DrNB Paediatric Critical Care: Admissions, Medical Colleges, Eligibility Criteria, fee details

DrNB Paediatric Critical Care or Doctorate of National Board in Paediatric Critical Care also known as DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care is a super speciality level course for doctors in India that they do after completion of their postgraduate medical degree course. The duration of this super speciality course is 3 years, and it focuses on saving and improving the lives of children affected by acute and chronic illnesses, injuries, and toxicities.

The course is a full-time course pursued at various accredited institutes/hospitals across the country. Some of the top accredited institutes/hospitals offering this course include Apollo Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon, Haryana, Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children Institute of Child Health and Research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra and more.

Admission to this course is done through the NEET-SS Entrance exam conducted by the National Board of Examinations, followed by counselling based on the scores of the exam that is conducted by DGHS/MCC/State Authorities.

The fee for pursuing DrNB (Paediatric Critical Care) varies from accredited institutes/hospital to hospital and may range from Rs. 1,25,000 to Rs. 3,15,000 per annum.

After completion of their respective course, doctors can either join the job market or can pursue certificate courses and Fellowship programmes recognized by NMC and NBE. Candidates can take reputed jobs at positions as Senior residents, Consultants etc. with an approximate salary range of Rs.6,00,000 – Rs.20,00,000 per annum.

DNB is equivalent to MD/MS/DM/MCH degrees awarded respectively in medical and surgical super specialities. The list of recognized qualifications awarded by the Board in various broad and super specialities as approved by the Government of India are included in the first schedule of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

The Diplomate of National Board in broad-speciality qualifications and super speciality qualifications when granted in a medical institution with the attached hospital or in a hospital with the strength of five hundred or more beds, by the National Board of Examinations, shall be equivalent in all respects to the corresponding postgraduate qualification and the super-speciality qualification granted under the Act, but in all other cases, senior residency in a medical college for an additional period of one year shall be required for such qualification to be equivalent for the purposes of teaching also.

What is DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care?

Doctorate of National Board in Paediatric Critical Care, also known as DrNB (Paediatric Critical Care) or DrNB in (Paediatric Critical Care) is a three-year super speciality programme that candidates can pursue after completing a postgraduate degree.

Paediatric Critical Care is the branch of medical science dealing with saving and improving the lives of children affected by acute and chronic illnesses, injuries, and toxicities.

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has released a curriculum for DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care.

The curriculum governs the education and training of DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care.

The postgraduate students must gain ample knowledge and experience in the diagnosis, and treatment of patients with acute, serious, and life-threatening medical and surgical diseases.

PG education intends to create specialists who can contribute to high-quality health care and advances in science through research and training.

The required training done by a postgraduate specialist in the field of Paediatric Critical Care would help the specialist to recognize the health needs of the community. The student should be competent to handle medical problems effectively and should be aware of the recent advances in their speciality.

The candidate is also expected to know the principles of research methodology and modes of the consulting library. The candidate should regularly attend conferences, workshops and CMEs to upgrade her/ his knowledge.

Course Highlights

Here are some of the course highlights of DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care are defined as the set of rules or minimum prerequisites that aspirants must meet in order to be eligible for admission, which include:

Note:

· The feeder qualification for DrNB Pediatric Critical Care is defined by the NBE and is subject to changes by the NBE.

· The feeder qualification mentioned here is as of 2022.

· For any changes, please refer to the NBE website.

• The prior entry qualifications shall be strictly in accordance with Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, and its amendments notified by the NMC and any clarification issued from NMC in this regard.
• The candidate must have obtained permanent registration of any State Medical Council to be eligible for admission.
• The medical college's recognition cut-off dates for the Postgraduate Degree courses shall be as prescribed by the medical council of India (now NMC).

Admission Process

The admission process contains a few steps to be followed in order by the candidates for admission to DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care. Candidates can view the complete admission process for DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care mentioned below:

• The NEET-SS or National Eligibility Entrance Test for Super speciality courses is a national-level master's level examination conducted by the NBE for admission to DM/MCh/DrNB Courses.
• Qualifying Criteria-Candidates placed at the 50th percentile or above shall be declared as qualified in the NEET-SS in their respective speciality.
• The following medical institutions are not covered under centralized admissions for DM/MCh courses through NEET-SS:

1. AIIMS, New Delhi and other AIIMS

2. PGIMER, Chandigarh

3. JIPMER, Puducherry

4. NIMHANS, Bengaluru

• Candidates from all eligible feeder speciality subjects shall be required to appear in the question paper of the respective group if they are willing to opt for a super speciality course in any of the super speciality courses covered in that group.
• A candidate can opt for appearing in the question papers of as many groups for which his/her Postgraduate speciality qualification is an eligible feeder qualification.
• By appearing in the question paper of a group and on qualifying for the examination, a candidate shall be eligible to exercise his/her choices in the counselling only for those super speciality subjects covered in the said group for which his/ her broad speciality is an eligible feeder qualification.

Fees Structure

The fee structure for DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care varies from accredited institute/hospital to hospital. The fee is generally less for Government Institutes and more for private institutes. The average fee structure for DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care ranges from Rs. 1,25,000 to Rs. 3,15,000 per year.

Colleges offering DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care

There are various accredited institutes/hospitals across India that offer courses for pursuing DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care.

As per the National Board of Examinations website, the following accredited institutes/hospitals are offering DrNB (Paediatric Critical Care) courses for the academic year 2022-23.

Syllabus

A DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care is a three years specialization course that provides training in the stream of Paediatric Critical Care.

The course content for DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care is given in the NBE Curriculum released by the National Board of Examinations, which can be assessed through the link mentioned below:

COURSE CONTENT

1. Training Courses

Each student would have to undergo the following courses:

 Pediatric Basic life support (BLS)

 Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS)

 Pediatric Advanced Life Support (ALS)

The suggested areas and topics which should form the core subject content are:

a. Cardiovascular Physiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Therapy

 Shock (hypovolemic, neurogenic, septic, cardiogenic) and its complications

 Cardiac rhythm and conduction Disturbances

 Pulmonary oedema—cardiogenic, non-cardiogenic

 Cardiac Tamponade and other acute pericardial diseases

 Acute and chronic life-threatening valvular disorders

 Acute complications of cardiomyopathies and myocarditis

 Vasoactive and inotropic therapy

 Pulmonary hypertension and cor-pulmonale

 Principles of oxygen transport and utilization

 Perioperative management of patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery

 Recognition, evaluation, and management of hypertensive emergencies and urgencies

 Congenital heart disease and the physiologic alterations with surgical repair

 Noninvasive methods of cardiac output assessment (i.e., aortic Doppler, etc.)

b. Respiratory Physiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Therapy

 Acute respiratory failure

 Hypoxemic respiratory failure including acute respiratory distress syndrome

 Hypercapnic respiratory failure

 Acute on chronic respiratory failure

 Status asthmaticus

 Aspiration pneumonia

 Chest trauma (e.g., flail chest, pulmonary contusion, rib fractures)

 Broncho-pulmonary infections including bronchiolitis/pneumonia etc

 Upper airway obstruction

 Near drowning

 Pulmonary mechanics and gas exchange

 Oxygen therapy

 Mechanical ventilation

 Pressure and volume modes of mechanical ventilators

 Positive end-expiratory pressure, intermittent mandatory ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure, high-frequency ventilation, inverse ratio ventilation, pressure support ventilation, volume support (airway pressure release

 Ventilation, pressure-regulated volume control ventilation), negative pressure ventilation, differential lung ventilation, pressure control and noninvasive ventilation, spilt lung ventilation, one-lung ventilation

 Indications for and hazards of mechanical ventilation (VILI)

 Criteria for exudation and weaning techniques

 Permissive hypercapnia

 High-frequency oscillatory ventilation

 Airway Maintenance

 Airway Emergency airway management

 Endotracheal intubation/rapid sequence intubation

 Tracheostomy, open and percutaneous

 Long-term intubation vs. tracheostomy

 Ventilatory muscle physiology, pathophysiology, and therapy, including polyneuropathy of the critically ill and prolonged effect of neuromuscular blockers

 Pleural diseases: empyema, various effusions, and pneumothorax

 Pulmonary chylothorax, haemorrhage, and hemoptysis

 Noninvasive ventilation

 Chest Physiotherapy /Postural drainage

c. Renal Physiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Therapy

 Renal regulation of fluid balance and electrolytes

 Renal failure: Prerenal, renal, and postrenal

 Hyperosmolar states

 Electrolyte disturbances

 Acid-base disorders and their management

 Principles of renal replacement therapy and associated methodologies (peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, CRRT, SLED) etc

 Ultrafiltration, continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration, and continuous veno- venous hemofiltration) Drug modification in renal failure, calculating eGFR

 Rhabdomyolysis

 Systemic diseases that involve the kidney (hemolytic uremic syndrome)

d. Central Nervous System Physiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Therapy

 Approach to a child presenting with Coma

 Hydrocephalus and shunt function and dysfunction

 Perioperative management of patients undergoing neurologic surgery

 Brain death evaluation and certification

 Diagnosis and management of persistent vegetative states

 Management of increased intracranial pressure, including intracranial pressure monitors Status epilepticus

 Neuromuscular disease causing respiratory failure e.g.

 Guillain-Barré syndrome

 Myasthenia gravis

 Myopathies (Duchenne's, etc.)

 Neuropathy of critical illness

 Traumatic and non-traumatic intracranial bleed

 Traumatic brain injury – mild, moderate and severe

 Sedation & analgesia: principles and titration

 Neuromuscular blockade: Use, monitoring, and complications

 Invasive ICP monitoring procedure & Ventricular tap / Extra ventricular drain placement

e. Metabolic and Endocrine Effects of Critical Illness

 Nutritional support

 Enteral and parenteral

 Evaluation of nutritional needs including indirect calorimetry

 Immunonutrition and speciality formulas

 Endocrine

 Adrenal crisis and insufficiency (primary and secondary)

 Disorders of antidiuretic hormone metabolism

 Diabetes mellitus

 Ketotic and nonketotic hyperosmolar coma

 Hypoglycemia

 Pheochromocytoma

 Insulinoma

 Disorders of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate balance

 Inborn errors of metabolism

 Electrolyte disorders including Na, K, Mg, Ca, PO4 etc.

f. Infectious Disease Physiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Therapy

 Antibiotics: Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics

 Various antibacterial agents and newer emerging classes of antibiotics

 Antifungal agents

 Ant tuberculosis agents

 Antiviral agents

 Agents for parasitic infections

 Infection control for special care units

 AMR

 Universal precautions

 Isolation and reverse isolation

 Sepsis definitions (sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock)

 Systemic inflammatory response syndrome

 Tropical Infections, Emerging viral diseases (COVID-19 and its complications)

 Health care-associated and opportunistic infections in the critically ill

 Adverse reactions to antimicrobial agents

 ICU support of the immune-suppressed patient

 Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

 Transplant

 Pediatric malignancies

 Occupational hazards to healthcare workers

 Evaluation of fever in the ICU patient

g. Physiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Therapy of Acute Hematologic and Oncologic Disorders

 Acute defects in hemostasis: Thrombocytopenia/ DIC

 Anticoagulation; fibrinolytic therapy

 Principles of blood component therapy

 Packed red blood cell transfusions

 Fresh frozen plasma transfusions

 Platelet transfusions

 Specific coagulation factor concentrates

 Albumin

 Pharmacologic agents that modify the need for transfusion (i.e., aminocaproic acid, aprotinin)

 Erythropoietin

 Acute hemolytic disorders including thrombotic microangiopathies

 Acute syndromes associated with neoplastic disease and antineoplastic therapy

 Sickle cell crisis and acute chest syndrome

 Plasmapheresis

 ICU-acquired anaemia

 Oncologic emergencies

h. Physiology, Pathology, Pathophysiology, and Therapy of Acute Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary Disorders

 Upper gastrointestinal bleeding, including variceal bleeding

 Lower gastrointestinal bleeding

 Acute and fulminant hepatic failure

 Acute perforations of the gastrointestinal tract

 Perioperative management of surgical patients

 Stress ulcer prophylaxis

 Obstructive uropathy and its complications

i. Environmental Hazards

 Poisoning: Organophosphate poisoning, Hydrocarbon, etc.

 Envenomation: Snake envenomation, Scorpion sting etc.

 Drug overdose and withdrawal: Paracetamol, iron, TCA etc.

 Temperature-Related Injuries: Hyperthermia, heat shock, Hypothermia, frostbite

 Altitude sickness

 Decompression sickness

 Biological and chemical terrorism

 Radiation exposure

j. Immunology and Transplantation

 Principles of transplantation (organ donation, procurement, preservation, transportation, allocation, implantation, maintenance of organ donors, national organization of transplantation activities)

 Immunosuppression

 Organ transplantation: Indications of preoperative and postoperative care

 Transplant-related infectious disease

k. Monitoring, Bioengineering, Biostatistics

 Prognostic indexes, severity, and therapeutic intervention scores

 Principles of electrocardiographic monitoring, and transcutaneous measurements

 Invasive hemodynamic monitoring

 Principles of strain gauge transducers

 Principles of arterial, and central venous catheterization and monitoring

 Echo-based evaluation of cardiac function and derived hemodynamic variables

 Noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring

 Thermoregulation

 Central nervous system brain monitoring (intracranial pressure, NIRS,

cerebral metabolic rate, electroencephalogram, transcranial Doppler)

 Respiratory monitoring (airway pressure, intrathoracic pressure, tidal volume, pulse oximetry, dead space / tidal volume ratio, compliance, resistance, capnography, pneumotachograph)

 Metabolic monitoring (oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory quotient, indirect calorimetry)

 Use of Biostatistics and various tests of significance (SPSS or other soft wares)

l. Ethics

 Consent

 Study enrollment

 End-of-life decision-making and care

 Organ procurement

 Outcome and futility

 Quality of end of life

m. Administration

 Team building, Patient safety

 Organization of patient care

 Physician, nurse, and ancillary staff staffing models

 Documentation and compliance

 Mass casualty or disaster

n. Genetic

 Congenital disease (polysomy, monosomy, trisomy, etc.)

 Storage diseases

 Polymorphisms

 Fundamentals of Genetic testing

 Genetic counselling

o. Pharmacology

 Pharmacokinetics

 Pharmacodynamics

 Safe medication practice

 Drug dosing adjustments in hepatic disease

 Drug dosing adjustments in renal disease

Career Options

After completing a DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care, candidates will get employment opportunities in Government as well as in the Private sector.

In the Government sector, candidates have various options to choose from which include Registrar, Senior Resident, Demonstrator, Tutor etc.

While in the Private sector the options include Resident Doctor, Consultant, Visiting Consultant (Paediatric Critical Care), Junior Consultant, Senior Consultant (Paediatric Critical Care), etc.

Courses After DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care Course

DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care is a specialisation course that can be pursued after finishing a Postgraduate medical course. After pursuing a specialisation in DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care, a candidate could also pursue certificate courses and Fellowship programmes recognized by NMC and NBE, where DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care is a feeder qualification.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care Course

Question: What is the full form of DrNB?

Answer: The full form of DrNB is a Doctorate of National Board.

Question: What is a DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care?

Answer: DrNB Paediatric Critical Care or Doctorate of National Board in Paediatric Critical Care also known as DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care is a super speciality level course for doctors in India that they do after completion of their postgraduate medical degree course.

Question: What is the duration of a DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care?

Answer: DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care is a super speciality programme of three years.

Question: What is the eligibility of a DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care?

Answer: Candidates must have a postgraduate medical degree MD/DNB in Paediatrics from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (now NMC)/NBE. This feeder qualification is for the year 2022. For further updates, please refer to the NBE website.

Question: What is the scope of a DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care?

Answer: DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care offers candidates various employment opportunities and career prospects.

Question: What is the average salary for a DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care candidate?

Answer: The DrNB in Paediatric Critical Care candidate's average salary is Rs.6,00,000 – Rs.20,00,000 per annum depending on the experience.

Question: Can you teach after completing DrNB Course?

Answer: Yes, the candidate can teach in a medical college/hospital after completing the DrNB course.

Question: What is the difference between DrNB and DNB?

Answer: As of today, DrNB is a super-specialist qualification imparted by the NBE (SS level). Whereas DNB is a specialist qualification (PG level). Earlier DrNB used to be called DNB SS but now it is called DrNB.