CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu students who complete their MBBS abroad no longer need to spend lakhs of rupees to do internship in the State. The fee for house surgency, as the internship is called, has been slashed from Rs 5.2 lakh to Rs 30,000.
Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG) had to pay Rs 3.20 lakh to Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University and Rs 2 lakh to the Health Department as fee to do the internship. After representations from students and parents, however, the State government reduced this amount to Rs 30,000 (to be paid to TN Dr MGR Medical University), said the health minister.
He also told reporters at the Secretariat, that the State had requested the Centre to increase the percentage of FMGs allowed to do internship in India from the current 7.5 to 20 so more such students could do house the internship in a batch.
As a result, the Union government has now allowed the State to accommodate more FMGs in internships at the 11 new medical colleges in TN. He said 521 students had applied for internships and were waiting. These students could now be accommodated immediately. The State, as such, could admit a total of 1,881 FMGs for house surgency at 11 medical colleges.
To simplify the application for internships, the students would now be allowed to directly approach the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) instead of approaching officials at the Secretariat or Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University. “Students waiting to do the internship can start applying now,” Subramanian said.
On the chances of the Ukraine returnees continuing their studies in TN, he said the State was awaiting a reply from the Centre on the matter. Subramanian also scotched the “rumour” that four individuals with symptoms of monkeypox had been admitted to a government hospital in Kanniyakumari district. “... The government will inform the press if there is any such case. So far, no monkeypox case has been reported in Tamil Nadu,” the minister said.
On Covid-19, he said the next vaccination camp would be held on August 7. Special camps would be held at all colleges to administer booster doses to students above 18 years of age. A camp was conducted at the Secretariat on Friday to inoculate around 6,400 staff.
Suspected case of monkeypox in Pudukkottai
Pudukkotai: A Pudukkottai native, who arrived at the Tiruchy airport from Singapore in the early hours on Friday, allegedly showed symptoms of monkeypox. He was immediately sent to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchy for examination. However, he went missing later in the day. The hospital alerted the police and Deputy Director of Health in Tiruchy and Pudukkottai. “Our medical team found him at his residence and took him to Pudukottai Medical College Hospital. We have told his family to isolate themselves, until a complete diagnosis is done” said Arjun Kumar, Deputy Director of Health, Pudukkottai. Hospital dean M Poovathi said, “The person was not showing any symptom for monkeypox in the initial diagnosis.”