The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has decided to recall the MD certificate of doctors having MD degree from Russia, China, Mauritius and Ukraine, as the MD degree from these countries is equivalent to MBBS degree in India. The decision was taken in the recent meeting of MMC where it was observed that the students with MD degree are working as consultants but their degree is equivalent to 5 and a half years course of MBBS degree which allows them for general practice only.

Dr Shivkumar Utture, executive committee member of MMC says, “To work as a consultant, it is necessary to have MD degree approved by Medical Council of India (MCI). The council used to give registration to students holding MD degree but now the council has decide to recall all the certificates given to doctors as MD, and they cannot practice as a consultant. We have already asked to recall the certificate in Maharashtra and we are also writing to MCI for the uniformity of the decision across India.”

To continue working as a consultant, the students having MD degree from Russia, China, Mauritius and Ukraine have to appear for CET and seek admission for MD degree in India. After the completion of 3 years study and the successful completion of an examination, which includes both theoretical and practical elements, in a pre-clinical or clinical subject of a non-surgical nature in teaching hospitals, the candidate will receive MD degree.

The MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery) degree represents graduate degree and is required to practice as a physician, but does not allow them to work as a consultant in the hospitals. The MS or MD degree is a higher postgraduate degree, representative of specialty training and only MD degree holder can work as a consultant in hospitals. Eligibility for the MS or MD course is restricted to medical graduates holding the MBBS degree.

The alternate qualification is DNB (Diplomate of National Board), which is considered equivalent to the MD and MS degrees. This can be obtained by passing the exam conducted by the National Board of Examinations after completing 3 years of post-MBBS residency training in teaching hospitals recognised by the Board.

After obtaining the first postgraduate degree, that is MD/MS/FCPS/DNB, one can go for further specialisation in medical or surgical fields. This involves a highly competitive entrance examination. The course has three years of additional training and study and then after passing an examination, both theory and practical, the degree awarded is DM (Doctor of Medicine). The DM and MCh (Master of Chirurgical) degrees are super-specialties and are very high ranked/prestigious.

Following DM or Mch, one can further go for a third postdoctorate degree that is, postdoctoral fellowship programmes of one-year duration in specific subspecialities like cardiac electrophysiology, invasive cardiology, paediatric cardiology, epilepsy, stroke, electroencephalography, movement disorders, neuromuscular disorders, cerebrovacular surgery, skull base surgery, paediatric cardiac surgery, etc. offered by prestigious government institutes.