Georgia is a wonderful country where excellent medical education is offered together with reasonably priced education. In Georgia, the 6 years MBBS programme is taught entirely in English. We can say that Georgia has been and will remain a fruitful destination to pursue MBBS. However, choosing to pursue MBBS in Georgia has become more difficult option since the introduction of FMGL Regulation 2021.
As, MBBS in Georgia is unable to fulfill the regulations completely. The main reason for this is there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the authority granting the license, the duration of MBBS programme as well as the internship.
And above that, NMC has imposed a significant limitation under NEXT Regulation 2023, which says: "A medical aspirant must complete the total education in abroad college plus internship plus registration to practice from the country plus NEXT 1 exam plus internship in India and NEXT 2 all within 10 years itself. The degree and education shall be deemed INVALID if the student cannot complete the entire MBBS programme in the allotted 10 years.”
Many aspiring doctors will get into trouble here. So, to provide you with some clarification, read the entire blog. Before coming to the actual problem being faced in Georgia, let’s discuss the FMGL Regulation 2021.
FMGL Regulations 2021
Condition 1: Content of course or Training leading to primary medical qualification
(a) The course and internship or clinical clerkship shall be commensurate with the MBBS course of India in accordance with the Regulation on Graduate Medical Education 1997.
(b) The course curriculum shall be made available for review by appropriate authorities, and if necessary, on the website of the institution or university where the course is being pursued at the time of joining the course.
Condition 2: Location of medical college or institution and administration of the course or training
The entire course, training, and internship or clerkship shall be done outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study and no part of medical training and internship shall be done in India or in any country other than the country from where the primary qualification is obtained.
Condition 3: Duration of the course
The student is required to undergo a course leading to a foreign medical degree with a minimum duration of fifty-four months and also undergo an internship with a duration of twelve months in the same foreign institution in English.
Condition 4: License to Practice
As per NMC regulations, no medical aspirant shall be granted eligibility to write NEXT exam in India unless the student is registered and obtain a license to practice medicine from the registered respective professional regulatory body of the country in which medical degree is awarded at par with the local students.
Condition 5: Location of Medical College and Transfer
The entire course, training and internship or clerkship shall be done outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study and no part of medical training and internship shall be done in India or in any country other than country from where the primary medical qualification is obtained. The prime confusion arises as to which is regulatory body that is competent to grant license to practice medicine and secondly the duration of MBBS Course as to whether it is 6 years or 9 years and last is the doubt on the duration of internship.
Let’s discuss both the confusion one by one to understand in detail.
CONFUSION 1 - Which is the licensing body that will grant license to practice in Georgia?
As per Clause 4 (B) / Condition 4 as mentioned above, it is said -
No medical aspirant shall be granted eligibility to write NEXT exam in India unless the student is registered and obtain a license to practice medicine from the registered respective professional regulatory body of the country in which medical degree is awarded at par with the local students. Here the question comes as to which is the licensing body that is responsible for providing license to practice.
Which is the licensing body in Georgia for license to practice?
National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQT)
OR
Ministry of Education & Science
OR
Ministry of Health, Labor & Social Affairs
As per the fresh advisory released on 29th September by Indian Embassy in Armenia which represents Georgia, the answer to above confusion was given as:
“Indian MD students as well as other MD students regardless of their nationality who study in accredited and authorized medical schools/universities by accredited agency NCEQE (National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement) which is internationally recognized as accredited Agency by World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) are registered by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. International accreditation implies that all MD diplomas of graduates from accredited by NCEQE MB programs in Georgia are recognized worldwide.”
As per official response of Indian Embassy of Armenia in Georgia Dated 29th September 2022, “After completing residency license for independence medical practice is granted by the Ministry of Internally Displaced persons from the occupied territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia regardless nationality and citizenship of residency graduates.”
It is clear that after the issuance of numerous advisories, there is still no clarification. Let's identify the second, but no less significant, misunderstanding as to whether the MBBS programme in Georgia takes 6 or 9 years to complete.
CONFUSION 2 : What is the duration of MBBS in Georgia as to whether it is 6 years or 9 years?
There are two pathways that have come into picture after FMGL Regulations 2021:-
According to Pathway 2, the MBBS programme in Georgia will take a total of 6 years, plus an additional 3 years for a postgraduate diploma also known as residency. A medical student in Georgia must complete a 3-year residency programme after completing the 6-year MBBS program so that he/she can practice as an independent doctor after 6 + 3 = 9 years.
If Pathway 2 is taken into account, a medical student will not be able to finish the MBBS course with 10 years thereby making his the degree and education invalid as mentioned above. Hence, the way to practice in India gets completely blocked. Unfortunately, there is no clarification by National Medical Commission on the same due to which MBBS in Georgia has become a dicey option.
Understanding what is the definition of Registration in India
The FMGL Regulation 2022 was introduced keeping in consideration the Indian Medical Education System, rather than studying multiple education systems from various countries. So any rules will be considered and interpreted as per Indian system be it duration, internship, curriculum or registration. Let’s get back to FMGL Gazette that was released on 18th November 2021 to learn the definition of Permanent Registration to understand the duration of MBBS in Georgia.
As per the official Gazette of NMC, Permanent Registration is the registration of eligible persons with a duly recognized primary medical qualification as regulated under the provisions of Chapter VI of the Act, which provides license to an individual to independently practice modern scientific system or allopathy in India.
So the same definition will be applied and students in Georgia will need to have an Permanent Registration which allows them an Independent Registration same like that for the local students which can only be possible after completion of the residency program.
CRITERIA TO RECOGNISE FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES APPLYING FOR PERMANENT REGISTRATION TO PRACTICE IN INDIA
2. Eligibility for primary medical qualification in a country outside India:
(i) Duration of course and training in subjects leading to primary medical qualification
(a) Any person who pursue the foreign medical degree should have undergone a course of theory, practical and clinical training equivalent to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) of India
CONFUSION 3 – Is Georgia fulfilling CRMI Guidelines laid down by National Medical Commission for Internship?
As per National Medical Commission FAQs about internship, the answer came was that “internship/clerkship and clinical posting and training are separate phases of practical learning. While, clinical posting & training is a part of the 54 months MBBS course, internship is done after the completion of MBBS course but is an integral part of undergraduate medical education degree.”
We all know that the length of the MBBS program in Georgia is 6 years spread across 12 semesters, compared to 5 years in China, 4.5 years in Nepal, and 5 years in Bangladesh. The internship can only be considered valid only if it’s done after completion of MBBS studies like in India. So when counsellors say that internship is included in 6 years in Georgia it will not be acceptable by NMC.
Consult Team Get My University Before Planning for Abroad
Team Get My University has put its best efforts to provide you with some clarity so that your career in MBBS does not get stuck. Before deciding to pursue an MBBS abroad, students are advised by our specialists to think about and weigh all of these factors in order to be on the safe side.
We are hopeful that the matter will soon become clear and clarity will be sought for NMC by the Universities of Georgia and the embassy of India. You can speak with our career counselors to learn about other countries where you could study MBBS abroad.
