Explained: What are the draft guidelines for registration of doctors proposed by NMC?

What is the News?

The National Medical Commission(NMC) has released draft guidelines on how the doctors will be registered in order to practise medicine.

What is the purpose of these guidelines?

The guidelines aim to bring uniformity in the registration process of medical practitioners in India.

Key Features of the Guidelines

Unique ID: The Ethics and Medical Registration Board(EMRB) and NMC will generate a Unique ID Number and thereby accord a license to practice medicine to the practitioner in the respective state or union territory.

Note: At present, all doctors have to register with their respective state medical councils, without which they cannot practice medicine.

Eligibility for Indian Medical Graduates for getting registration: They have to 1) Complete their MBBS degree from a recognised college, 2) Finish their mandatory 12-month long internship and 3) Pass the yet-to-be-implemented licentiate exam called National Exit Test (NExT) for getting their registration.

Eligibility for Foreign medical graduates for getting registration: They have to a) Complete their MBBS-equivalent degree from a medical institute “recognised and listed by the NMC” in other countries, b) Be registerable as a medical practitioner in the said country, c) Complete a 12-month internship in India and d) Pass the same NExT exam.

Allowing Foreign Doctors: The guidelines also allow opening the registration to foreign doctors who want to come to India to study in post-graduation courses, fellowships, clinical research, or voluntary clinical services.

What is NExT?

The National Exit Test(NExT) is a proposed examination for granting a license and registration for practising medicine in India, similar to the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) for those wishing to practice in the US.

The exam will act as a country-wide standardized test for passing MBBS, for granting of the license, as well as a qualification test for post-graduation courses instead of the current NEET-PG that students have to sit for after they have completed their MBBS and one-year internship.

It will not be a theory paper, like MBBS finals or NEET PG test. Instead, It will be held in two parts – one written and one practical exam where the students will be judged on their clinical acumen.

Students will have to appear for the first NExT test after completion of MBBS and the second one after completion of the internship. The government expects to conduct the NExT from 2024.

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: What are the draft guidelines for registration of doctors proposed by NMC?” published in Indian Express on 8th April 2022.