Andhra Pradesh doctors object to exit exam plan

Visakhapatnam: The proposed National Licentiate Examination (exit exam) for outgoing MBBS students has drawn flak from the government of Andhra Pradesh.

In Telangana state, the government has not voiced its opinion, doctors have opposed the proposed test. In a recent video conference, the AP government has voiced its concerns to the Union government over this “objective benchmarking’’ exam and how it could belittle the MBBS exam.

Mentioned in the draft National Medical Commission Bill, the exit exam is expected to help as a method for quality certification of graduating doctors to provide them licence to practice and enroll for medical registers.

The licentiate examination, if it comes into force, would serve as a national eligibility-cum-entrance test for admission into post-graduate medical courses.
But the doctors fraternity, as well as medical students, is up in arms over the move, saying that it would devalue the nearly 5-year MBBS degree and would be another herculean task for medicos.

AP director of medical education Dr N. Subba Rao said the government was opposed to the proposed exam. “The students are awarded the MBBS degrees after attaining certain a set of skills and clearing all examination papers. No additional exam is required to test their skill set or knowledge. We have explained the same to the Union government,” Dr Subba Rao said.

Proposed with an intention of bringing uniform academic and examination standards among all medical colleges across the country, the draft National Medical Commission Bill hasn’t mentioned any separate exam for foreign MBBS graduates.

According to the Union minister of state for health Sh Faggan Singh Kulaste, the exit exam would be an outcome based quality control mechanism instead of focusing on verification of infrastructure.

Convenor of the Ethics Committee of Andhra Pradesh Medical Council, Dr P.V. Sudhakar, said the exit exam was nothing but suspecting the medical education system.

“The proposed scrapping of the existing Medical Council of India and replacing it with the National Medical Commission is also absurd. The lawmakers should comply with the Medical Council Act, 1956 before making any changes in the existing system. Why can’t they address the shortcoming in the MCI, if there are any, without compromising on the autonomy of the profession? How will the majority of members in the proposed NCM being outsiders to the medical profession, be helpful for medical education?” he said.

Indian Medical Association Students Wing-AP president Kaduru Lakshmi Narayana said; “The exit exam will put additional burden on medical students. There is no need of a separate exam after getting the MBBS degree.”

Graduates in most courses take extra test
Despite the opposition to the National Licentiate Examination, there are many exit or qualifying examinations for other professions. Those who took a law degree have to qualify in the All India Bar Examination before they are allowed to practice. Same is the case with teachers who need to clear the Teacher Eligibility Test / Central Teacher Eligibility Test to compete for teacher posts after passing B.Ed / D.Ed.

Lecturer / professor aspirants have to clear the state-level or national-level eligibility test after their post-graduation to get eligibility for the lectureship / professorship. Indian students graduating from foreign medical institutions have to undergo Foreign Medical Graduates Exam.

Speaking to this newspaper a former vice-Chancellor of Andhra University said these qualifying exams were necessary in the field of education. “If there are any shortcomings in knowledge or skill set, the these qualifying exams will expose them. In the result APSET, only 2,949 students qualified out of the 44,576 who turned,” he said.

Medicos will leave bedside, go for coaching
The bedside practice of doctors during their internship will be affected if the exit exam is enforced on them, said TS doctors who are opposing to the proposal said.

Dr Narsing Reddy, president of TS unit of the Indian Medical Asso-ciation said doctors use the internship to understand practices at the hospital level. If the exit exam is introduced, they will be running to coaching centres, he said. This will result in doctors being well-versed in the subject but having no hands-on experience, Dr Narsing Reddy said.

Dr G. Srinivas of the Telangana Junior Doctor Association said there were more than 100 exams which medical students write in their five-year MBBS course. “They are already under a lot of mental and physical stress and this exit exam will merely add to the pressure,” he said.

A senior IMA member explained, “We need doctors who are trained for patient care. There are other issues that need to be addressed, rather than adding another exams. The system is riddled with too many exams which is not helpful.”