The Medical Education System of India

Graduates of medical schools in India represent a significant number of the international medical graduates practicing medicine in the United States. During the ten-year period 1993 – 2002, ECFMG issued Standard ECFMG Certificates to 18,493 graduates of medical schools in India. India represents the country with the highest number of medical schools listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) maintained by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER). There are currently 153 medical schools in India listed in IMED. The medical education system in India is, therefore, an area of particular interest to medical licensure professionals.

We will discuss the role of the Medical Council of India with respect to medical education and licensure in India. Additionally, we will provide information on the curriculum in the medical schools, including student admission requirements, and the requirements for a license to practice medicine.

The Role of the Medical Council of India

The functions of the Medical Council of India include the maintenance of uniform standards of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, recommendations to the government regarding requests to start new medical schools or increase admissions to existing schools, recommendations for the recognition of medical qualifications of Indian or foreign institutions and registration (licensure) of doctors with recognized medical qualifications. The Medical Council of India has been designated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India to make recommendations to the Ministry concerning the recognition of individual medical schools so that graduates of these medical schools may meet the requirements for full registration (licensure) to practice medicine. According to the Medical Council of India, there were 592,215 physicians registered in India as of December 31, 2003.[2]

Admission Requirements to a Medical College

The requirements for admission to all medical colleges offering the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course are set by the Medical Council of India.

A candidate for admission must be at least 17 years of age on or before December 31 of the year of admission to the MBBS course, and must have passed one of several possible qualifying examinations for admission to the MBBS course, with an emphasis on education in physics, chemistry, and biology.

The Medical School Curriculum

The duration of the medical curriculum as established by the Medical Council is four and one-half academic years in three Phases, consisting of nine semesters of six months each. There are three professional examinations that students must pass.

Phase I, lasting two semesters is pre-clinical, including courses in anatomy, bio-physics, and bio-chemistry. The 1st Professional Examination is taken during the second semester; students do not begin Phase II until the examination is passed.

Phase II, lasting three semesters, is para-clinical and clinical courses, during which para-clinical subjects such as pathology, pharmacology and microbiology are taken concurrently with clinical teaching in medicine, surgery and obstetrics and gynecology. The 2nd Professional Examination is taken during the fifth semester.

Phase III is a continuation of the clinical courses. The first part of the 3rd Professional Examination is taken during the seventh semester. A student who fails the 2nd Professional Examination is not permitted to sit the 3rd Professional Examination Part I until all components of the 2nd Professional Examination are passed.

Passing Part I of the 3rd Professional Examination is not mandatory before beginning 8th and 9th semester training; however, the Part I examination must be passed before Part II of the 3rd Professional Examination is taken, usually during the last semester.

Compulsory Rotating Internship

After passing the final MBBS examination (Part II of the 3rd Professional Examination), every student is required to complete a one-year compulsory rotating internship. A Certificate of Provisional Registration is issued to the student for the internship training.

The required components of the internship are:

Community Medicine 3 months

Medicine 2 months

Surgery, including Orthopedics 2 months

Obstetrics & Gynecology 2 months

Family Welfare Planning 15 days

Pediatrics 15 days

Ophthalmology 15 days

Otorhinolaryngology 15 days

Casualty 1 month

In addition to completing the required components above, students must complete two electives for fifteen days each from the following specialties:

Dermatology & Sexually-Transmitted Diseases

Psychiatry

Tuberculosis & Respiratory Diseases

Anesthesia

Radio-Diagnosis

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Forensic Medicine & Toxicology

Blood Bank and Transfusion

Medical Education Credentials Awarded (Medical Diploma and License to Practice Medicine)

Medical Diploma (MBBS Diploma)

After completion of the medical curriculum, including the internship satisfactory to the medical college and university authorities, the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree is awarded by the university. The Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) diploma is the medical diploma that ECFMG requires graduates of medical schools in India to submit for the purpose of ECFMG certification and is the diploma that ECFMG must verify directly with the medical school.

The MBBS diploma is awarded not by the medical school, but by the university with which the medical school is affiliated. For example, a graduate of Grant Medical College, Mumbai, receives the MBBS diploma from the university with which Grant Medical College is affiliated, currently the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences.

More than one medical school may be affiliated with a single university. As an example, there are now thirty-one medical schools in India that are affiliated with the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. Additionally, individual medical schools may change university affiliation. Some of the medical schools currently affiliated with the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences were previously affiliated with other universities. The Topiwala National Medical College was formerly affiliated with the University of Mumbai, the Government Medical College, Nagpur, was formerly affiliated with Nagpur University and the Armed Forces Medical College was formerly affiliated with the University of Pune (Poona).

License to Practice Medicine (Certificate of Full Registration)

After the graduate has received the MBBS diploma, the graduate is eligible to apply to the Medical Council of India or one of individual state medical councils (e.g., Gujarat Medical Council) for a Certificate of Full Registration, which is the license to practice medicine.

(Info from FSMB @ http://www.fsmb.org)