Messed up calendar for MBBS, BDS Internship leaves medicos unsure about eligibility for NEET PG 2022

This has happened due to the lengthy college closures which forced a change in the calendar of events, adds TOI.

The situation is so severe that several candidates are unsure about their future in the NEET-PG 2022 examination as they are yet to fulfill the eligibility criteria by completing the mandatory internship program.

Even though the calendar of the Dental Council of India requires that the Internships commence in August and end by July, because of the delay in conducting examinations, the colleges have been forced to draw up their own schedule.

"Meanwhile, 2017 batch students who have completed their final examination are ready for intern- ships. We have made elaborate arrangements to avoid an overlap. It will take some time for things to settle down," he added.

Claiming that they are only a few months behind the schedule,

Dr US Krishna Nayak, principal and dean, AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Derlakatte informed that their college completed the internship programme in October and in fact the new batch also started theirs in January.

"We are running only a few months behind schedule compared to other colleges. Early completion of internships has helped dental graduates prepare for PG-NEET scheduled in March," he said.

Mentioning that the pandemic has adversely affected the education of MBBS batches of 2021 and 2022, Dr Antony Sylvan D'Souza, dean, Father Muller Medical College stated that contrary to the normal schedule of initiating the MBBS course from mid-August, the last batch started in February 2021 and there is no news regarding the current batch yet.

"Internships will become a tough job when the same course starts at different schedules with a gap of several months," he added.

Due to this messed up schedule, the aspirants of NEET-PG entrance examination are worried because they are unsure whether or not they will be able to appear in the test after fulfilling the eligibility criteria of mandatory internship.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that several students had expressed their frustration regarding the NEET PG 2022 date, which is clashing with the ongoing NEET PG 2021 counselling schedule.

Students started demanding to defer the exam on their Twitter handles and supporting their cause, several organizations including Gujarat Intern Doctors' Association (GIDA), NSUI, IMA JDN Maharashtra had also pointed out how several students would not be able to appear in the examination for their pending MBBS internship training period.

In fact, citing the pending MBBS internship as the reason, some MBBS graduates recently approached the Supreme Court seeking a postponement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Post Graduation NEET PG 2022.

Filed by six MBBS graduates, the plea pointed out that hundreds of MBBS graduates would not be able to appear in the entrance exam, scheduled on March 12, 2022, as their mandatory MBBS internship training will stand incomplete.

The plea has also sought an extension of the deadline of completion of the internship from May 31.

Not only MBBS graduates, but the dental graduates who are preparing for the NEET-PG exam are also worried. Speaking to TOI, an intern said, "We have not completed our internship and may have to wait for another examination. It would be helpful if PG-NEET is postponed by a few months."