It gives me immense pleasure to write on this popular website. I am more than certain that it will go a long way in creating more awareness of the problems faced by Indian doctors (trained abroad) when they decide to return home. One of the most important factors on this front is the failure of the MCI and the Government of India to recognise speciality training abroad. Though these doctors manage to secure jobs in the private sector , they are still not legally covered , which simply means that they are left on their own in the event of a legal problem.
The discussion on this problem has been going on for decades and there is still no solution in sight . The MCI argues that the GMC (British Council) doesn't recognise Indian degrees. This argument is wrong as the GMC has started to recognise Indian degrees and experience by PMETB regulations now. I have brought it to the notice of the relevant people in the board in India , but as usual they are still sitting on it.
Following the changes to the Visa rules in the UK a lot of doctors would like to return home with valuable clinical experience gained abroad. It would be very useful if their experience is recognised by the MCI and they are allowed to take up suitable posts in the Public Health sector . Public health care in India needs a boost and all these doctors will contribute immensely to the same ( Most of them are looking forward to serve in the community) I think it is time the MCI sits up , takes notice and propose a solution to this problem.
I am an Indian doctor presently training in the UK and have seen colleagues( from UK) struggle to settle on their return home . This causes most people to change their mind and return abroad. I think with the present government stand on reverse brain drain , they should make more efforts to recognise International Medical qualifications ( of equal stature). I know of a friend who gave up a very lucrative research job here to return to India for further training. He was refused the same by the DNB board simply on the grounds that his foreign degrees are not valid.
At this juncture I have to admit that clinical training in India is second to none , but in this age of globalisation we have to respect similar training abroad. This can be done by the MCI assessing the quality of the training in various countries and making a decision if it meets desired standards. The process of doing so has to be kick started at the earliest and the wheel of change set in motion. This will go a long way in attracting much needed clinicians back home.
It is a common sight that most doctors doing well in clinical practice today have had significant training abroad , but it is a pity that their degrees ( gained abroad ) are still left unrecognised.
It is time for a change and I would be grateful if the learned members on this forum take notice of the problem and propose plausible solutions to the same. It needs concerted efforts from responsible members of the medical fraternity to coerce the MCI into rethinking its present policy. I would like to conclude by thanking Archana for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this forum.
Dr. Praveen Kumar Dadireddy
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