NEW DELHI, Sept 21: The Indian medical education has achieved a major breakthrough with the National Medical Commission (NMC), India, having being awarded the coveted World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Recognition Status for a tenure of 10 years.
Announcing this, the Union Health Ministry in a press release on Thursday said the WFME recognition would now enable Indian medical graduates to pursue postgraduate training and practice in other countries that require WFME recognition, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Under this accreditation all the 706 existing medical colleges become WFME accredited and the new medical colleges that would be set up in the coming 10 years would also automatically become WFME accredited. This would also make India an attractive destination for international students due to our globally recognized standards.
Apart from this, the NMC will get the privilege of enhancing the quality and standards of medical education in India by aligning them with the global best practices and benchmarks.
The release added that recognition would increase the international recognition and reputation of Indian medical schools and professionals, facilitate academic collaborations and exchanges and promote continuous improvement and innovation in medical education and foster a culture of quality assurance among medical educators and institutions.
The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) is a global organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of medical education worldwide. WFME’s mission is to strive for better health care for all mankind; WFME’s primary objective is to enhance the quality of medical education worldwide, with the promotion of the highest scientific and ethical standards in medical education, the Health Ministry press release said.
The release stated that the Education Commission on Foreign Medical Education (ECFMG) is the primary body in the United States that oversees the policies and regulations around licensing International Medical Graduates (IMGs). In order to take the USMLEs, and to apply for residency all IMGs must be certified by ECFMG. This certification typically takes place after the completion of the 2nd year of a medical program, and before taking the USMLE Step 1 examination.
In 2010, the ECFMG announced a new requirement that will become effective in the year 2024 (was set for 2023 but was moved to 2024 due to COVID).
The new rule states that “starting in 2024, individuals applying for ECFMG Certification must be a student or graduate of a medical school that is appropriately accredited. More specifically, the school must be accredited by an accrediting agency that is officially recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME).”
The WFME recognition process entails a fee of ₹ 4,98,5142 ($60,000) per medical college, which covers the expenses of the site visit team and their travel and accommodation. This means that the total cost for the 706 medical colleges in India to apply for WFME recognition would have been approximately ₹ 351.9 crore ($4,23,60,000). It is noteworthy that NMC has taken recognition of WFME which shall be applicable to all medical colleges under its umbrella.
(Manas Dasgupta)
