A/L as Minimum Qualifications for Foreign Medical Graduates is an Illusion

Many occasions, Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) makes representation in connection with Registration of Foreign Medical Graduates to practice medicine in Sri Lanka. They conduct media discussions, paper articles etc., claiming that their points are to maintain the Standards of Medical Profession and to save the patients.   

A committee has also been appointed by the Minister of Health to probe in to the activities of Sri Lanka Medical Council (Supreme body for Registration of Medical Practitioners) where the issue of minimum qualifications required to enter in to the medical profession is also to be studied and reported.   

I wish to make a certain point which had deviated from GMOA’s views in this regard.   

GMOA critically demands for the need of at least two Credits (C) and one Ordinary (S) pass for foreign Medical Graduates. According to the instruction book issued by the University Grant Commission (UGC) to enter in to the Sri Lankan State Universities. Even based on the 2019 A/L results, any student who has obtained passes (S) in Chemistry, Physics and Biology as subjects is eligible to apply for MBBS courses (Refer the page No. 58 of the book – Sinhala version). This implies that a biology student with three ‘S’ passes can follow the MBBS and BDS courses in Sri Lanka and enter in to the medical profession after completion of the degree and the intern. The only reason for his/her inability to follow MBBS degree in our universities is inadequacy of places. Therefore, minimum requirement which is critically spoken by GMOA (two C and one S) has no justifiable reason, but an illusion.   

After obtaining the medical degree from a recognised university,foreign medical degree holders have to pass the Examination to Registration for Practice Medicine (ERPM) conducted by the Sri Lanka Medical Council to go through the intern and the practice afterwards.   

In more developed countries such as Great Britain and Australia, the foreign medical graduates from recognised universities do not ask for A/L for their examinations similar to ERPM. It is not very clear why Sri Lanka is so particular about A/L results as a minimum requirement.   

Actually, a patient should be treated by an experience and knowledgeable person in medicine but not by the A/L passes or O/L passes. In addition to the knowledge and practice, the dedication and kindness are another important factors dealing with patients for the success of the medical practice.  It is also noted here significant amount of the Sri Lankan medical degree holders leave the country for greener pastures by the time of 20 years of their services. If they retain in the country, so much vacancies of doctors do not exist in the hospitals. As a result, poor people also tends to go for private dispensaries in spite of the fact that they all have contributed for the huge amount of expenditure to conduct MBBS courses (build doctors) in some or other way.  In contrast, the foreign medical degree holders spend zero rupees for higher education from the people’s funds. They spend their time and money for the education because they have the will to practice medicine. If they wish to work here, the path should be opened removing unnecessary obstacles to sit for ERPM and those who are qualified from ERPM should be absorbed for the internships and so on.   

If anybody does bad practices, there are number of ways to deal with. Establishment code for the government officers, ethics of the medical profession are a few of them. In addition, legal action can be taken against the medical practitioner for his unethical or wrong practices (whether foreign graduate or not) and these measures can be strengthen to improve the quality of the service of the medical practitioners while protecting the rights of the patients rather than blocking foreign medical graduates entering in to the profession. Therefore, the voice of GMOA claiming the necessity of two C passes and one S pass in the A/L biology stream to protect the standard is an illusion but for the protection of themselves and their monopoly.   
The rules and regulations be formed for the benefit of the society and without making any discrimination to any parties or individuals. 

The foreign medical degree holders should also be given due respect and treated equally as they are also Sri Lankan citizens. If one having 3 S passes in Biology stream can follow local MBBS, the required A/L performances for foreign graduates should be the same if it is necessary to consider A/L qualifications for ERPM. 

I hope, the President, the Prime Minister, Minister of Health and the government will pay attention on this fact realistically. 

 
H.Kariyawasam,   
Mulleriyawa, New Town