As thousands of successful doctors have been trained recently, the number of Indian students studying MBBS in the Philippines has increased as an MBBS abroad destination. The Philippines’ medical universities provide high-quality medical education and excellent practical experience at an affordable cost, attracting many Indians to choose Philippine medical schools instead of other MBBS overseas destinations.
Quality of education
The Philippines was a Spanish colony with a history of more than 300 years and later became a United States (US) colony for 50 years. During this time, the United States (US) designed the Philippine education system based on its educational methods. The Philippines’ medical program is called the Doctor of Medicine (MD), which is equivalent to a medical degree in the United States (US). The medical body of India for medical aspirants is NMC (the National Medical Commission), formerly known as MCI (the Medical Council of India). The MD (Doctor of Medicine) program of the Philippines in medicine is equivalent to an MBBS degree in India.
Philippine Medical Syllabus
The syllabus of the MD (Doctor of Medicine) medical program is almost the same as the medical syllabus of India, which allows Indian medical students studying medical courses in the Philippines to easily pass the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) exam. The FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Examination) exam will be replaced by the National Exit Test (NEXT) by the National Medical Commission in 2022. The subjects taught in the Medical College of the Philippines are:
- Anatomy
- Physiology
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Pathology
- Microbiology
- Obstetrics and gynecology
- Surgery
- Ophthalmology
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Radiology
Medical course fees and costs
The MBBS in the Philippines is affordable for Indian students from middle-class families. Students pay tuition fees directly to the bank account of the Medical University of the Philippines. Students can pay tuition fees every year, like in India. In the Philippines in 2020 (the entire course period), the total cost of the medical course for studying medicine (MBBS) is approximately 2 million kronor. Suppose you compare the tuition fees of the Media University of the Philippines with the tuition fees of the self-financing private medical institutions in India. In that case, you can save 70% of the tuition fees. As the cost of living in the Philippines is relatively cheap, hotel expenses, meals, and other living expenses will be close to 12,000 rupees per month. With this in mind, the total cost of completing the medical course will be slightly more than 30,00,000 INR.
Medical Course Pattern and Duration While Studying in the Philippines
For students who have cleared the 12th grade in science, the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program’s total duration is five and a half years. The first 16 months are dedicated to establishing a robust medical education foundation, known as the Bachelor of Science course. The next three years are core medicine, and in the final year, students will undergo a clinical rotation. If students have already obtained a bachelor’s degree in science in India, they can join the MD (Doctor of Medicine) program.
NMAT Exam for MBBS in the Philippines
For the government medical schools in the Philippines, doctor of medicine admissions are based on the general Philippine entrance test called the NMAT (National Medical Admissions Test). The test is similar to the NEET UG (National Eligibility and Entrance Test Undergraduate) test in India, but it applies to the Philippines’ government medical school. According to the Indian Embassy in Manila, many international students who join the government medical university in the Philippines are forced to leave until they pass the NMAT (National Medical Admissions Test) test and reach the percentile. A score of 40 is the passing score on the NMAT (National Medical Admissions Test). It increases course time and ultimately leads to higher learning costs.
