The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduates (NEET-PG) 2024 is still haunting the candidates as the case hearing on discrepancies continues to languish in the Supreme Court, despite its urgency, while the registration for the Round 1 counselling round began on September 20.
If NEET-PG is coming with too much baggage, how about considering the United States Medical Licencing Examination (USMLE) as an alternative, to ensure that you see your dreams of pursuing medicine through?
Before we examine the option, let's understand what USMLE is.
The USMLE is a three-step examination for a medical licence in the United States of America (USA or US) conducted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
The test, which has three steps, assesses a physician's ability to apply knowledge, concepts, and principles to demonstrate fundamental patient-centred skills, which also constitute the basis of safe and effective patient care.
With the delay in the apex court's verdict about the discrepancies in the NEET PG 2024, a few of the candidates took to social media, stating NEET PG is tougher than the USMLE.
NEET PG 2024 has been marred by several discrepancies, such as cut-off inflation, discrepancies in scorecards, issues related to non-transparency, and others.
Speaking to EdexLive, a NEET PG aspirant and an MBBS graduate of Kasturba Medical College (KMC) of Manipal, Dr Bhavesh Varandani, said, "The NEET PG exam date was changed multiple times this year, which led to us losing focus and momentum. On the other hand, USMLE allows us to appear for the test at our discretion."
"Furthermore, if we fail the tests, we can retry in three months, however, NEET PG does not allow that. It will take a year or maybe 1.5 years for us to reappear for the exam," he added.
"Although this year's NEET PG was well-organised, there is a healthy increase in the competition as the study material is widely available and the coaching culture is growing," he said.
"The match process can be cumbersome, but the passing percentage is quite high. Even if you don’t match, you can still work in India while reapplying next year, improving your CV by addressing the points that held you back. Plus, your Step 1 and 2 scores remain valid for seven years. In contrast, if you miss out on a government seat in the general category in India, you have to go back to studying again, making NEET PG that much tougher," Varandani added.
Here are a few tweets:
It may be recalled that NEET PG candidates often complain about not obtaining the desired branch due to the increase in competition. USMLE can come as a refreshing alternative in this light.
Hefty cost
But, not so fast, Director of Career Xpert Gaurav Tyagi cautions, saying that USMLE would involve hefty expenses. "USMLE is a time-consuming process as it involves three steps. Additionally, the test costs around Rs 1 lakh, which may lead to financial difficulties for students."
"Even if many candidates pass the first step, they still need to travel to the US to take the second, which doubles the cost," he alerts.
Additionally, Tyagi reveals that around 10 to 20 per cent of candidates who allege non-transparency in the current system would prefer USMLE or other medical examinations, whereas, most of the medical aspirants continue to appear and reappear for NEET-PG.
