Compulsory rural internship for MBBS students mooted

The Union Health Ministry is contemplating the introduction of Compulsory Rotational Internship of two years for MBBS students, out of which one year will have to be served in a rural station of the student’s choice in any State.At present, MBBS students in medical colleges in the country undergo four-and-a-half years training plus one year of internship in a teaching institution.


The current proposal is to add another year of compulsory rural internship to the existing five-and-a-half-year course.If the proposal comes through, the total duration of the MBBS course would become six-and-a-half years in all medical colleges in the country, only after which the students would get permanent registration from the Medical Council of India, P. H. Ananthanarayanan, Deputy Director General (Medical), Directorate General of Health Services, said.