Everything To Know in the “NMC Gazette 2021” in a Nutshell
Recently, India’s premier medical body i.e. the National Medical Commission (erstwhile Medical Council of India) came out with the NMC 2021 Regulations for MBBS Abroad Students. It includes some important clauses that highlight the policy changes of the Government of India in accepting graduates from foreign universities.
For starters, regarding MBBS in Philippines, the NMC gazette prescribes that only a “BS+MD (Basic Sciences + Doctor of Medicine)” degree will be valid to enter India. This means that students pursuing only an MD degree from a Filipino university aren’t eligible to practice in India.
More such important clauses about the NMC gazette 2021 are mentioned in the points below.
Duration
When talking about higher medical education, it comprises 2 different aspects namely the “course” and the “internship”. Therefore, the NMC gazette consists of clauses pertaining to the duration of both these aspects.
As far as the “classes” of the course are concerned (practical and theoretical), only those degrees that have a duration of at least 54 months will be considered valid in India.
Students need to compulsorily complete a 12 month internship from the same university abroad in order to be valid to study and/or practice in India.
Mandatory Aspects
This head of the NMC Gazette notification 2021 consists of several important clauses of said gazette to keep in mind: -
ENGLISH:First and foremost, the degrees of only those universities will be considered valid that have offered the entire program in the English language. This means that bilingual courses will no longer be accepted in India.
NEXT EXAM:Though it was already a compulsion for foreign graduates, this gazette has once again reiterated this clause. This clause being that those who’ve completed MBBS abroad need to mandatorily give the NEXT Exam (replacing the FMGE Exam from 2023) in order to be eligible for further studies and/or medical practice.
NO COLLEGE CHANGE:It’s also equally important that students complete their programme in its entirety (course + internship) from the same university. What this means is that they’re not allowed to change a college mid-program/mid-semester/mid-year.
VALIDITY OF DEGREE: The last thing to remember is that the university offering you the MBBS abroad degree should be registered and certified with the requisite authorities of that country. This is because only if the medical degree is valid in that country’s jurisdiction, will it be in India.
Necessary Subjects in Curriculum
The NMC 2021 Regulations for MBBS Abroad Students also states that if students seek to return to India after completion of their higher medical education abroad need to fulfill this important criteria.
This criteria being that their degrees/courses must cover all the 19 important medical disciplines that have been mentioned below: -
- Anatomy
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
- Ophthalmology
- Surgery and Allied Subjects
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacology
- Microbiology
- Pathology
- Forensic Medicine
- Community Medicine
- Clinical Postings
- Anesthesiology
- Dermatology
- Physiology
- Biochemistry
- OPDs
- Medicine and Allied Subjects
Who won’t be affected?
The NMC Gazette notification 2021 may come as a shock and/or surprise for many. It may even generate tension in the minds of many, especially those who’ve already enrolled in universities abroad.
However, the latter don’t need to worry about the clauses mentioned in said gazette as according to government order, these DO NOT apply to those who’ve sought admissions before 18 Nov 2021.
To sum up all that’s been said above regarding the clauses of the NMC gazette, students need to pursue their MBBS abroad entirely from 1 single university (certified and recognized by the authorities of that region) and that too in the English language. The course needs to be at least 54 months long and the internship at least 12 months. After that, they need to pass the Indian licentiate exam i.e. the NEXT Exam to practice in India.
Finally, the NMC gazette notification 2021 only applies to those taking admission AFTER 18th November 2021.
