMGs who previously missed out on internships due to seat shortages are now absorbed by the listed hospitals, providing them with the necessary training and experience.
Source: Education Times (May 17, 2024 01:18 PM)