More than 250 foreign medical graduates (FMGs) in Delhi have been waiting for nearly five months to secure internship seats at medical colleges and hospitals, with institutions reportedly reluctant...
More than 250 foreign medical graduates (FMGs) in Delhi have been waiting for nearly five months to secure internship seats at medical colleges and hospitals, with institutions reportedly reluctant to offer placements because of the financial burden of paying stipends mandated by the Supreme Court.
Without completing the compulsory one-year internship, these graduates cannot register with the Medical Council of India (MCI) to practise medicine. They are also ineligible to pursue postgraduate medical courses, which would put their careers on hold.
The affected students are part of the 346 candidates from Delhi who cleared the last session of the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), a screening test conducted twice a year for Indian students who obtain medical degrees abroad. Graduates from all countries, except the USA, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, are required to clear the FMGE before they can practise in India. In addition to qualifying for the examination, they must complete a mandatory internship in India.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court directed medical colleges and hospitals to pay FMGs stipends at par with Indian medical graduates during internships. In Delhi, interns currently receive around Rs 25,000 a month. The National Medical Commission (NMC), the country’s apex medical education regulator, has in the past intervened to ensure that even Indian medical graduates receive the stipends they are entitled to.
However, students say the relief brought by the court’s order has had an unintended consequence.
“While the court order to provide a stipend to foreign medical graduates came as a relief, it has resulted in most students not being allocated a seat at all, with colleges stating that they do not have the funding for it,” said one of the graduates awaiting an internship seat.
The student said they had approached multiple authorities in search of a solution.
“We have gone to the Delhi Medical Council, which allots the seats. We have gone to the medical colleges asking why they are not releasing seats. We have also approached Delhi Health Minister Dr Pankaj Singh and even Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. We have had to run from pillar to post begging for an internship,” the student said.
According to students and officials familiar with the matter, the previous batch of FMGs was allotted internships after giving undertakings that they would not demand stipends. This year, however, medical colleges have become wary of offering seats because failure to pay stipends could invite penalties from the National Medical Commission.
“Many medical colleges have refused to release seats this year because they do not have adequate finances to pay the stipend. This has resulted in a shortage of internship opportunities for students,” said an official aware of the developments.
So far, only 64 students have reportedly been allotted internships at institutions including Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College.
The official added that the economics of internships at private hospitals has also changed. “Many private hospitals earlier used to take money from foreign graduates in exchange for internship positions. Now they are required to pay them stipends. This is one of the reasons many have not released seats,” he explained.
The delay could soon worsen. Another batch of FMGE-qualified students is expected to become eligible for internships in the coming months, adding to the existing backlog.
Students point out that the stipend issue is not unique to Delhi and has surfaced in several other states as well. However, they claim that most states have either already allotted internship seats or are in the process of doing so while working out the financial arrangements, leaving Delhi as an outlier where hundreds continue to wait.
Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More