In a country where every one in 10 Indian child wishes to become a doctor, where the healthcare industry is estimated to grow to a whopping $158.2 billion in 2017 from a valuation of $ 8.6 billion (as per a report released by McKinsey in 2012), the future for the Indian medical landscape looks bright.

Despite this, according to a recent World Health Statistics report, India has less than one doctor for 1,000 people (0.6) as compared to China (1.4) per 1,000. In absolute numbers, the USA – whose population is a fourth of India&’s — has more doctors than India.

There are about 63,000 seats available in total, including both government and private medical colleges, and each year about 650-700,000 appear for the All-India Pre-medical Test, resulting in more and more students dropping out from the sector. Adding to the woes are factors such as high reservation quotas in government colleges (around 40 per cent) and high capitation fees being charged by private medical colleges. But does this suffice to write off a student with enough calibre to not take up medicine, who, in the future, can be a major contributing factor to the healthcare industry? The answer is no.

Going abroad to pursue a medical education is one such alternative solution that students opt for and which, over the last 15 years, has been in prevalence. Every year, students are increasingly taking up this option, with over 14,000 having done so in 2013 itself. This trend has gained great momentum over the last few years, as more and more students are becoming aware of the massive potential overseas medical education holds for them.

Advanced training methodology, sophisticated use of technology, ahighly qualified faculty, sound and superior infrastructure, lucrative employment opportunities, along with global exposure, has further propagated the trend.
Popular destinations are the Ukraine, Russia, Nepal, China, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean for undergraduate medical courses like MBBS, nursing, pharmacy, etc. Countries like the Ukraine have universities as old as 80 years, some of these ranking amongst the top 20 in Europe.

The Caribbean and the Philippines, on the other hand, are English-speaking countries and train students for the US Medical Licensure Examination as well. China offers a highly advanced infrastructure along with cost-effective education, while the UAE, though slightly expensive, not only offers world class education but also extremely good employment options thereafter. 

Most of these options are easy on the pocket as well, with the average range of per annum tuition fee being in the bracket of Rs 2.5-4.5 lakh (per year for a period of five to six years).

The question that now arises is how does one select a suitable option given that this particular vertical of the education industry operates in a highly regulated framework? The procedural methodology for identifying and applying to a medical college abroad entails the following:

Career and pathway mapping: Once students have understood what stream of healthcare industry they want to be part of — for example, doctor, health care manager, nurse, pharmacist, etc — they then need to prepare a roadmap for their choice by laying down plans for undergraduate, postgraduate and super specialty studies along with the choice of employment he/she seeks after completion of the different tiers of the medical education pattern. Factoring in employment abroad or pursuing those opportunities in India can make a huge difference in the choice of country and medical university, which, in turn, then majorly affects the financial planning for funding education.

Information and application screening: After completing the above step, the student then needs to make an informed decision about selecting a university abroad. Recognition status of the university by International Medical Boards and the Medical Council of India, availability of English medium medical programmes, fee structure, facilities available in the university for accommodation, extra-curricular activities, library, mess, etc, training methodology (information can be easily provided by a consultant or is available on the university website), hospitals where clinical rotations are being provided (for example how big is the infrastructure, how many beds, etc), what domestic options are available for practising in that country, how easy or difficult are the countries’ state and national level licensure examinations and, last, it is important to do a little research work on how many Indian candidates have studied from that particular university and have got though clearing the MCI screening test in India are the certain criteria to be kept in mind.

Once students have collected information on all the above, they can then fill in the application form along with the requisite documents to formally apply. Most universities abroad either have direct admission available for international students or require them to pass an interview along with a written test once the student has been admitted to the university and has reached his/her destination.

This is to understand the student&’s “skill set”— interest areas, weak and strong areas that would require more attention from the faculty.

Financial planning: Once the student has been admitted and visa formalities are completed, he/she and the sponsor need to prepare a financial plan that would cover tuition fees, budget allocation for hostel and living expenses as well as have a safe amount for any contingency that may crop up in a foreign land.

This is very important and often most parents/students do not undertake this measure. Studying abroad, depending upon the stream, may be cheap or expensive but if the layout is done in advance the cost of education is not burdensome on the student and the family. Also, if the sponsor is exploring options of taking an education loan, then sufficient impetus has to be given to this.

Settling in a foreign land: Many a time a student is so overwhelmed by the whole experience of studying abroad that he/she does not explore the external potential available out there. It is recommended that he/she grasps sufficient knowledge of the healthcare pattern of the country chosen in order to understand the industry better by simply observing services, facilities, technology available at the hospitals and clinics there. This helps in exacerbating their knowledge and gives them better exposure as well as wider networking opportunities for future employment opportunities.

Although being Indians we wish to stick to our roots, given the statistics and the dynamic and volatility of the healthcare industry it is, however, imperative to expand one&’s horizons and look beyond.

The author is co-founder of EDUCAT