Future doctors in India, particularly those who have completed the MBBS abroad, are aware of two major acronyms: Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE and NExT exam (National Exit Test). In addition, NExT heralds a dramatic change in the Medical Licensure renewal process in India. Below is an in-depth comparison of FMGE and NExT in terms of what it means for graduates of medical education.

What Is The FMGE Exam? 

FMGE, which stands for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, used to be the mandatory licensing exam for Indian and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) who received their medical degree(s) from outside of India. FMGE was operated by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) and was designed primarily to ascertain that the doctors who received their training outside of India had met the minimum qualifications required to practice medicine in India.

FMGE was also held two times a year and consisted of the use of multiple-choice questions, or MCQs, which focused on theoretical knowledge. And if candidates completed FMGE, they were then eligible to obtain provisional registration with the State Medical Council and begin their internship in India.

What is the NExT Exam? 

The NExT (National Exit Test) is a new comprehensive assessment desired by the National Medical Commission (NMC). To make the licensing of medical professionals uniform across India. The NExT will replace both the FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Examination) and NEET-PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) as a one-stop shop for all medical graduates from India or abroad to become licensed practitioners. The NExT will also provide the added benefit of serving as a postgraduate medical courses entrance exam if students are successful on the NExT. 

The NExT will consist of two parts: 

NExT 1: A written assessment (mainly in the form of multiple-choice questions) to assess students' knowledge of their theoretical learning at the time of the end of the final year of MBBS. 

NExT 2: A practical and clinical skills assessment once the students have completed their compulsory internship.

Understand the pattern of NExT and FMGE Exam

Which is Tough, NExT or FMGE?

Whether the NExT or FMGE is harder depends on your study path and where you choose to practice medicine.

According to various anecdotal reports, the FMGE was formerly known as quite difficult because of its low pass rates in comparison to courses and exams for practicing in other countries (based on written examinations that were primarily theoretical in nature). 

In comparison, the NExt exam will be "new" in the sense that it be a full assessment of clinical applications and will be equally or even more difficult than FMGE in that it will assess clinical application of learned material. The NExT syllabus has the potential to cover content that is taught at the entire MBBS level. If your continued question is still, "Is the NExT exam hard?" or "Is the FMGE exam hard or easy?", the easy answer is, yes, it will be hard.