More med graduates from abroad clear test

More med graduates from abroad clear test

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:22.12.2020

Medical graduates from foreign universities have performed well in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), with 19.4% clearing the test conducted in December 2020. That’s 10% more than the previous test held in August.

Candidates said the better pass percentage was due to easy question paper and increased awareness among the candidates. Of 19,122 candidates who appeared for the exam, 3,722 of them passed. Results of 1,271 candidates have been cancelled for failing to submit required documents.

Students who earn medical degrees abroad need to clear the FMGE to practice in India. Following a single digit pass percentage (9.9%) in the last session, there was much expectation about the latest test.

Keerthana Balasundaram from Coimbatore, who completed her MD (MBBS) in Crimea Federal University in Russia, cleared FMGE in the first attempt scoring 192 out of 300. “The first paper was very easy and the second paper had many clinical questions. Of 30 students from the college who appeared for the screening test from Tamil Nadu, 20 cleared this session,” she said. A tough syllabus and coaching in the university helped her to clear the test, she added.

A Janani from Madukkur in Thanjavur district studied medicine at Xinjiang Medical University in China and cleared the test scoring 164. “The paper was easy compared to the previous session. There were more clinical questions last time,” she said. She is yet to receive her degree as a four-month internship is still pending. “I had to return to India in February due to Covid-19 pandemic. Whenever travel restrictions are eased, I will go back to China to complete the internship and get the degree.”

Increased awareness of the test standards have helped some prepare better.

S Sudesraj from Salem completed his MD in Kazan State Medical University in Russia and passed the exam with 169 marks. “The screening test covers only topics covered in the course. If students paid attention to their classes, it is easy to clear the test in the first try,” he said. Through the Covid-19 pandemic, he stayed in Russia to complete his degree.

R Sureshkumar, managing director of Truematics Overseas Education Consultancy, Chennai, said only students with poor academic performance who have joined foreign medical universities struggle to clear FMGE. He added that most students who cleared the exams were from the current batch. “There is an increased awareness about the screening test among students and they start preparing for it while in college. In the coming years, students who studied abroad too will clear FMGE easily as clearing NEET is now mandatory for them too,” he added.

Graduates who earned their medical degrees abroad have to clear Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) to practise in India