Faulty Analysis

Republica had published an editorial regarding failure rates of medical students at Nepal Medical Council (NMC)'s licensing examination. A little irked by shallow analysis I had sent a tad sharp comment online. They decided to give it a space on print edition the next day: 

The licensing exam failure rate of students who went to medical schools in certain countries, namely, China, Russia, is high. I have heard the argument of requiring students planning medical school overseas pass Kathmandu University's medical entrance examination tests, at varied platforms. It might add some safety by helping select qualified individuals, especially if the exam is standardized to test qualities that determine a good doctor (and not just knowledge, as is done now). However, even if this has any significance, it will perhaps be minuscule. The main action will be in what the student gets in her 5 years of medical school. Until we think about assuring a basic minimal quality in those 5 years, any other efforts will be trials with high chances of failure. 

But what we can do immediately is build mechanisms to rehabilitate these individuals who are doing poorly in the licensing exams. For example, we could require anyone who fails twice consecutively to do 2 years of rotating internships at selected academic institutions in Nepal before they can apply for the license. All who fail, either they have done medical school in Nepal or overseas, should be treated the same. This exercise of demonizing students from select countries is a form of bigotry that lumps all grades of students together. It is unfair to diligent students from those places. And it is ultimately going to serve no good. Even these poorly-trained students  have already spent a fortune and ripe youth at these institutions. They are ultimately an asset to health manpower-deprived country. We need to find ways to remedy their deficiencies and give them a proper place where they can  contribute to the care of sick and infirm of this nation.