PG? What are the options?
Wow, this is probably one of the biggest concerns for anyone who’s finished MBBS or is soon to be done with it. Unless maybe if you’ve already booked a seat somewhere and the mundane worries of the rest of us plebeians are not your concern.
But apart from those people, most of us have this worry about going into residency since just an MBBS degree isn’t enough to garner patients and or get long term employment. After all there’s a limit to how long you can work as a non-academic junior resident without actually getting a Masters.
With a lot of countries restricting the entry of foreign medical students into their residency programs, there are pretty much only two viable choices left to students right out of MBBS who don’t have a permanent residency abroad. These are- the USA and Germany.
Of course everyone knows about the USMLE and its “Steps”. Germany though is a lot more complicated in that the rules are different from state to state within the country, which makes getting a residency a lot like applying for a job where you have to convince the hospital and department that you are the best choice among the many applying.
What I feel is that if someone doesn’t really want to stay in India for the rest of their lives, has enough money to last a year or so before getting a job, and the tenacity to go put themselves out there and get a residency, and can learn the language, Germany is definitely a great choice. While residencies are much longer (twice as long as in India) the work load, and quality of life is significantly better.
Otherwise, of course there are the NEET-PG and DNB exams closer home which are famously tough to “crack” and insanely limited compared to the number of undergraduate medical seats there are.
Still there is a continuous rise in the number of seats available each year, and if the NMC (National Medical Commission) bill is passed there will be an even larger number of seats available at both the UG and PG levels.
After considering all my options, I have still made the decision to stay in India and do a Medical residency in a government college (have you even see the fees in private colleges?! Ain’t no one got cash for dat!)
If anyone has questions please go ahead and send me a message or reply to this post. I’ll be happy to start a conversation!
