The National Medical Commission (NMC) has notified the new guidelines to be followed by Indian students for completing their disrupted overseas MBBS studies. The doubts arising from it were also later clarified. Notifications were issued on September 6 and 15, 2022, and on November 22 this year for those who had to discontinue studying MBBS in Ukraine. A summary of the new guidelines contained in these are as follows:

A) Final year students who have discontinued overseas MBBS studies due to COVID or war and have returned and completed their studies and examinations online:

• A one-year clinical clerkship should be completed here to make up for the deficiency in the study abroad. For this, a fee not exceeding Rs.5,000 per month must be paid to a medical college or recognized institute in India.
• After the clerkship, a rotating internship should be done in the same institution. The stipend will be paid at the same rate as paid to Indian students.
• The Director of Medical Education and the Medical Council of the State will appoint the students for clerkship and internship. Those who are currently engaged in an internship can continue with it.
• After completing the internship, the students can register themselves with the State Medical Council.

B) Those who have completed the study and examinations online here as mentioned above, but who have completed their study abroad only up to the year immediately preceding the final year (penultimate year):

• They must undertake two years of clinical clerkship. A fee not exceeding Rs.5,000 per month has to be paid for this.
• They should undergo an internship after the clerkship. For this, they will get a stipend at the same rate as paid to Indian students. Those currently doing internships can continue with it.
• On completion of the internship, the students can register themselves with the State Medical Council.

C) Further studies in countries other than India for Indian students who had to discontinue their studies in Ukraine:

•  Those who joined the MBBS course in Ukraine before November 18, 2021, but had to stop and return in the meantime, can study at a university in Poland, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, Spain, Uzbekistan, US, Italy, Belgium, Egypt, Belarus, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Greece, Romania, Sweden, Israel, Iran, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Germany, Turkey, Croatia or Hungary and get a degree there. Degrees from other countries will not be accepted here. This is a special case and a one-time concession.
• Those who directly joined the MBBS equivalent course in Ukraine or Russia on or after 18 November 2021, but had to leave during the wartime evacuation (26.02.2022 – 11.03.2022) can continue to study for MBBS in any country except India and obtain their degree there. This special provision for those who studied in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd-year classes will end on March 7, 2024. Those who did not return to India by March 31, 2022, will not be eligible to avail of this provision.

D) Approval of BS course:

• The NMC had withdrawn the approval for the BS course in the Philippines on November 18, 2021. Candidates who were studying in person in foreign medical institutes or were admitted to the BS course on that date should comply with the condition of the 2002 screening test. As per the 2021 regulations, they are required to do one more additional year of internship.

E)  Internship in India for those who have studied abroad:

• 7.5% of the seats are reserved for clinical clerkships and internships in old medical colleges in India and 100% of seats are in new medical colleges as there are no students there.

F) Eligibility certificate for medical students in foreign countries:

• Admission to MBBS courses abroad was allowed without writing NEET-UG in 2018 and 2019, per a court order. Applicants enrolled in the BS course in the Philippines and pre-medical language courses in other countries must obtain an eligibility certificate to prove their age and Plus Two qualification. Such students can apply now by following the conditions in the notification dated 7 December 2023 to obtain the certificate. This is a one-time concession for those who gained admissions in 2018 and 2019.

G) Time limit for earning an MBBS degree:

• The internship must be completed within 10 years from the date of joining the MBBS course abroad.

For more details, visit the What's New link at www.nmc.org.in