Licence to treat
Docs of Indian origin allowed to practise in country without tests
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, August 24, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20090824200908240344312654043bef3)
Indian doctors and post-graduate (PG) medical students living abroad will no longer have to take a test to practice medicine in the country. A decision in this regard was taken by the Medical Council of India (MCI) recently. The move is expected to hearten thousands of NRI doctors, including those hailing from Gujarat, who want to work in India.
Many reputed Indian doctors living in countries like US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand had been demanding scrapping of the test, conducted by the MCI, for the past several years. The written examination, commonly known as screening test, was an irritant for them because it required them to take up medical studies again despite having years of experience of treating people.
“Henceforth, Indian PG medical students and doctors living abroad won’t have to take the test (to prove they are eligible to practice medicine in India),” the president of MCI, Ketan Desai, told Ahmedabad Mirror. “The test was proving to be a hurdle for NRI doctors who wanted to work in the country.” He also said that MCI’s decision would lead to increase in number of qualified doctors in the country.
Officials of a few private hospitals in the city, meanwhile, said that they would now be able draft in seasoned Indian doctors practicing medicine in US and UK on contractual terms without facing any hassles. They also said that MCI’s decision was a booster shot for medical tourism in the country.
“India started asking NRI doctors to prove their eligibility for practicing medicine in the country after similar measures were taken by some Western countries,” the director of Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKDRC), Dr H L Trivedi, said. “If authorities have decided not to ask NRI doctors to take the (screening) test, then it’s a welcome move. The number of qualified doctors will go up in the country.”
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, August 24, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=20090824200908240344312654043bef3)
Indian doctors and post-graduate (PG) medical students living abroad will no longer have to take a test to practice medicine in the country. A decision in this regard was taken by the Medical Council of India (MCI) recently. The move is expected to hearten thousands of NRI doctors, including those hailing from Gujarat, who want to work in India.
Many reputed Indian doctors living in countries like US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand had been demanding scrapping of the test, conducted by the MCI, for the past several years. The written examination, commonly known as screening test, was an irritant for them because it required them to take up medical studies again despite having years of experience of treating people.
“Henceforth, Indian PG medical students and doctors living abroad won’t have to take the test (to prove they are eligible to practice medicine in India),” the president of MCI, Ketan Desai, told Ahmedabad Mirror. “The test was proving to be a hurdle for NRI doctors who wanted to work in the country.” He also said that MCI’s decision would lead to increase in number of qualified doctors in the country.
Officials of a few private hospitals in the city, meanwhile, said that they would now be able draft in seasoned Indian doctors practicing medicine in US and UK on contractual terms without facing any hassles. They also said that MCI’s decision was a booster shot for medical tourism in the country.
“India started asking NRI doctors to prove their eligibility for practicing medicine in the country after similar measures were taken by some Western countries,” the director of Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKDRC), Dr H L Trivedi, said. “If authorities have decided not to ask NRI doctors to take the (screening) test, then it’s a welcome move. The number of qualified doctors will go up in the country.”
