The National Medical Commission issued the proposed draught regulations for the National Exit Test on Wednesday (NExT). According to the proposed regulation, the purpose of these regulations is to standardise the summative evaluation across the nation with respect to the minimum common standards for the education and training of a medical graduate.
The NExT will consist of two distinct examinations known as “Steps.”
NExT Step 1
Step 1 of the NExT will be a theoretical exam. There will be one or more than one type of MCQ questions. The examination will be administered via computer-based testing and the Internet. The centralised common examination will be administered by a body created by the commission for this specific purpose.
There will be six sections of the examination covering topics for the III MBBS/Final MBBS:
— Medicine and allied disciplines
— Surgery and related fields
— Obstetrics and Gynecology
— Paediatrics
— Otorhinolaryngology
— Eye care (Ophthalmology)
— Application of all topics covered in MBBS I and II
— Practical aspects of all subjects covered in the third or final year of MBBS (Part 1)
All students who have completed the third or final year of a Commission-approved MBBS programme would be eligible to take the examination. The NExT step 1 examination will be administered once a year prior to the university practical examination for III MBBS (Part 2)/final MBBS preceding the required rotating internship. Once a year, candidates who failed one or more exams will be required to take a supplemental examination. Students who are unable to pass this exam may attempt the’step 1 regular exam’ the following year. There is no limit on the number of attempts, provided the candidate passes both steps within ten years of enrolling in the MBBS programme.
In Step 1, the examinations for medicine, surgery, and Obstetrics and Gynecology will last three hours each, while those for Paediatrics, Otorhinolaryngology, and Ophthalmology will last one and a half hours each.
NExT Step 2
Step 2 of the NExT will be a practical/clinical and oral examination covering seven disciplines:
— Medicine and allied disciplines
— Surgery and related fields
— Obstetrics and Gynecology
— Paediatrics
— Otorhinolaryngology
— Eye care (Ophthalmology)
Orthopaedic Surgery and PMR (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)
The examination will be administered in person by the respective state health universities. Where there are no state Health Universities, the Commission will choose the university. The examination will be administered annually. A supplemental exam will be administered once a year, but only to students who have failed up to three subjects.
The minimum passing score for each subject in Step 1 is fifty percent of the total possible points. The criteria for passing Step 2 shall be a satisfactory demonstration of evaluated competencies.
NExT Exam Schedule
According to the proposed regulations, the exam schedule will resemble the following:
— The NExT Step 1 regular examination will be administered beginning in the second week of December and concluding in the second week of January.
— Dates for the NExT Step 1 Supplemental Exam have not yet been announced.
— The III MBBS/Final MBBS Part 2 practical examination will be administered during the first week of January, and the results will be released during the fourth week.
— The duration of the internship will be from 1 February to 28 February of the following year.
— The NExT Step 2 regular examination will be administered between the second week of March and the first week of April.
— Postgraduate admissions will occur from May to June, and results will be released on June 30. The courses will commence on 1 July.
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