NeXT aims to replace MBBS finals, NEET-PG, FMGE

NeXT aims to replace MBBS finals, NEET-PG, FMGE

Bharat.Yagnik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad: 05.08.2021 

To be held on the lines of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), the National Medical Council aims to conduct National Exit Test (NeXT) for final year MBBS students from 2023.

The NeXT will replace the final year undergraduate examination and will also be the basis for admission to postgraduate specialty courses, replacing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (PG).

Students who clear the exam will be granted a licence to practice modern medicine in India and for enrolment in the state medical register or the national medical register, as the case may be, according to M K Ramesh, president of the Postgraduate Medical Education Board. It will also form the basis of admissions to PG medical courses.

“To be a medical practitioner in the US, one has to clear the medical licensing exam. We want to reduce the burden of multiple examinations and at the same time introduce world class standards,” said Ramesh. NeXT also aims to solve the problem of foreign medical graduates, it as it will be the same for everyone whether trained in India or any part of the world.

“The details of how to conduct the exam across the country, which includes practical examinations, are being worked out. A mock run is being planned for 2022,” he further said.

State medical education fraternity experts have expressed apprehensions over NeXT replacing MBBS final exams and say the move may prove detrimental to the state’s efforts to have more doctors available. The recent pandemic has underscored the need for more doctors in the state, especially in rural areas.

“Being a national-level competitive test, NeXT could prove tough for students of Gujarat to crack compared to the existing university-level exams,” said the dean of an Ahmedabad medical college.

“The final MBBS success rate in the state is around 90%. This means that every year, the majority of students who pass can register and practise medicine.

However, we have serious apprehensions if so many students will be able to clear NeXT every year. Moreover, MBBS finals are held twice a year while NeXT will be held only once,” said another senior medical fraternity member.

The National Exit Test marks shall remain valid for three years from the date the person has become eligible to be granted a licence to practice, for admission to postgraduate broad specialty courses, according to the Draft Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations 2021.

After the expiry of the validity of the National Exit Test marks, the person shall have to take it and qualify again to be eligible for admission to postgraduate broad specialty courses, it said.

For admission to postgraduate super-specialty courses, a uniform entrance examination, the National Eligibility–cum-Entrance Test (Super Specialty), will be held each academic year and under the supervision of the National Medical Commission, according to the draft regulations.