National Exit Test

• 04 Jan 2023

For Prelims: National Medical Commission, National Medical Commission Act, 2019, NExT,

For Mains: Significance of replacing the Indian Medical Council with National Medical Commission.

Why in News?

Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) issued the proposed draft regulations related to the National Exit Test (NExT).

What is the Objective of the Regulation?

• To provide consistency across the nation in the summative evaluation with regard to the minimum common standards of education and training for a medical graduate.
• The objective of the NExT is to improve the quality of healthcare in India by ensuring that all doctors have a minimum level of competency and knowledge before they begin practicing medicine.

What is National Exit Test?

• The NExT is a medical licensing exam that is designed to assess the competency of medical graduates.
• Students who received their medical degrees from NMC approved medical institutions and overseas students also will have to qualify the National Exit Test.
• To register for medical practice in India, they must pass the NExT test.
• This centralized common exam will be conducted by a body formed by the commission for this purpose.
  • National Medical commission (Amendment) Bill,2022, proposes an autonomous board, ‘Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences’, which, when comes to effect, will be responsible for holding the NExT exam.
  • Currently, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is responsible for holding exams like NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate), Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).
• NExT will take the place of tests like FMGE and NEET PG.
• The NExT will comprise two separate exams called ‘Steps’.

Who is Eligible to Appear in the NExT?

• All the students who have completed the final MBBS course from a Commission-recognised medical college would be eligible to appear in the exam.
• There is no restriction in the number of attempts provided that the candidate passes both the steps within 10 years of joining MBBS.
• Just by clearing the NExT exam the foreign medical graduates will get licentiate to become practicing doctors.

What is the National Medical Commission?

• About:
  • The National Medical Commission (NMC) is a statutory body in India that was established in 2019 by the Indian government to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI).
  • The NMC has been constituted by an act of Parliament known as National Medical Commission Act, 2019
  • The NMC is a regulatory body for the medical education sector in India.
• Mission and Vision:
  • The Aim of the National Medical Commission are to
    • Improve access to quality and affordable medical education.
    • Ensure availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals in all parts of the country.
    • Promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens.
    • Encourages medical professionals to adopt the latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research.
    • Objectively assess medical institutions periodically in a transparent manner.
    • Maintain a medical register for India.
    • Enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services.
    • Have an effective grievance redressal mechanism.
    • It also has the authority to regulate fees for medical courses and to conduct inspections of medical colleges to ensure that they meet the necessary standards.

Source: IE