Doctors welcome merit-based counselling

Earlier,the MBBS doctors would have to run from one hospital to another for admission to Diplomate of National Board DNB courses also called junior residency at various hospitals,medical colleges and institutes.

The NBE conducted the first-ever centralised counselling last month,helping candidates choose the course and hospital there and then. The end result: the appointment letter is issued the same day.

Those who performed well in the Centralised Entrance test CET have an upper hand. While the exam was of qualifying nature before,the NBE made the counselling merit-based this time.

Dr Bipin Batra,Director,NBE,said the move had brought in the much-needed reforms in the admission of candidates. Our experience shows that entry on merit-based centralised counselling has a positive impact on the quality of training and the final specialist doctors being produced at the end of the training, he said.

With merit being the only criteria,officials associated with government hospitals present during the counselling session say it has brought a lot of transparency. Earlier,the students had no authority to choose the course,rather it depended on the whims and fancies of the hospitals, said a doctor.

Around 6,800 candidates are eligible for DNB courses and the first batch of 1,250 candidates was enrolled last month.

The second round of counselling is expected to be held later this month.