The National Exit Test (NExT) Step 1 will be a computer-based exam based on "high quality" Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), while the National Medical Commission (NMC) Step 2 will be a practical or clinical exam. The first batch of students to take the NExT Step 1 and NExT Step 2 exams will be those who were admitted to the MBBS programme in 2019.
Both exams will be held twice a year. NExT Step 1 will be administered by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi between May and November. After completing their internships, students will be eligible to take the NExT step 2 exam, which will be offered in June and December.
In a webinar with medical college faculty and final-year MBBS students on Tuesday, NMC Chairman Suresh Chandra Sharma provided information about the NExT, a medical licence exam that will replace both the Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET PG). "Remove apprehensions and stress built around proposed NExT examination" was the stated goal of the webinar.
In 2024, NExT will be held for the first time. To be granted a licence to practise contemporary medicine in India, medical graduates must pass both NExT Steps 1 and 2.
NExT 2023: Tentative Schedule
NExT 2023: Exam Pattern for Steps 1 & 2
NExT Step 1: Six subject papers, including forensic medicine and toxicology (FMT), will be included in the NExT Step 1 examination. Community medicine will also be mainstreamed into the pertinent clinical courses. 10% of each paper's questions will be about applied elements of linked areas. All six subjects will be examined over the course of five days, with one day off on the second and fourth days. Two participants will be examined in a day, one for three hours and the other for 1.5 hours, with a two-hour break in between. The first NExT phase will be administered by AIIMS Delhi.
NExT Step 2: After completing an internship that evaluated competencies in clinical diagnosis, patient examination, and clinical decision making, as well as practical and communication skills required for the practise of modern systems of medicine, particularly in India, the NExT step 2 will be a thorough practical or clinical examination.