Will you as a doctor want another qualifying exam to certify that you are worthy enough to practice anywhere in India? Even if your answer is no, you may be forced to take it up as the government is mulling it to make a criteria for post graduate admissions also. But the immediate attention of such exam is to address the lack of quality in medical education.

To solve the gnawing problem of quality doctors in India, the government is planning to implement an “exit exam” for MBBS students passing out of medical colleges. The exam will be conducted in government as well as private colleges.

Perks of clearing the exam

• The health Ministry intends to create a separate “All-India Chapter” for the students qualifying the exit exam.
• Clearing the exit exam enables them to practise anywhere in the country.
• In the current scenario, doctors have to register themselves with the state chapter of Medical Council of India (MCI) and need to get their registration transferred if they wish to practice in another state.

Will exit exam be a qualifying criteria for post graduation?

• According to a report in the Times Of India, the students who fail to clear the exam might not be allowed to pursue their postgraduate studies.
• The exit exam is believed to be a process of filtration to improve the quality of practitioners.

The FMGE might be applicable for all

The draft proposed by the Ministry suggests using Foreign Medical Graduate Examination(FMGE) as a voluntary exit exam for all MBBS doctors. FMGE which was introduced in 2002 is an examination for Indian students with foreign degrees. It is compulsory to take the FMGE test in order to be allowed to practice in India.

It was also suggested that results of the exit exam might be used to rank Indian colleges.

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