NBE Diploma In Family Medicine: Admissions, Medical Colleges, fees, eligibility criteria details

NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine (D Fam. Med.) also known as National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences Diploma in Family Medicine (D Fam. Med. NBEMS) is a Postgraduate level course for doctors in India that is done by them after completion of their MBBS. The duration of this postgraduate course is 2 years, which deals with a wide variety of illnesses and provides comprehensive health care for people of all ages and genders.

The course is a full-time course pursued at various recognized medical colleges across the country. Some of the medical colleges offering this course include Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Central Railway Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Government Multi Specialty Hospital Sector-16, Chandigarh, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital Principal Medical Officer General hospital, Alwar, Rajasthan and more.

Admission to this course is done through the NEET PG 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 NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine (D Fam. Med) is Rs.1,25,000 per year.

After completion of their respective course, doctors can either join the job market or pursue higher degree courses like master’s degrees and research degree courses recognized by NBEMS, where NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is a feeder qualification. Candidates can take reputed jobs positions such as Registrar, Senior Resident, Demonstrator, Tutor, etc.

While in the Private sector, the options include General Physician, Resident Doctor, Consultant, Visiting Consultant (Family Medicine Specialist), Junior Consultant, Senior Consultant (Family Medicine Specialist), Medical Professor, Medical Researcher, Lecturer etc. with an approximate salary range of Rs. 10,00,000 to Rs. 14,00,000 per annum.

What is NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine?

NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine (D Fam. Med.) also known as National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences Diploma in Family Medicine is a two-year postgraduate programme that candidates can pursue after completing MBBS.

Family Medicine is the branch of medical science that provides comprehensive healthcare services for people of all ages and genders, suggest clinical tests and monitors chronic illness.

National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has released a Guidelines for Competency-Based Postgraduate Training Programme for NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine.

The Competency-Based Postgraduate Training Programme governs the education and training of NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine.

The diploma 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 Family Medicine 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 should be a highly competent Family Medicine Specialist possessing a broad range of skills that will enable her/him to practice Family Medicine independently.

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 NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine

Name of Course	NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine
Level	Postgraduate
Duration of Course	Two years
Course Mode	Full Time
Minimum Academic Requirement	Candidates must have successfully completed an MBBS degree obtained from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (MCI) now NMC and should have completed one year of Internship.
Admission Process / Entrance Process / Entrance Modalities	Entrance Exam (NEET PG) INI CET for various AIIMS, PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, NIMHANS Bengaluru Counseling by DGHS/MCC/State Authorities
Course Fees	Rs. 1,25,000/- per year
Average Salary	Rs. 10,00,000 to Rs. 14,00,000 per annum

Eligibility Criteria

• The eligibility criteria for NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine are defined as the set of rules or minimum prerequisites that aspirants must meet in order to be eligible for admission, which includes:
• Candidates in possession of an MBBS degree or Provisional MBBS Pass Certificate recognized as per the provisions of the NBEMS Act, 2019 and the repealed Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and possessing permanent or provisional registration certificate of MBBS qualification issued by the NBEMS/ the erstwhile Medical Council of India or State Medical Council and have completed one year of internship.
• The candidate must have obtained permanent registration with any State Medical Council to be eligible for admission.
• The medical college’s recognition cut-off dates for the MBBS Degree courses and compulsory rotatory Internship shall be as prescribed by the Medical Council of India (now NBEMS).

Admission Process

The admission process contains a few steps to be followed in order by the candidates for admission to NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine. Candidates can view the complete admission process for NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine mentioned below:

• The Post MBBS trainees get admission to 2 years Diploma course after successfully qualifying for the NEET-PG examination which is conducted by NBEMS. NEET-PG is conducted annually as per the prescribed schedule.
• The merit-based counselling for admissions to 2 years Post MBBS Diploma Programme after the conduct of NEET-PG is administered by the Medical Counseling Committee of DGHS, MoHFW, Govt of India along with the counselling for admissions to various MD/MS/PG Diploma courses.
• Registration as NBEMS Diploma Trainee: After opting for an NBEMS Diploma seat for the 2-year diploma courses, the trainee is registered with NBEMS for Diploma training in respective courses.

Fee Structure

The fee structure for NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is generally less for Government Institutes and more for private institutes. The average fee structure for NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is Rs. 1,25,000 per year.

Colleges offering NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine

There are various medical colleges across India that offer courses for pursuing NBEMS Diploma Family Medicine (D Fam. Med.).

As per the NBEMS website, the following medical colleges are offering NBEMS Diploma (Family Medicine) courses for the academic year 2022-23.

Syllabus

NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is a two years post-graduation course that provides training in the stream of Family Medicine.

The course content for NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is given in the Competency-Based Postgraduate Training Programme released by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, which can be assessed through the link mentioned below:

The Family Medicine physician should possess the core content of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, which would enable him/her to effectively address the common health problems (and issues arising from them) in the community health centre.

1. Specific Patient Groups

The Family Medicine physician should be able to deal with the unique health issues affecting specific groups of people as listed below:

i. Newborns and Infants: Neonatal resuscitation, growth, and development, nutrition, childhood immunization, recognition and referral of common birth anomalies, and common childhood emergencies.

ii. Children: Nutrition and development, common childhood infections, behaviour disorders, emergencies, child abuse issues

iii. Adolescents: Problems of puberty, adolescent behavioural problems, school health

iv. Women:

• Breast pain, breast lumps, abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, premenstrual syndrome, menopause, osteoporosis, contraception, vaginal discharge, infertility, screening, and early detection of genital tract malignancy.
• Obstetrics, Antenatal care: Diagnosis and management of pregnancy, including common complaints during pregnancy, excessive vomiting, medications, antenatal care, and fetal monitoring, diagnosis, and referral of high-risk pregnancy cases.
• Management of normal labour including, diagnosis, conduct, use of portogram, active management of the third stage, diagnosis of fetal distress, detection of abnormal progress, manual removal of placenta, management of puerperium, infection control, neonatal resuscitation, episiotomy/ perineal tear/ cervical tear management, management of postpartum collapse. The resident should be able to perform an assisted vaginal delivery.

v. Elderly: Comprehensive assessment of older persons addresses unique problems such as falls, incontinence, delirium, dementia, common diseases in the elderly, prescribing in elderly, recognising and addressing social problems.

vi. Disabled: Certification of disability, rehabilitation

vii. Terminally Ill Patients: Palliative care, communication skills in bereavement

2. Principles of Family Medicine

Family medicine is a medical speciality, which provides continuing, comprehensive healthcare for the individual and family. It is a speciality in breadth that integrates the biological, clinical, and behavioural sciences. The scope of family medicine encompasses all ages, both sexes, each organ system, and every disease entity.

The principles of Family Medicine include:

• Person-centred care
• Understanding the context of the illness
• Health promotion and disease prevention
• Seeing the practice as a population at risk
• Collaborative, coordinated, team-based care
• Community-based care
• Home-based care
• Importance of subjective aspects of medicine
• Resource management and health advocacy

3. Common Symptoms

The Family Medicine physician should be able to diagnose and manage patients presenting with typical symptoms at a CHC. Unlike a tertiary hospital where patients are sent to different departments depending on their symptoms, the physician at the CHC will see the “undifferentiated patient” with symptoms and diseases across all age groups and organs. They will also see patients presenting with non-specific symptoms, which could be the initial presentation of a disease. Patients will also present with multiple co-morbidities that will require a holistic approach to diagnosis and management.

Symptoms in Family Medicine

A. Gastro-intestinal tract:

• Abdominal Pain
• Anorectal Disorders
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Dyspepsia
• Dysphagia
• Hematemesis and Melena
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Jaundice

B. Cardiovascular and Respiratory

• Cough
• Chest Pain
• Dyspnoea
• Palpitations
• Hemoptysis

C. Central Nervous System/ Eye/ ENT

• Dizziness
• Deafness and hearing loss
• Painful/Discharging Ear
• Red/ painful eye
• Reduced Vision
• Faints and fits
• Headache
• Hoarseness
• Sore Throat
• Sleep disorders
• Unconscious Patient
• Paralysis/Weakness

D. Musculoskeletal System

• Arthritis
• Back pain
• Facial pain
• Neck pain
• Shoulder pain
• Hip and buttock pain
• Painful leg
• Painful knee
• Pain in foot and ankle
• Pain in arm and hand
• Painful elbow
• Limp

E. Mental Health

• The disturbed patient
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Substance abuse
• Agitated patient
• Medically unexplained physical symptoms
• Grief

F. Miscellaneous

• Neck Lumps
• Weight gain/ loss
• Mouth ulcers, leg ulcers
• Edema
• Urinary Problems
• Obesity

G. Social Issues

• Domestic violence
• Sexual assault
• Child abuse
• Elder abuse

H. Infectious Diseases

• Fever with localizing symptoms
• Acute undifferentiated fever

I. Skin Problems

• Pruritus
• Skin Ulcers
• Hair and Nail Disorders
• Skin-Rash,Vésicules, Pigmentation, Plaques, Nodules, Bullae

J. Sexual Health/ Genital Symptoms

• Erectile dysfunction
• Inguinoscrotal lumps
• Scrotal pain
• Disorders of the penis
• Disorders of the prostate
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• Infertility
• Contraception

K. Common Chronic Diseases

• Allergy
• Asthma
• COPD
• Epilepsy
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Dyslipidemia
• Ischemic Heart Disease

4. Emergency Medicine

The Family Medicine physician should possess the skills to recognize and treat the following common emergencies and to arrange to transport to tertiary care, those patients requiring more sophisticated treatment.

• Acutely Dyspnoeic Patient
• Chest Pain
• Cardiac Arrest
• Loss of Consciousness
• Seizures
• Paralysis
• Epistaxis
• Acute Gastrointestinal Emergencies
• Trauma including road traffic accidents, sexual assault, victims of violence, mass casualty, drowning, and near-drowning
• Hemoptysis
• Acute burns
• Acute musculoskeletal disorders including fractures, sprains, dislocations and compartment syndromes
• Common poisonings, animal bites and stings
• Environmental disasters (floods, earthquakes, Etc.)
• Acute urinary system disorders including retention and anuria
• Psychiatric emergencies
• Choking
• Shock

Career Options

After completing an NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine, 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 (Family Medicine Specialist), Junior Consultant, Senior Consultant (Family Medicine Specialist), General Physician, Medical Professor, Medical Researcher, Lecturer, etc.

Courses After NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine Course

NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is a post-graduation course that can be pursued after finishing MBBS. After pursuing a specialization in NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine, a candidate could also pursue higher degree courses like master’s degree and research degree courses recognized by NBEMS, where NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is a feeder qualification.

Candidates possessing NBEMS diploma qualifications can also appear in the DNB PDCET examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations for admission to Post Diploma DNB Broad specialty Courses.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – PG Diploma in Family Medicine

• Question: What is the full form of the NBEMS diploma?

Answer: The full form of NBEMS is the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences.

• Question: What is an NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine?

Answer: NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine also known as Diploma in Family Medicine (D. Fam. Med.) is a Postgraduate level course for doctors in India that is done by them after completion of their MBBS.

• Question: What is the duration of an NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine?

Answer: NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine is a postgraduate program of two years.

• Question: What is the eligibility for an NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine?

Answer: The Candidates must have successfully completed an MBBS degree obtained from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (MCI) now NMC and should have completed one year of Internship.

• Question: What is the scope of an NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine?

Answer: NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine offers candidates various employment opportunities and career prospects.

• Question: What is the average salary for an NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine postgraduate candidate?

Answer: The NBEMS Diploma in Family Medicine candidate’s average salary is between Rs. 10,00,000 to Rs. 14,00,000 per annum depending on the experience.