The National Medical Commission (NMC), on June 27, 2023, held a webinar aimed at providing detailed information about the upcoming National Exit Test (NExT). Based on the decision taken regarding the commencement of the examination, on June 30th, 2023, the NMC has released the notification regarding the Regulations that are to be adhered to by all medical colleges and medical students.
The gazetted notification mentioned the purposes of NExT and provided detailed information regarding the schedule and procedure to be followed.
The examination is to be conducted for both Indian Medical Graduates and Foreign Medical Graduates. The NExT score will serve as the eligibility certificate for the medical graduate to register to practice medicine in India. For those who are seeking to pursue further Postgraduate Medical Education, it serves as an entrance Examination for admission to Postgraduate courses.
The examination will be conducted in 2 phases – NExT step 1 and NExT step 2. Both steps will be conducted twice a year, with step 1 to be conducted in May and November and step 2 to be conducted in June and December respectively. Medical graduates can apply for the NExT Examination that will be held next year. NExT Step 1 will have MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) and will be conducted in a Computer Based Test (CBT). It will have six papers covering all theory parts of the final MBBS subjects. On the other hand, the NExT Step 2 will be a practical examination along with viva voce, covering seven clinical subjects.
A candidate has to clear all 6 papers and score at least a minimum of 50 per cent marks in step 1 to be eligible for internship and NExT step 2. It may be noted that candidates appearing for the NExT examination must pass both steps within the given time frame of 10 years from the time of joining the MBBS course.
For further details about the NExT examination, Kindly refer to the gazette notification given by NMC
