Medical Students to Appear for ‘NEXT’ in order to use ‘Dr’ Tag

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday unveiled the draft Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill 2022. According to the bill, medical students will now have to do more than just finish the five-and-a-half-year course to get the 'Doctor' title. They will have to pass a National Exit Test (NEXT). The test is supposed to create a level-playing field in medical education, which is becoming more and more privatized.

An official from the central government said that NEXT would improve the condition of medical education in India and help benchmark students. The official said that NEXT will substitute three exams, including the recruitment for central health services, NEET for postgraduate admissions and the foreign graduate medical examination. The results of how students from individual colleges have performed in NEXT will be made public. If a college has over 90% students clearing the test, it will automatically act as an indicator. The official added that the students can make an informed choice while choosing colleges.

The head of Maharashtra's state department of medical education and research, Dr P Shingare, said that NEXT is a nice move. The test will bring about standardization. A professor mentioned that inspection by authorities can just rate the infrastructure of a college and the outcome of NEXT can be a tangible parameter to determine the quality of that college.

However, cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty, a former member of the Medical Council of India, felt the draft's provisions are suitable for an "economy of excess" that has an adequate number of doctors.

Reservation for medical officers evoked the sharpest comments. Dr Shetty said that the brightest people should be allowed to pursue postgraduate education.