Intake of foreign medicos capped at 10%

Govt. had lifted the restriction on CRRI admissions to manage the increasing COVID-19 caseload

COVID warriors: The move on allowing more interns should come as relief to the medical fraternity.

The Tamil Nadu Medical Council has directed all recognised medical colleges in the State to restrict the intake of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG) to 10% of the sanctioned MBBS seats for undergoing Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship (CRRI) training.

In an urgent communication, the TNMC said it had observed that the number of FMGs applying for provisional registration in the council to undergo internship was gradually increasing.

From approximately 600 in 2018, the number had gone up to 1,000 in 2020 and likely to cross 1,200 in future. However, the recognised medical institutions for imparting internship training to them were found to be inadequate and hence “they are unable to accommodate the increasing number of interns, with a resultant crowding in a particular institution. The loss in quality of internship training in such institutions is understandable,” the Council said in its communication.

In the list of recognised teaching and non-teaching hospitals for CRRI training, only 40 were approved by the erstwhile Medical Council of India and the data was not updated later. The Council had communicated to the National Medical Commission to provide a fresh list of hospitals/institutions approved for CRRI training in the State.

The Council has asked all government district headquarters hospitals with a bed strength of more than 750 to admit 40 and those with more than 500 to admit 30 FMGs for CRRI training. Other private hospitals were told to follow the erstwhile MCI’s order till a communication was received from the National Medical Commission.

The instruction assumes significance as the State government had lifted the restriction on the intake of students for internship at government medical colleges as a one-time measure to handle COVID-19.

The government issued the orders acting on a proposal of the Director of Medical Education to relax the Tamil Nadu Medical Council’s stipulation that medical colleges issue the NOC to FMGs and students of other States after ensuring that the admission under the CRRI did not exceed 10% of the MBBS seats allotted by the National Medical Commission.

The DME had sought lifting of the restriction on internship by students of private and foreign medical colleges at Madras Medical College, Stanley Medical College, Kilpauk Medical College, Madurai Medical College, Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College of Salem, Coimbatore Medical College, and Tirunelveli Medical College, which was agreed to by the government for this year.

Justifying his proposal, the DME had underscored the urgent need to contain COVID-19 cases that had reached alarming proportions with increased mortality in the State.