Most medical aspirants target the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test postgraduate ( NEET PG) which is the entrance exam for higher studies in the field of medicine. It works as a sorting mechanism to bifurcate the talent into the various fields of medicine based on available college seats and geographical locations.
NEET PG works on systematic and merit-based allocation, however, almost half of the applicants fail to clear the test. As of 2020, the system registered 1,67,102 students while 1,60,888 appeared for the entrance test, with 89,549 passing the exam. Among those who do manage to get through, a majority do not get a seat allocated in their chosen field of speciality. This translates to a substantial number of aspirants choosing to reattempt the NEET PG in the following year.
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Allied, New-Age Medical Roles: For candidates who are unable to crack the exam or land the field of study they wish to apply for, there are several allied streams to consider. These include medical affairs or healthcare management roles which are coming up as a prominent field within healthcare. Furthermore, medical devices manufacturing and medical content creation, both for pharmaceutical bodies and other healthcare ancillary service providers or ed-tech companies are shaping a few careers on the sidelines of medicine.
Career Abroad: There are some who travel abroad to take up medical roles across the globe. In pursuit of these overseas assignments, students need to prepare for other tests and evaluations like PLAB for the UK, USMLE for the United States, and other local body examinations for countries like Australia and Canada.
Most students who fail the test filter down to three broad categories, that is, government services, which include the medical armed service, corporate sector or jobs in leading corporate hospitals, or practice of their own. All three types will eventually funnel down to the single point focus of career building.
Certificate Courses: Upskilling becomes the only way these doctors can train, specialize, and get certified in a career pathway or specialization of choice. The available options now include both online and blended learning programs with basic, advanced, and fellowship certifications.
With the evident limitations of the system in place, these certifications have become a norm of the day and have received ample industry validation and acceptance. Young doctors and medical professionals with similar specializations and certifications are given the platform to advance in their fields of interest based on these credentials. This also takes the burden of diseases off of the shoulders of the existing healthcare infrastructure that is severely overworked in handling situations like the pandemic. These certifications play an important role in shaping the medical careers of young doctors and also in ensuring they gain expertise in a medical specialization of their choice.
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Fellowship: Doctors who have begun to invest time and energy in their practice will most likely choose a fellowship in Diabetes Mellitus as it is a growing field of interest and makes for a lucrative career pathway. Fellowships in internal medicine, family medicine, or pulmonology are other top categories that interest young physicians looking to grow their practice. The students who engage in government services also identify diabetes and internal medicine as two important fields of medical specialization to be of interest owing to their future potential.
The corporate sector with its larger chains of hospitals and healthcare institutions seems to have more bearing for particular streams relating to acute conditions. Doctors taking up jobs at such large healthcare setups will find a certification like a fellowship in critical care medicine or in emergency medicine to be extremely rewarding in terms of available positions and the packages that go along with them. A young doctor with the aforementioned certifications can easily start their medical career at a leading hospital with a starting salary package, upwards of one lakh rupees per month.
— Authored by Gerald Jaideep, CEO, of Medvarsity
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