MBBS is the abbreviation for ‘Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery.’ It is a prestigious degree that a person must have to become a fully licensed medical professional or doctor and to practice medicine in India.
The only way for aspirants to pursue an MBBS degree is to pass an entrance exam depending on which institute or college they want to join.
Three major entrance exams in India determine the ranking of students allowing them to apply for MBBS in different institutes and colleges. The three major entrance exams are NEET, AIIMS, and JIPMER MBBS.
Admissions to all central, deemed, private, and government MBBS colleges and universities are done based on the NEET scores. The only exceptions are Parliament-enacted institutes like AIIMS and JIPMER.
Hence, NEET is the primary entrance examination to qualify for over 470 medical colleges in India, offering over 66,500 seats. AIIMS alone has 15 campuses with 1200 MBBS seats, and JIPMER has two campuses offering around 200 seats.
To win a place in one of these 66,500 MBBS seats in India, over 15 lakh students undertake the entrance exams. Only a small percentage of them get admitted into an MBBS course, making it one of the most competitive and challenging degrees to pursue.
From 2019, 100% of all seats in MBBS will be done through NEET, which stands for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test. The only exceptions are seats in AIIMS and JIPMER which have been established through an Act of the Parliament.
To qualify for a NEET exam, the aspirant has to:
NEET is conducted by the CBSE Board (Central Board of Secondary Education). There are some exceptions to the requirements mentioned above, such as a 5-year relaxation for those from SC/ST and OBC categories. Aspirants from SC/ST and OBC category may get an aggregate of 40% in physics, chemistry, and biology.
Syllabus: The Medical Council of India (MCI) has recommended the syllabus for the NEET exam, and it is based on physics, chemistry, and biology. There is an approved list of topics which should be covered in the 11th and 12th standard. Full details can be found in the appendix of this informational pdf.
NEET Exam Duration: The duration of the examination is three hours.
NEET Question Pattern: There are 180 objective-type questions with four options per question.
AIIMS: To get into the MBBS program at AIIMS, it is necessary to take the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam. It is a national level exam conducted in English and Hindi.
To qualify for an AIIMS entrance test, the aspirant has to:
AIIMS Exam Duration: The duration of the examination is 3.5 hours.
JIPMER: Gaining admission into the JIPMER MBBS course requires passing the JIPMER MBBS entrance exam.
JIPMER Exam Duration: The duration is 2.5 hours.
JIPMER Question Pattern: There are 200 objective questions with multiple answer choices.
Cost: MBBS costs differ from one place to another. Central, state and private institutions charge different rates for quotas such as State, All India, NRI, and Management quotas. The Central Universities’ annual fee can be as low as Rs. 10,000. Private colleges’ annual fees can start at Rs 4 lakh and go up to Rs 20 lakh per annum. In some cases, students may pay a total of up to Rs 1 crore to do their MBBS course at a private institution.
Duration: The duration of an MBBS course is 5.5 years, in which 4.5 years is spent in academic instruction and one year as a compulsory internship. MBBS is conducted in English, and it consists of nine semesters of 6 months each.
Syllabus and Instruction: The MBBS course covers subjects such as anatomy, microbiology, biochemistry, pathology, physiology, and forensic medicine. Students also experience real-world training simultaneously in hospital wards and out-patient departments.
They learn the protocol of assessing history, examination, diagnosis, and total patient management. They also gain experience in performing clinical procedures and other practical skills. An MBBS student also has to do a mandatory 1-year internship where they rotate across different specialties.
After completing their MBBS, the student may use the title ‘Dr’ with their name. They can practice medicine either by starting their own practice or by getting a job in the government sector or a private sector.
They can work in medical colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, health corporations, the health ministry, and pharma corporations, and do back-office medical work besides. They can also become researchers, scientists, professors, and lecturers.
Students can explore doing a higher degree to become specialized. They can get degrees in MS—Master of Surgery, MD—Doctor of Medicine, or become a DNB—a Diplomate of National Board. PG courses are for three years, and diploma courses are for two years.
Studying for an MBBS degree is a grueling process, but there is a 100% placement rate. It is a fulfilling and significant career step to becoming a doctor.
