National Exit Test

The National Medical Commission (NMC) recently released the proposed regulations for the National Exit Test (NExT). What is National Exit Test? Who may participate in this Exam? Read further to know more.

National Exit Test: What is it?

The National Exit Test (NExT) is a proposed examination for all MBBS students in India who complete the final year.

This will take the place of the NEET PG exam and grant graduates licences to practise medicine in India.

To obtain licences to practise medicine in India, foreign candidates may now also qualify for this exam. The improvement of the nation’s skilled and medical personnel is the primary goal of this exam.

The NExT results will aid medical undergraduates in obtaining an internship following graduation and securing a seat in PG programmes provided by public and private institutes/universities.

NEXT is meant to accomplish three objectives:

• It will first serve as a passing test for the final MBBS examination.
• Second, it will serve as a prerequisite exam for the licence to practise contemporary medicine in India, which will be granted to both Indian and foreign medical graduates.
• Thirdly, it will act as a competitive examination used to determine applicants for postgraduate (PG) broad-speciality programmes at Indian medical institutions.

Exams like the FMGE and NEET PG will be replaced by NExT.

The NExT will consist of two distinct tests termed “Steps.”

The NExT Step 1 exam will consist of multiple choice questions and be administered on a computer in accordance with NMC standards. Step 2 will be a practical and viva voce test, in contrast.

The Step-1 Exam

In Step 1, which covers both Parts 1 and 2, of the third year of the MBBS final year, six papers will be tested. These are what they are:

• Medical and related fields
• Surgery and related fields
• Pregnancy and gynaecology
• Paediatrics
• Otorhinolaryngology
• Ophthalmology
• Applied aspects of all subjects covered under I MBBS and II MBBS
• Applied aspects of all subjects covered under III MBBS /Final MBBS Part l

The Step 2 Exam

Step 2 will address the following seven clinical topics:

• Medical and related fields
• Surgery and related fields
• Pregnancy and gynaecology
• Paediatrics
• Otorhinolaryngology
• Ophthalmology
• PMR and orthopaedics (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)

A body created by The National Medical Commission for this purpose will administer this centralised common exam.

A self-governing board called the “Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences” is proposed under the National Medical Commission (Amendment) Bill,2022, and once it is in place, it will be in charge of administering the NExT exam.

Who may participate in the NExT?

All students who have successfully completed the final MBBS course at a medical college recognised by the Commission are eligible to take the exam.

As long as the candidate completes both phases within ten years of attending the MBBS, there is no limit on the number of attempts.

Foreign medical graduates who pass the NExT exam automatically qualify to practise medicine.

There is no cap on the number of times a candidate may take the NExT Step 1 exam if they have passed both the Step 1 and Step 2 exams within ten years of enrolling in the MBBS programme.

There is no limit on how many times you can attempt to improve your score.

The third- and fourth-year MBBS students’ theory exams will be replaced with this exam.

The test will be delivered in person once a year. The Step 2 exam can be taken as many times as you choose. A supplemental exam will be administered for both steps if a student fails the ordinary exam at any point.

How to clear the NExT exam?

The minimum score needed to pass NExT Step 1 will be 50% (50 out of 100), or half of the total potential score.

Candidates must score at least 50% (50 out of 100) or half of the possible raw scores on each of the six papers to pass the NExT Step 1 exam.

A successful demonstration of having gained the evaluated competencies is one of the conditions for passing NExT Step 2, which will result in a pass-or-fail judgement.

Scoring analysis

The final grade will be based on the sum of the raw scores for each paper or subject.

In the event that one or more topics are failed, the candidate’s total marks or percentage of NExT Step 1 will be calculated using the sum of all raw scores in each subject/paper from the regular and supplementary tests the applicant passed.

For candidates who took the NExT Step exam to improve their results, the average or mean of the last three consecutive scores will be utilised to calculate the total marks%.

The validity of NExT Step scores is three years.

Challenges associated with NExT

• The primary goals of evaluation for the MBBS examination (which are passing in nature), the licentiate examination (which are qualifying in nature), and the PG entrance test are noticeably different (competitive in nature).
• While the previous two exams strive to determine candidates’ minimum level of knowledge and competency, the PG entrance exam seeks to distinguish between candidates’ skills because even a small variation in their ranks (merit numbers) could affect the course and/or institute that they are offered (or available at their rank).
• These three tests have various stakes attached to them. The methods suggested for evaluating these three modalities would primarily call for various instrument types that should be valid, trustworthy, and practical to test each of these modalities separately.

Conclusion

The significance of NExT is that it will be the same for everyone, whether they received their training in India or anywhere else in the globe, and will therefore address the issue of foreign medical graduates and mutual recognition.

It ensures uniformity in the summative evaluation across the country with respect to the minimal common criteria of education and training for a medical graduate.

The NExT’s goal is to raise the standard of medical care in India by requiring that all medical professionals meet minimal standards of competence and knowledge before starting their careers.

The Act is seen by the government as a positive step toward ensuring the honesty, value, and accessibility of medical education as well as the provision of high-quality healthcare to the general public.

To get more related topicsThe Problems of Medical Education in India – Should the Medical Council of India (MCI) be Scrapped?

Article written by: Aryadevi E S