FNB Minimal Access Surgery: Admissions, Medical Colleges, fees, Eligibility Criteria details

FNB Minimal Access Surgery or Fellow of National Board in Minimal Access Surgery also known as FNB in Minimal Access surgery is a doctoral fellowship program for doctors in India that is done by them after completion of their postgraduate medical degree course. The duration of the FNB course is for 2 years.

The goal of the MAS Fellowship is to provide the fellow with the necessary training and education to be comfortable in the performance of a wide variety of minimally invasive access surgery procedures.

The course is a full-time course pursued at various accredited institutes/hospitals across the country, the top institutes include Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, P.D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre, and more.

Candidates can get admission to 2 years FNB course after successfully qualifying for the FET (Fellowship Entrance Test) examination which NBEMS conducts. FET is conducted annually as per the prescribed schedule. The merit-based counseling for admissions to the FNB Programme after the conduct of FET is administered by NBEMS.

The fee for pursuing FNB Minimal Access Surgery varies from accredited institutes/hospital to hospital and is around Rs.1,25,000 per year.

After completion of their respective course, doctors can either join the job market. Candidates can take reputed jobs at positions as research fellows, Senior residents, Consultants, etc. with an approximate salary range of Rs. 13 lakhs to Rs. 95 lakhs per year which varies according to experience.

The Nomenclature of the FNB qualification awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences is “Fellow of National Board”. The FNB qualifications are recognized qualifications in terms of the Gazette notification dated 10th August 2016.

What is FNB in Minimal Access Surgery?

FNB in Minimal Access Surgery is a two-year doctoral fellowship program that candidates can pursue after completing a postgraduate degree.

The goal of the MAS Fellowship is to provide the fellow with the necessary training and education to be comfortable in the performance of a wide variety of minimally invasive access surgery procedures.

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has released a curriculum for FNB Minimal Access Surgery.

The curriculum governs the education and training of FNB Minimal Access Surgery.

Course Highlights

Here are some of the course highlights of FNB Minimal Access Surgery

Name of Course	FNB Minimal Access Surgery
Level	Fellowship
Duration of Course	Two years
Course Mode	Full Time
Minimum Academic Requirement	Candidates must have a postgraduate medical Degree in DNB/MS General Surgery obtained from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (Now NMC)/NBE, this feeder qualification mentioned here is as of 2022. For any further changes to the prerequisite requirement please refer to the NBE website
Admission Process / Entrance Process / Entrance Modalities	Entrance Exam (FET)  Merit-based counseling administered by NBEMS
Course Fees	Rs.1,25,000 per year
Average Salary	Rs. 13 lakhs to Rs.95 lakhs per year

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for FNB in Minimal Access Surgery are defined as the set of rules or minimum prerequisites that aspirants must meet in order to be eligible for admission, which includes:

Name of Fellowship course	Course Type	Prior Eligibility Requirement
Minimal Access Surgery	FNB	DNB/MS General Surgery

Note:

Admission Process

The admission process contains a few steps to be followed for the candidates for admission to FNB. Candidates can view the complete admission process for FNB Minimal Access Surgery mentioned below:

• FET is a qualifying-cum-ranking examination for admission to Fellow of National Board (FNB)/Fellow of National Board - Post Doctoral (FNB-PD) courses.
• The selection of a student will be through an MCQ-based examination namely Fellowship Entrance Test.
• A student can apply for the fellowship courses for which his/her broad or super specialty qualification/ equivalent qualification is eligible, at the time of online submission of the application form.
• The total duration of the question paper will be 105 minutes (Part A - 45 minutes and Part B - 60 minutes).
• QUALIFYING CRITERIA: Students who obtain a minimum of 50th Percentile in their respective question paper/specialty shall be declared as “Qualified”.
• NBEMS shall declare a specialty-wise merit list i.e., there will be a separate merit list for each fellowship course. There shall not be any equating/scaling and normalization. The merit shall be generated strictly based on marks obtained by the student and the application of the prescribed tie-breaking criteria.
• The admission to Fellowship courses in the accredited hospitals shall be undertaken solely based on merit-based counseling conducted by NBEMS.
• Documents required to be produced at the time of counseling: MBBS Degree Certificate and MD/MS/DNB/DM/MCh/DrNB Degree Certificate/Provisional Pass Certificate of eligible Post Graduate Medical Qualification issued.

Fees Structure

The fee structure for FNB Minimal Access Surgery 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 FNB Minimal Access Surgery is Rs.1,25,000 per year. 

Colleges offering FNB Minimal Access Surgery 

Various accredited institutes/hospitals across India offer courses for pursuing FNB in Minimal Access Surgery.

As per the National Board of Examinations website, the following accredited institutes/hospitals are offering FNB (Minimal Access Surgery) courses for the academic year 2022-23.

Syllabus

FNB in Minimal Access Surgery is a two years specialization course that provides training in the stream of Minimal Access Surgery.

The course content for FNB Minimal Access Surgery is given in the NBE Curriculum released by the National Board of Examinations, which can be assessed through the link mentioned below:

1. Soft Skill Development

i. To develop familiarization with equipment, Knotting and suturing Techniques, basic knowledge of instrumentation and Energy Sources, and learning basic surgical procedures in the lab.

ii. Minimum of log book certified 8-10 hours’/month practice on Trainer in the

Training Center at the beginning of the training for the first six months (the training should be continued throughout the course with the type of training model differing based on the experience and exposure of the candidate - first 6 months/next 6 months and so on)

iii. the Thereafter suturing practice of a total of 30 hours on any trainer which should be certified by the consultant with a log book.

2. Presentation, Publications & Project Work

i. Under faculty guidance, presentations for local, regional & national, and International conferences.

ii. Essential requirements

iii. Minimum two presentations per year State/ National conferences

iv. Minimum two publications at least one should be original research work (Pubmed indexed / DOAJ /Embase based as per MCI requirement) or 4 presentations in National or 1 International Oral presentation will be treated equally to 3 National presentations.

3. Video Learning, Grand Rounds, Faculty Discussions

i. Review of recorded surgical procedures with Faculty input.

ii. Recording and editing of Videos

iii. Specific/specialized Surgery Grand Round/Clinical Case Conference, Journal Club, and Round Table Discussions (at least 2 /week of 1 hour each), the schedule

should be available for the whole year with one faculty as moderator of the session

iv. Round table meets and seminars will routinely update the academic content of the program. This will be supplemented with Clinical Learning, through outpatient clinics, ward rounds, and presentations, and operative experience in

the form of assisting and being proctored over surgical procedures

v. Monthly Clinical Audit

4. Sessions in Imaging Clinics

i. Learning of Ultrasound, CT scan, MRI & Various Procedures

5. Operative Sessions

i. A Candidate is expected to maintain a certified Log book indicating several cases assisted or individually operated under the guidance of faculty or

independently.

6. Rotation

i. Training programs in MAS should be in a multidisciplinary center of MAS to enable adequate exposure to the subspecialties in MAS.

ii. A candidate during his tenure of two years should have rotation in

Gastroenterology (endoscopy-15 days) and 1-month bariatric surgery, if this is not available in the unit where the fellowship is being undertaken.

iii. If there are multiple units/departments in the Institute doing MAS, then a rotation policy should be there in units that are recognized by NBE for FNBtraining, and rotation is required if units are engaged in a specific type of work. All these aspects of all-round exposure of the candidates to all aspects of MAS should be sorted out before applying for the FNB and at the time of inspection by the FNB-appointed assessors.

iv. A candidate should be given the option of visiting any other center/ Institute in the country or outside the country (at his own expense) for exposure to a new area of MAS or where his exposure is less, for 4 weeks in the entire two-year course.

v. Attendance for the entire course duration should be more than 80% which would be the criteria for giving exams Health related issues and inability to complete the term sanctioning would be at the discretion of the NBE. Leave rules as applicable by NBE otherwise.

Career Options

After completing FNB Minimal Access Surgery, candidates will get employment opportunities in Government and the Private sector.

In the Government sector, candidates have various options to choose from which include Junior research fellow, Teaching at academic medical centers, and Consultants.

While in the Private sector, the options are Fellow (Minimal Access Surgery), Junior research fellow, Senior Research fellow (Minimal Access Surgery), and Consultants.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) –FNB Minimal Access Surgery Course/ FNB in Minimal Access Surgery Course 

•  Question: What is the complete full form of FNB?

Answer: The full form of FNB is a Fellow of National board.

•  Question: What is an FNB Minimal Access Surgery?

Answer: FNB in Minimal Access Surgery or Fellow of National Board in Minimal Access Surgery is a doctoral fellowship program for doctors in India that is done by them after completion of their postgraduate medical degree course. The duration of the FNB course is for 2 years.

• Question: What is the duration of an FNB in Minimal Access Surgery?

Answer: FNB in Minimal Access Surgery is a doctoral fellowship program of two years.

• Question: What is the eligibility of an FNB in Minimal Access Surgery?

Answer: The candidate must have a postgraduate medical Degree in DNB/MS General Surgery obtained from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (Now NMC)/NBE., this feeder qualification mentioned here is as of 2022. For any further changes to the prerequisite requirement please refer to the NBE website.

• Question: What is the scope of FNB Minimal Access Surgery?

Answer: FNB Minimal Access Surgery offers candidates various employment opportunities and career prospects.

• Question: What is the average salary for an FNB Minimal Access Surgery candidate?

Answer: The FNB Minimal Access Surgery candidate’s average salary is between Rs.13 lakhs to Rs. 95 lakhs per annum depending on the experience.

• Question: Can you teach after completing FNB Minimal Access Surgery Course?

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