The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Andhra Pradesh, has come out in support of the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), who have been waiting for Permanent Registrations for a year, and demanded an immediate resolution.

The IMA, in a press note issued on May 23, said that after studying the reasons for the problems faced by the FMGs in the past few months, it has taken a decision to stand by them. “The extraordinary circumstances prevailing in the world over the past five years, such as the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, have thrown these students into a state of uncertainty,” the release said.

Now, that an interim medical council has been formed, the issue needs to be resolved urgently, the association members said, noting that the neighbouring States of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Haryana have successfully completed the registration processes for students with appropriate measures.

The members said while internships are held for one year usually anywhere else in the world, the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council asked the FMGs to undergo the internship for two or even three years, wasting academic years of FMGs.

They said the National Medical Commission (NMC) had suggested several guidelines to the State councils to address these unusual situations. Noting that the NMC, in its latest letter to the Bihar Medical Council on May 1, said internship and related matters are within the purview of the State councils, the members urged Minister for Health Satya Kumar Yadav to bring an end to the FMGs’ issues.

The IMA urged the medical council and health officials to take appropriate steps for the welfare of these students before further harm is done.