As the competition among students for available spots in local medical colleges is so fierce, many Indian students are now considering their options to pursue medical degrees from foreign universities. Although studying MBBS in international schools provides a well-rounded education and gives you access to different cultures and new ways to practice medicine, most students and their families still have questions about how they will find work when returning to India after obtaining their medical degrees abroad.
The Licensing Process
Before pursuing any opportunities for employment after graduating from a foreign medical school, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the licensing process to legally practice as a physician in India. As a foreign medical graduate, you will be required to pass the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), also called the National Exit Test (NExT) by the NMC (National Medical Commission, previously referred to as The Medical Council of India). This examination must be successfully completed in order to demonstrate that you have received a comparable quality of education when completing your overseas medical studies.
The FMGE is given twice annually and includes examination on the same subjects covered in your MBBS training, including Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pathology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Forensic Medicine, Community Medicine, Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics. You must successfully pass the FMGE in order to register with the State Medical Council and become a legally licensed physician in India.
Government Sector Opportunities
The government of India is a source of stable, long-term employment for MBBS graduates from foreign medical schools. Foreign medical graduates must pass the FMGE exam and obtain a state medical council registration to become eligible for a government job as a doctor. In addition to providing experience working in a public health system, a career in the Indian government sector provides valuable insight into India’s public health challenges and develops the necessary skill set to be successful in treating diverse populations of patients and developing an understanding of Indian culture through continued interaction with patients in public institutions.
If you’re considering a career in academic medicine, you can follow a similar path to a government medical college.
Private Healthcare Sector
India’s fast-growing private health care market means plenty of job options for Indian citizens returning home after completing their MBBS degrees overseas. Chain hospitals, multi-specialty hospitals, and individual clinics continue to hire doctors so they can satisfy the increasing demand for health care services.
Salaries in the private sector of the health care industry usually tend to offer better compensation packages than do jobs in the government’s health care sector, but the long-term job security and pension benefits that come with most positions in the public sector are often absent from the private health care industry. Despite this fact, private sector opportunities tend to be attractive due to their access to state-of-the-art technology, structured training programs, and opportunities for speedy career advancement.
Many organizations in the private health care field offer foreign-trained doctors a wide variety of continuing education opportunities, including conference attendance and training programs. Additionally, those who complete their MBBS degrees in nations with highly developed health care systems usually adapt to the technology-driven medical practices found in corporate hospital work environments more easily than do other candidates.
Because private health care offers the ability to build professional networks, these relationships can serve as springboards for career growth. Building relationships with senior Health Care Consultants, earning their mentorship, and displaying clinical competence can lead to referrals for specialist training or consultant positions in the future.
Establishing Private Practice
Many physicians decide to start a private practice (clinic) after they have enough experience and professional connections to find jobs in India after MBBS degrees earned overseas. Private practice allows for a high degree of independence, flexible hours, and potentially a good income; however, it requires a large up-front investment as well as good business acumen or entrepreneurial skills.
Physicians who wish to open a private practice must obtain appropriate licenses, lease or buy space for their clinic, purchase the necessary medical equipment, recruit employees for support, and build up a patient base. The early years of a private practice can be very difficult, as the physician has to build a name and attract patients; if the physician is committed to providing excellent patient care and developing good communication skills, then he/she can build a successful private practice.
Foreign-trained physicians frequently market their international training as a competitive advantage and emphasize that they were exposed to up-to-date medical practices and current treatment methods because of their training in other countries. In larger cities in India, where patients are actively seeking physicians with a high level of training, a private practice that is well-established can provide both job satisfaction and financial rewards.
Some foreign-trained physicians choose to combine their private practice with part-time employment with a hospital or clinic as a way of diversifying their sources of income while at the same time developing their own private practice. This combined approach provides financial security for foreign-trained physicians in the initial stages of their private practice development and growth.
Postgraduate Specialization
The Indian job market for graduates of foreign medical schools who have completed their MBBS is greatly enhanced by postgraduate education. In addition to developing proficiency in a specific specialty, additional steps taken in postgraduate education open opportunities to earn higher salaries and be recognized as an industry expert.
Foreign medical graduates in India can take the Indian Medical Council (MCI) Boards’ National Postgraduate Medical Entrance Test (NEET-PG) after completing their Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) and completing a mandatory one-year internship in India.
Alternatively, there are also many foreign countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and European nations, where Indian doctors choose to pursue their postgraduate education as well. International postgraduate training programs are often much larger in size than domestic programs and often provide significant career opportunities for postgraduate medical graduates. Upon completion of postgraduate medical education in a foreign country, an Indian doctor can return to India to practice as a specialist with increased recognition and a more significant salary increase than before.
In addition to offering advanced training, international postgraduate education programs provide permanent staff appointment opportunities at leading hospitals, opportunities for clinical research, and the possibility of becoming a recognized thought leader in a particular field of medicine. The increasing demand for specialists in India, specifically within the healthcare industry in India, e.g., Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, Orthopedics, and Radiology, continues to grow.
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