NEXT WILL HELP STUDENTS 'FOCUS ON THEIR PRACTICAL TRAINING'

The number of medical colleges has grown by 70% in the last 10 years. Both this expansion as well as the new curriculum require more teachers, said Dr Dinesh Kumar, head of medical education, Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi. He spoke to Careers360 about the need for quality teachers, the National Exit Test (NExT), the inclusion of AYUSH subjects in MBBS curriculum and the district residency programme. 

- Pritha Roy Choudhury

Q. A large number of new government medical colleges have come up in the last two years. Are there enough teachers?

A. In most of these colleges, there will be a deficiency of faculty due to the pace of their establishment. Also, their locations may not attract many teachers. The new set up in medical school is very rigorous and intense due to time constraints as well as the very heavy curriculum. That will require many more teachers than we have right now. As the new curriculum is competency-based, senior teachers must train the juniors but the numbers are also equally important.

Q. National Exit Test is scheduled for 2024, how are the students being prepared for this exit exam?

A. As guidelines are still not declared, the course covered is not well defined, and when and how the exam is going to be held is not stated, preparation can't be expected. The moment it crystallises to some form like clear course content, time and type of exam - then it's fluid. For the batch starting in 2022, it is very clearly defined. The national medical commission (NMC) had also put up a draft proposal for NEXT.

Q. What is the time gap between the two parts of NEXT 1 and NEXT 2?

A. As per the draft proposal document of NMC, NEXT 1 is to be held before the start of the internship and Next 2 is at the end of the internship. Also as per the draft proposal, NExT 1 will be a multiple-choice question (MCQ) based and NEXT 2 is the practical exam which is going to assess the competency of the student.