Medical students go abroad to study MBBS because of many reasons; the most common reasons are the difficulty of the entrance exam & also because of fewer numbers of seats. After finishing their studies abroad, they have two options either to continue staying in that country only or to come back to India to practice. For starting their practice in India, they need to pass an entrance exam conducted by the MCI, Medical Council of India.

 This is basically a screening test & its validity was started from 2002. This is mandatory for students to pass who have MBBS degree from a country which is a part of the reciprocity agreement. This rule provides a chance for Indian students with MBBS from India can go & work in those countries & vice versa.  After the many private agencies started sponsoring the students who want to go to foreign countries to study.  

The FMGE was introduced in 2002. Earlier to that there was only one rule of a One-year internship in India to be eligible to practice in India. After that, they get their permanent registration number from the MCI. Because the entrance exam is difficult between 2012 to 2015, only 19% of the students taking the exam passed the screening test. Students choose different countries for their studies.

Know as well : What is the procedure for becoming a doctor in Army?

Some countries have the same standard of medical studies as that of India, while others have a high standard of teaching techniques. But most of the countries have different standards of education. Maybe that’s the reason why students are failing to pass this test in India. The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), a prerequisite to starting a medical practice in India, is mandatory for every student.

They can choose any country, any institute of foreign countries. Different countries have different qualification for admission n their medical courses, which the students must fulfill. But to practice n India, they have to be registered with a State Medical Council. They can register with any State council they want.

Foreign Graduate Examination is conducted by the National Board of Examination when a student only passes this exam they can be registered by the State Medical Council. To qualify such exam students should obtain at least 50% marks. Foreign Universities have a different structure for the course so to ease up for the students; the exam is conducted twice a year.

Section 13(4A) of the IMC Act, 1956, makes it mandatory to clear this test to start practicing in India. This Act was further amended in the year 2002. This also applies to the students of post graduation who completed their course from a foreign country.  Some of the countries are exempted from this rule. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom & United States of America are exempted from this rule. Students doing their graduation or post graduation need not take any exam they can be directly registered by the SMC, regardless they gave FMGE or not.

Nowadays, China has become the top choice for the students of medicine to pursue MBBS or post graduation. Russia was earlier the first preference of the students but now there is a change in the preference. Such change in preference is due to a lot of reasons. Ukraine, Bangladesh & Nepal are also some of the top priorities for medical students.  The main reason behind this choice is basically economic conditions of the student.   The other factors are standard of education, similarities n the course structure etc.

Some universities have tied-up with coaching centers in India. The main challenge faced by the students going to the foreign countries is language problem faced by the Indian students. Indians, like any other citizen of any country, have a particular accent making the studies difficult there. Some foreign students are also suffering because of their practical knowledge is less than compared to the students of Indian Institutes.

In the year 2016, the center decided to remove the concept of FMGE totally & introduce the concept of All India Post Graduation Entrance Examination (AIPEE). This would be an exam which would be given to the student for admission in post graduation level.

 Read Also : What steps should I take to become a well-established doctor?

Also Read : I am curious to know about the course structure of MBBS.

 An earlier screening test would be done away with. This would be an exam for both the students who want to practice in India as well as students who want to go for post graduation studies in India.  This was to be applied by this semester. This was done to help the students from giving various exams during one academic year. The same initiative was of NEET, which was for the under graduation course. Students also go abroad to study medicines, the same rule applies to them also. 

For further queries and related information, you can approach the Professional Experts at CareerGuide. Hope this will help you!