Taipei, May 31 (CNA) More than 1,000 students from Taiwan’s major medical schools took it to the streets Sunday to protest a policy they claim favors Taiwanese doctors who have received medical education abroad.

The policy against which they were protesting allows foreign-trained Taiwanese doctors to practice in Taiwan once they pass a two-stage national medical exam, which is generally considered not very difficult.

Liu Tzu-hung, a senior at National Taiwan University School of Medicine who co-organized the protest, said they hope foreign-trained medical school graduates should also have to do internships at local hospitals before being allowed to sit national medical exams.

Liu said these people, some of whom received their medical education in eastern European countries such as Poland and Romania, may have received diplomas from abroad, but lack on-the-spot clinical experience in Taiwanese hospitals.

“Because they have not done internships and because of their lack of clinical experience in Taiwanese hospitals, critical conditions and emergencies occur as a result of their practices, often requiring their locally educated peers to scramble to correct their errors, ” Liu elaborated.

The protesters also demanded that foreign medical school graduates should have their academic credentials certified by the Ministry of Education before being allowed to sit national exams.

The protesting students also opposed a “sunset bill” proposal that would exempt those who are now studying at medical schools in Eastern European countries from being subject to the new regulations.

The students said they want relevant draft amendments to be included on the agenda of the present legislative session. (By Deborah Kuo)