The National Medical Commission on Tuesday held a webinar on the National Exit Test (NExT). According to the information shared in the webinar, The Step 1 of NExT will be a computer-based examination based on “high quality” Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and Step 2 will be a practical or clinical examination. Both NExT Step 1 and NExT Step 2 will be held twice in a year and students who were admitted in MBBS course in 2019 will be the first batch sitting for the examination.
The online event was organized to address the final-year medical (MBBS) students and colleges to discuss the proposed examination in detail. According to the notice released by the NMC, all medical colleges were instructed to participate in the webinar.
The webinar shared information on the NExT examination, including phases, mock test date, papers, exam schedule etc,.
The results of NExT Steps 1 and 2 will be considered for the qualifying MBBS test, obtaining a license to practice medicine in India, and the merit-based distribution of postgraduate (PG) seats.
The NExT Step 1 mock test or practice test will be carried out on July 28, 2023.
Exam Date
The exam will be conducted in two stages:
NExT Step 1 exam focusses on theory
While NExT Step 2 will be on practical, oral, and clinical assessments.
The NExT Step 1 exam will have six subject papers with respective weightage in items and time allocation.
The six papers will be held in five days with a gap of one day. Out of these, 3 papers will be of a duration of three hours and the rest three of 1.5 hours.
According to the various media reports, NEET PG 2024 will be the last NEET PG to be held for admission to Medical PG courses. The NMC webinar provided a platform for addressing concerns and speculations regarding the NExT exam.
The National Exit Test (NExT) will be replaced by the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET PG). For final-year MBBS students, NExT will serve as a qualifying and screening test.