Published on: April 7, 2022

DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR MEDICAL REGISTRATION

DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR MEDICAL REGISTRATION

NEWS

National Medical Commission (NMC) put out a set of three draft regulations on the registration of doctors to the National Medical Register recently

DETAILS

  • At present, all doctors have to register with their respective state medical councils, without which they cannot practice medicine.
  • Indian Medical Graduates have to complete their MBBS degree from a recognized college, finish their mandatory 12-month long internship, and pass the yet-to-be-implemented licentiate exam called National Exit Test (NExT) for getting their registration.
  • The NMC has released three future-looking draft regulations —
    • License to Practice Medicine, 2022
    • Registration of Additional Qualifications, 2022
    • Temporary Registration of Foreign Medical Practitioner to Practice Medicine in India
  • These regulations together stipulate the process of registration of doctors in the National Medical Register
  • Foreign medical graduates, on the other hand, have to complete their MBBS-equivalent degree from a medical institute “recognized and listed by the NMC” in other countries, be registerable as a medical practitioner in the said country, complete a 12-month internship in India, and pass the same NExT exam
  • The National Exit Test is a proposed examination for granting license and registration for practicing medicine in India, similar to the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) for those wishing to practice in the US
  • At present, a national medical register of all doctors does exist, which is created by collating data from all states. However, the draft regulation seeks to create a dynamic and regularly updated register
  • As per the draft regulations, the NMC will issue a unique ID to all students who pass the NEET and get admission to recognised medical colleges. The portal will then be thrown open to colleges and institutes to update their student data and put up all verified degrees and certificates. The same ID will be updated when the student does a post-graduation, a super-speciality course, or any other recognised training programme.