Bihar Medical Grads' Career at Risk: ESIC Patna Delays Spark NEET-PG Concerns

Despite the recommendation letter, by the BCMR to the medical college dean, our internships are yet to start.

For around three months, FMGs from Bihar have struggled to begin their internship at Medical College ESIC in Bihta, Patna.

Image altered by The Quint/Vibhushita Singh

For over three months, we, foreign medical graduates (FMG) from Bihar, have been struggling to get our internships at Medical College ESIC, Bihta, Patna.

Despite the Bihar Council of Medical Registration (BCMR) 's recommendation letter to the medical college dean, which includes the merit list of 108 FMGs, our internships have yet to start.

Letter of recommendation by BCMR.

(Letter accessed by The Quint)

The BCMR made the merit list on 3 May, and on 15 May, the college completed its document verification process. We were told that the internships would start in a week, but it’s been three months, and we are still being promised another week's time.

The college administration, including the dean, needs to tell us why they have not been able to start our internships. In contrast, other ESIC medical colleges in the state, such as Madhepura and Purnia, have started their internships following the recommendation letters from BCMR.

The delay on the part of the medical college is not only affecting us mentally but could also result in a significant loss of time, potentially making us ineligible for NEET-PG 2025 if it is further delayed.

For appearing in NEET-PG, we need to complete our one-year internship. We are in mid-July and don't see any signs of getting started with the internship.

The delay has been so long that we can't even apply to other hospitals and medical colleges, as the intake for internships across the country has been filled. If we had been informed earlier, we could have applied elsewhere.

We have also written to the director general of ESIC in Delhi and met with the Deputy CM of Bihar, Samrath Chaudhry. However, we are deeply frustrated that we have yet to receive a solution to our problem. 

Letter to the Director General of ESIC, Delhi

(Letter accessed by The Quint)

For the last three months, we have been travelling back and forth from our hometowns in various parts of Bihar to Patna almost every few days to inquire about the commencement of the internship. But all we get are false promises.

The irony is that despite completing our MBBS and qualifying for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) in December 2023, we are just running from pillar to post as unemployed.

We request the ESIC and the education ministry to address our situation urgently. The delay in our internships could potentially result in the loss of a precious year in our careers, a setback we are keen to avoid.

(The Quint has reached out to Dr. Vinay Vishwas, Dean of Medical College ESIC in Bihta, Patna, but hasn't received any response. The story will be updated once a response is received.)

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