National Medical Commission (NMC) has, as per reports, withdrawn the order that it had issued on May 10, 2021 with regards to internship posting guidelines. This was done as it was creating confusion and contradicting NMC’s own guidelines that they had released on March 31, 2021.
What was the Internship Posting Guidelines posted by NMC on 10th May?
The following notice was published by NMC on May 10.
This order prevented, or rather required extraordinary circumstances for MBBS graduates of private institutions to pursue internships in government colleges, and vice versa.
According to the guidelines, internships are the responsibility of the colleges which are training medical graduates. Every intern is thus, required to approach their medical college for available internship opportunities. The guidelines stated that medical internship must be completed in the enrolled medical college. Moreover, mutual internship transfers shall be made possible under rare circumstances.
The mutual transfer of internships shall be between two government colleges or two private institutes. However, interns shall not be permitted to exchange between a private and government medical college.
What was the issue with this order?
This order was contrary to the advisory published by authorities on March 31, 2021, creating a confusion among MBBS graduates about internship opportunities. This confusion also created disruptions among candidates who had already started applying to other colleges.
In short, what the 10th May notice said you cannot do, the 31st March notice said you can.
What was the order published on 31st March?
NMC had published the following on March 31.
This notice states that NMC received multiple queries regarding completion of internships from colleges other than the ones in which students were enrolled for MBBS. These queries came amid the initial uprising of the second wave of COVID-19. The Under Graduate Medical Board coming under the ambit of NMC thereafter, considered all queries and existing guidelines.
The board subsequently, decided that candidates must complete their internship in teaching hospitals affiliated with the Medical Institution in which they are enrolled for MBBS. However, in case of difficulties created by COVID-19, candidates can complete their internship at any other NMC-approved teaching hospital. However, this hospital must abide by the expectations of the candidate’s college authorities and the corresponding university.
In case candidates are permitted to pursue their internship from other teaching hospitals, they must not be charged any additional fee. The reason being that the internship is a part of the conventional MBBS training.
10th May NMC Internship Guidelines Withdrawn
After much confusion caused by this advisory, the 10th May notice is no longer available on the official website of NMC. Moreover, an official from the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) said to Times of India, that they received an email confirming the withdrawal of the notice. This email was received on Wednesday, May 12, 2021.
According to reports, many MBBS graduates are of the opinion that all students are studying in colleges affiliated with the MUHS and appearing for the same exam. Hence, they must not be subjected to any form of discrimination after graduation, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Government hospitals currently need more doctors to tackle the rising number of infections. Hence, students must be permitted to pursue internships closer to home, based on their preferences.
