The inaugural National Exit Test (NExT), a comprehensive licentiate examination set to replace the final MBBS examination at the university level, NEET-PG, and FMGE, is scheduled to take place in May 2024. A day after the National Medical Commission (NMC) made this announcement, the Medical Service Centre – a national-level socio-medical voluntary organisation – has opposed the exam.
Dr. Ansuman Mitra, Secretary, MSC CC, termed the NExT Exam as “anti-student” and called upon all medicos to voice their protest.
“The outward glossy look and feel, mimicking ‘USMLE pattern of exam’ is confusing many, diverting attention from the complete decadence of quality of bedside clinical learning and medical education, particularly in the new sign board (district-level) government medical colleges which have no infrastructure and faculties justifying the same in PPP and pvt, colleges promoting coaching industry-based medical education,” Mitra said.
The upcoming National Exit Test (NExT) will consist of two steps. NExT Step 1 will be a computer-based exam featuring high-quality Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), while NExT Step 2 will be a practical or clinical examination. The initial group of students eligible to take these exams will be those who were admitted to the MBBS program in 2019.
Both NExT Step 1 and Step 2 will be conducted twice a year. NExT Step 1 will be administered by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, taking place from May to November. After completing their internships, students will become eligible to participate in NExT Step 2, which will be offered in June and December.
During a webinar held on Tuesday, NMC Chairman Suresh Chandra Sharma addressed medical college faculty and final-year MBBS students, providing detailed information about the NExT. The NExT is a medical licensing examination that will replace both the Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Postgraduate (NEET PG). The webinar’s objective was to alleviate concerns and reduce stress associated with the proposed NExT examination.
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The inaugural NExT is scheduled to take place in 2024. To obtain a license to practice contemporary medicine in India, medical graduates must successfully pass both NExT Step 1 and Step 2.
NExT 2023: Tentative Schedule
- NExT Step 1: May/November
- III MBBS / Final MBBS part 2 practical / clinical university examination: June/December
- Internship: First week of January/July
- NExT Step 2: Third week of June/December
- NExT Step 2 Supplementary: First week of September/March
- Postgraduate Admission: May-June
- Postgraduate Course Commence: First week of July/Last week of January