PG specialisations after MBBS: How to proceed, entrance exams and institutes

If you’re a candidate for the medical school exam, there’s a stiff competition ahead. But have you ever pondered what would be your next step if you crack the exam and receive the degree after six years? Relying only on your MBBS degree might not be helpful for establishing a good practice or joining a renowned hospital or medical research facility. The best way to sort your career is through postgraduate (PG) specialisations offered by top medical institutes in India.

Why PG specialisation is important after MBBS

There are roughly 40,000 seats in Doctor of Medicine (MD), Master of Surgery (MS), PG Diploma, and DNB CET for MBBS degree-holders who need to ensure admission through multiple postgraduate medical entrances each year. Knowing which specialty to pursue after MBBS would help you make an educated decision.

Without a PG specialisation you would not be able to operate as a specialist doctor in a core field. For instance, anyone with only an MBBS degree wouldn’t be able to treat a cardiac patient and the best option would be to refer the patient to a cardiac specialist.

Rode to PG specialisations after MBBS:

• You need a minimum of 50% aggregate in the Class XII board exams and also need Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology as subjects in Class XI-XII.

• After that, you have to appear for the UG NEET exam, given that you are between 17 and 25 years of age. Depending on your NEET ranking, you will have to go through a counselling process to get into a medical college.

• After completion of your MBBS degree, followed by the internship and housestaffship, you will be eligible to appear for the PG entrance exams.

• Depending on your ranking in these exams, you will be eligible to go through a counselling process to get into a master’s degree course.
  
• The selection of PG specialisations and institutes is dependent on your ranking in the exams.

Postgraduate medical entrance exams:

• National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post Graduate (NEET-PG): This is the largest single eligibility-cum-entrance exam for admission to various MD/MS, PG Diploma, and DNB CET courses as per Section 10 (D) of the Indian Medical Council Act of 2016. To get admission to PG courses in the majority of medical colleges India, you need to appear in this exam.

• Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI CET): You can admission to AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER, NIMHANS and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology through INI CET. A total of around 900 seats only in MD, MS, Master of Dental Surgery (MDS), Doctorate of Medicine (DM), and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh) courses are offered through this exam.

Eligibility: You need to complete your MBBS/BDS/BVSc & AH degree, followed by the mandatory internship and house staffship, and have a valid registration number. There is no age limit.

Type of specialisations after MBBS:

Specialisations after MBBS can be divided into two broad categories — Medicine and Surgery.

Doctor of Medicine (MD) specialisations:

• Radiology
• General Medicine
• Paediatrics
• Pathology
• Pharmacology
• Psychiatry
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Physiology
• Pulmonary medicine
• Anatomy
• Anesthesiology
• Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy
• Respiratory Medicine
• Sports Medicine
• Tropical Medicine
• Immunohematology and Blood transfusion
• Infectious Diseases

Doctor of Surgery (MS) specialisations:

• General Surgery
• Orthopaedics
• Traumatology & Surgery
• Ophthalmology
• ENT
• Obstetrics & Gynaecology
• Otorhinolaryngology

Medical colleges that offer both MD and MS courses in West Bengal: (Through NEET PG):

• Medical College Kolkata
• Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), Kolkata
• R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata
• Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College, Kolkata
• Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC), Kolkata
• Burdwan Medical College, Burdwan
• Bankura Sammilani Medical College, Bankura
• North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, Sushrutanagar
• College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital, Kolkata
• Malda Medical College and Hospital, Malda
• Midnapore Medical College, Midnapore
• Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, Murshidabad

Medical colleges that offer both MD and MS courses in India: (Through INI CET)

• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, multiple locations
• Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh
• National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore
• Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Pondicherry
• Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum
• Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi

After completing your master’s degree you can also pursue a postgraduate diploma degree in your specialisation in either Medicine or Surgery. For this, you need to appear for the Diplomate National Board Centralised Entrance Test (DNB CET).