Career Prospects for Medical Professionals Are Always Bright!
According to a recent survey, there is only 1 doctor per 1,700 citizens in India. The Union Health Ministry claimed last year that there are about 6 to 6.5 lakh doctors in India. Still, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends at least 1 doctor for 1,000 people – which means that we have a shortage of at least 4 lakh more doctors by 2020. It means that career prospects for medical professionals who are well-qualified and energetic are quite bright.
Career options in medical field offer you much more than money and fame. The aura of a good doctor or a surgeon provokes a reverence in society as he or she saves lives on everyday basis. It is a career and social service rolled into one neat package.
Medical , paramedical and lab technician courses
As a first step, a candidate needs to opt for Physics, Chemistry and Biology as their chosen subjects in Class 11. One needs to clear medical entrance examinations after Class 12 and pursue medical courses like MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery), BDS (Bachelors in Dental Studies), Homeopathy, Unani Medicine, Ayurveda or Siddha Medicine.
Besides these core medical courses, there are other career options too, like:
- Optometry,
- Anaesthetics,
- Nursing,
- Physiotherapy,
- Radiology,
- Pathology,
- Veterinary,
- Paramedical,
- Prosthetics, and
- Radio Isotope Techniques
Specialization courses like sports medicine, radiation medicine, ophthalmology, vitreo-retinal surgery, physical medicine, and psychiatry can be pursue after one gets MBBS degree. MBBS is basically a course of four and a half years plus one month of mandatory internship.
Eligibility criteria for medical fields
To be eligible to appear for a medical entrance exam in India, a candidate must:
- be at least 17 years old, and
- must have passed Class 12 board exams with Physics, Chemistry and Biology with at least 50% marks.
Some medical entrance exams require English as one of the compulsory subjects at Class 11 and 12 too.
It is to be noted that not all medical courses have same eligibility criteria. For example, a nutritionist courses may require students to have studied ‘Home Science’ at the Undergraduate level. Besides, some eligibility criteria may also vary from college to college.
Top Medical Colleges in India
There are about 335 medical colleges in India right. Some of the most popular are:
| Name of College |
Courses Offered |
Entrance Exam |
| All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) | Undergraduate: MBBS, B.Sc Nursing (Post Certificate), B.Sc (Hons) Nursing, B.Sc (Hons) Ophthalmic Techniques, B.Sc (Hons) Medical Technology |
AIIMS Entrance Test (for MBBS), Competitive Entrance Test (Nursing) |
| Post Graduate: MD, MS,MDS, M.Ch. | Entrance Test for MD/MS | |
| Doctoral: DM | ||
| Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi | Undergraduate: MBBS, BDS | Delhi University Medical Entrance Test (DUMET) |
| Post Graduate:MD, MS, Post Graduate Diploma in Geriartic Medicine, PGD in Maternity and Child Health |
All India PG Entrance Test/PG Entrance Exam conducted by the University of Delhi |
|
| Post Doctoral:DM, M.Ch | Entrance Exam conducted by the University of Delhi | |
| University College of Medical Science and Research Centre, New Delhi |
Undergraduate: MBBS, B.Sc Radiography | DUMET, AIPMT |
| Post graduate: MD, MDS | DUPGMET, AIPGEE | |
| Doctoral: DNB | ||
| Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh | Undergraduate: Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine & Surgery (BHMS) |
Common Entrance Test (CET) |
| National Institute of Homeopathy, Calcutta | Undergraduate: Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine & Surgery (BHMS) |
All India Written Competitive Test |
| Post Graduate: Doctor of Medicine in Homoeopathy (MD (Hom.)) |
All India Admission Test conducted by the West Bengal University of Health Sciences |
|
| Nehru Homeopathic Medical College, New Delhi | Undergraduate: Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine & Surgery (BHMS) |
Test conducted by University of Delhi |
| Post Graduate: Doctor of Medicine in Homoeopathy (MD (Hom.)) |
Test conducted by University of Delhi | |
| College of Nursing, Indore | Undergraduate: B.Sc Nursing | Selection Test conducted by Devi AhilyaVishwaVidyalaya, Indore |
| Post Graduate:M.Sc Nursing | Selection Test conducted by Devi AhilyaVishwaVidyalaya, Indore | |
| Government College of Nursing, Hyderabad | Undergraduate: B.Sc (Nursing) (2 years), B.Sc (Nursing) (4 years) |
Entrance Test conducted by the college |
| Post Graduate:M.Sc (Nursing) | Entrance Test conducted by the college | |
| Doctoral: PhD | ||
| Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Pondicherry |
Undergraduate: B.V.Sc. & A.H. | All India Pre-Veterinary Test (AIPVT) |
| Post Graduate:M.V.Sc. | Entrance Examination conducted by RAGACOVAS, Puducherry | |
| All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mumbai |
Undergraduate: Bachelor of Prosthetic and Orthotics, Diploma in Hearing Language and Speech (DHLS) |
Entrance test conducted by Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nasik |
| Post Graduate: MD (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation), DNB (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation), Master of Physiotherapy, Master of Occupational Therapy, Master of Prosthetics and Orthotics |
Entrance test conducted by Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nasik |
|
| Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai |
Doctoral: Ph.D. Audiology and Speech Language Pathology |
|
| PanditDeendayalUpadhyayaInstitute for the Physically Handicapped, New Delhi |
Undergraduate: Bachelor of Physical Therapy (BPT), Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (BOT), Bachelor of Prosthetics & Orthotics (BPO) |
Common entrance test conducted by University of Delhi |
| National Institute of Criminology, New Delhi | Post Graduate: PG Diploma in Forensic Science, M.Sc. Criminology, M.Sc. in Forensic Science |
Admission test conducted by the Delhi University |
| Amar Jyoti Institute of Physiotherapy, Delhi | Undergraduate: B.Sc. (Hons) Physical Therapy |
Entrance test conducted by the Delhi University |
| Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Medical College, Bangalore | Undergraduate: MBBS, BPT, B.Sc (Medical Lab Technology), B.Sc (Radiography) |
Karnataka CET |
| Post Graduate: MD, PG Diploma courses | ||
| Florence College of Physiotherapy, Bangalore | Undergraduate: Bachelor of Physiotherapy |
Selection based on merit |
| Post Graduate: Master of Physiotherapy | ||
| The Institute of Health Management & Research (IHMR), Jaipur |
Post Graduate: PGD in Hospital Management |
Management Aptitude Test (MAT) |
| Doctoral: Fellowship Program in Hospital Management |
||
| Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration, Hyderabad | Postgraduate:Master In Hospital Management |
Management Aptitude Test (MAT) |
| Army College of Dental Sciences, Secunderabad | Undergraduate:Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) |
Combined Written Admission Test (C-WAT) conducted by ACDS, EAMCET (Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test) |
| Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Patna |
Undergraduate: BDS | Combined Entrance Test conducted by Bihar Minority Dental Colleges Association |
| Post Graduate: MDS | Based on merit |
Popular Medical Entrance Exams in India
| Name of Exam |
Conducted by | Application forms are issued in |
Exam takes place in |
| Undergraduate Level |
|||
| AIPMT (All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Test) |
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) |
December | April (Prelims) and May (Mains) |
| AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science Entrance Test) |
AIIMS | February | June |
| JIPMER (Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research) Medical Entrance Test |
JIPMER | March | June |
| Christian Medical College Entrance Exam |
CMC Vellore | March | May |
| Banaras Hindu University Pre-Medical Test (BHU-PMT) |
BHU | January | May (Prelims) and June (Mains) |
| Manipal University Admissions Test for Undergraduate Studies |
Manipal University | February | Between April and May |
| Postgraduate Level |
|||
| AIPGEE (All India Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination) |
AIIMS | December | January |
| DUPGMET (Delhi University Post Graduate Medical Entrance Test) |
Delhi University | December | Februarys |
The government of India is trying to introduce a single-window medical entrance exam for all medical colleges in India.
Note: The Medical Council of India will be conducting a common entrance test from year 2013, replacing the present system of individual state level or individual university or college conducted exams, for entry into almost all medical colleges in the country, except AIIMS. This will help students as they will need to take lesser number of entrance exams from next year onwards.
How to Prepare for Medical Entrance Examination?
Only 40 to 45,000 medical seats are available across all medical colleges in India while lakhs of medical aspirants sit for the exam this year. The rule of the thumb is to start with medical exam preparation with NCERT books for Class 11 and Class 12.
Other popular books to prepare for medical entrance exams are:
- Biology: Pradeep’s Biology by S.C. Verma (Part-1 and 2)
- Trueman’s Objective Biology Vol. I & II for Medical Entrance Examination by J.P. Goyal
- Dinesh Objective Biology
- Universal Self Scorer Biology for AIPMT, AIIMS, AFMC & Various Medical Entrance Exams by Universal Publishers
- Chemistry: Organic Chemistry by Morrision& Boyd
- Physical Chemistry by Peter Atkins & Julio de Paula
- Modern ABC of Textbook Chemistry Vol. I & II For Class 12 by Dr. S. P. Jauhar
- Arihant: An Objective Approach to Organic Chemistry by Dr. R.K. Gupta
- Dinesh Objective Chemistry
- C.B.S.E. P.M.T. (Vol. I, II and III) by Anil Aggarwal
- Concepts of Physics (Part 1 and 2) by H.C. Verma
- Oswaal 10 Mock test Papers for AIIMS Delhi (Medical)
These days, online coaching for AIPMT and medical entrance exams is easily available. These coaching service providers offer you instant resolution of your queries, flexibility of time, easy accessibility, best resources right at your home and all-India test series that proves invaluable in offering you a real perspective of what you can expect in the exam.
AIPMT 2015 Preparatory Course (Online and DVD Mode)