In the past few years, there has been talk about common entrance and exit examinations for medical students and graduates of India. Currently, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Postgraduate (NEET PG) ensures entrance to various postgraduate training programs after MBBS. It is an entrance exam for postgraduate training and licensure. The test evaluates medical graduates across various specialties of medicine and surgery. Despite the efforts of the NBE to ensure uniform testing standards and testing skills based on training and evidence-based medicine, the test remains the objective test of facts and algorithms. We need doctors who not only know facts but are also skilled in the practice of medicine. That is why we need the NEXT exam. Both foreign medical graduates and Indian medical graduates will be required to take it. This exam offers us many advantages; let us go through them now
- Uniform Assessment of Medical Graduates
- Common Streamlined pathway for all medical Graduates
- Licenses through a single path
- Competency-based testing
- Merit-based admission to PG training
- Evening discrepancies in medical training
- Real-world case scenarios with a focus on clinical assessment
The NEXT exam is likely to be conducted in two steps: NEXT1 and NEXT2
NEXT1:
The test will be an objective question based on real-world case scenarios. These objective questions will integrate different subjects of MBBS across various specialties. For example, integrating physiology and pathology into the concepts of medicine could range from testing the basics of cell function to the basis of apoptosis. Similarly, concept-based questions will also be part of the exam. The test is to be taken by Indian Medical graduates in the final year of MBBS. It will also be used to enter the PG.
NEXT2:
This part of the exam is a skill-based, practical evaluation of clinical skills. It will include real patients where medical graduates are required to take detailed histories and perform relevant physical examinations. They are also supposed to demonstrate methods of physical examination and their clinical use in real patients. Another part of the exam includes testing the use of different surgical and non-surgical equipment in the clinical practice of medicine. As a consequence, it is a prerequisite for licensing in India.
The NEXT exam seems to be an ideal step for ensuring competency among MBBS graduates, both Indian and foreign. However, there are obstacles in the path. The biggest obstacle is the conduct of the NEXT 2 exam. Ensuring competency requires students to learn and perform clinical tasks on different types of patients. This may not be possible for every medical college/school in India. One solution to this problem is to establish test centers in specific locations to ensure uniformity and competency.
The NEXT exam is expected to start in 2025. We know that it focuses on both theoretical knowledge and practical skill assessment of MBBS graduates. Unlike the current systems and examinations, the exam is based on a single competency-based evaluation for every medical graduate. The system of medical education needs to change. The medical curriculum in the colleges currently can handle this change. However, students need to be prepared for both steps of the exam
