The medical career is a highly regarded profession worldwide. It is a well-known fact that doctors play an important role in society and that their contribution is pivotal for the betterment of our lives. This article will help you to understand the education paths to make a career in the medical field.
To pursue careers in medicine, students in India have to study Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in their 11th and 12th. They can pursue these three subjects along with Maths or Computer Science or Physical Education or with any other depending on the subject options as per their School Board. After the 12th exam, the students have to appear for the NEET Exam for a career in the medical field.
This entrance exam is the single-point entry to medical colleges in India as well as for those seeking to study abroad and work in India in a career in medicine. The exam offers access to nearly 75,893 MBBS seats, 26,693 BDS seats, and 52,700 AYUSH seats in government and private institutes across the country. Also, 15% of seats are reserved for the Veterinary doctor program under NEET. The remaining Veterinary programs come under the State Government’s Agriculture department.
A student is considered to have qualified for a career in medicine and surgery if they score above the cut-off marks announced by the NTA. Once the cut-off marks and ranks are announced, the next step is counseling. Students have to apply for counseling with their respective authorities. NEET counseling starts after a week of the result declaration. Based on their rank, students can list down probable colleges where they can get admission and pursue medicine career options. This list can be prepared according to the previous year’s trends, which are not definite but serve as a guideline. DGHS assists with All India Quota (AIQ), central & deemed university counseling, while State Authorities assist with State Quota and Private College counseling. Some private and deemed universities are more flexible and conduct their counseling too.
After counseling and admission into a medical college, all students must pursue the MBBS (Bachelor in Medicine & Bachelors in Surgery) program or any of the chosen AYUSH Courses. MBBS, BUMS, BAMS, BHMS, BUMS, BSMS, BNYS, and BVSc – all these courses are 5 years and 6 months duration programs, where the last year has to be spent in the internship. Bringing a significant change in the Medical Education curriculum, a “Competency-Based Assessment” has been introduced in the first professional year for medical students admitted.
According to another change being planned, National-Exit-Test (NeXT) will take place at the end of the MBBS program from 2025. This test will have two phases. After 4.5 years, the first phase of NeXT will happen after which the student will get their MBBS degree. Thus from 2025, the NEET-PG exam may not exist and will be replaced by the second phase of the exam of NeXT. Students who have taken admission after 2020, have to be mindful that NEET-PG will be replaced with NeXT by the time they complete their MBBS program. Specializations fields might continue to be chosen and studied in post-graduation programs through admission in various MD/MS, PG Diploma, and DNB CET courses, however, the process might change.
Thus after an undergraduate program in any of the medical schools, a student officially becomes a Doctor and can pursue a career in medical field. However, to have medicine practice in a specific field or to specialize they have to complete another MD (Doctor of Medicine) or MS (Master of Surgery) Program of 2-3 years duration. To venture into further academic research or in-depth study in medicine, Ph.D. programs can also be pursued by students.
The coming days are going to bring a lot of changes and excitement to medical studies. Keep an eye on our page to get more updates on the admission process for the medical profession and other careers!
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