NATIONAL BOARD OF

EXAMINATIONS

ANBAI MEETING
3rd AUGUST,BANGALORE
I. FEES

Discussion point a & b

NBE constituted a committee under the chairpersonship of Dr. R.N. Salhan.

The committee consulted various stakeholders who are involved and would be
affected by the revision of fees for DNB candidates.

The committee has given its report for revision of fee rules and fee schedule &
guidelines for the DNB candidates.

The committee has recommended the revision of fees to Rs, 100,000 and has also
prescribed a yearly breakup of fees for the candidates to prevent any immediate
monetary burden on them and their families.

Here comes your footer Page 2

I. FEES

The committee has also specified that the fee shall be paid by the candidate only
through Demand Draft/Cheque/electronic transfer and under no circumstances by
cash.

The committee has also made recommendations on the stipend for DNB
candidates, which either be as mentioned below or as per State Government
Norms, whichever is higher.

For year 1 Rs. 22000/-

For year 2 Rs. 23500/-

For year 3 Rs.25000/-

Here comes your footer Page 3

I. FEES

For Post Diploma candidates, the stipend shall be as follows

Year 1 Equivalent to DNB year 2 stipend

Year 2 Equivalent to DNB year 3 stipend

Here comes your footer Page 4

II. STUDENT RELATED ISSUES

Discussion Point 1. Duty Hours

National Board of examinations has not prescribed in any of its guidelines, any
specific number of hours for DNB students for performance of clinical/ hospital
duties.

The candidates are required to be on duty and discharge clinical and hospital
work as may be assigned by the hospital/ institution administration.

Discussion Point 2. Announcement of Results of the DNB examinations

It is not possible to announce the results of DNB examinations institute wise.

However results are announced specialty wise both at NBE website and at NBE
Notice Board as well as in NBE Annual Report.
Here comes your footer Page 5
II. STUDENT RELATED ISSUES

Discussion Point 3. Thesis Topic & Guide

The topic of thesis & details of proposed thesis guide are not asked immediately
after joining of candidates.

Instead the same is required to be filled in the form for registration with NBE which
can be submitted up to 30 days of joining the DNB training.

Keeping in view of 90 days time to submit thesis protocol, 30 days time is

adequate enough to identify possible research area and thesis guide.

The same has been quoted in the allotment letter, registration form and
registration guidelines stated in the handbook for counseling.

Here comes your footer Page 6

II. STUDENT
At the Time RELATED
of CounselingISSUES
-Rank Letter DOCUMENTS TO BE
-DNB CET Result Certificate
-MBBS Degree certificate/ SUBMITTED
Provisional Pass Certificate of MBBS*
-Permanent Registration TO NBE
certificate issued by MCI/State Medical
Council for registration of MBBS
qualification.
-Proof of MBBS Qualification
being recognized as per IMC Act/ 30 Days
Central Government.
-Internship Completion Certificate -Duly filled Application 90 Days
-Mark sheets of all MBBS Professional Form Registration as
Examinations. DNB Trainee
-Matriculation/High School/Higher -Bank Chalaan Thesis Protocol
Secondary Certificate as a proof of Date -Annexure A Submission
of Birth.
-SC/ST/PWD/OBC certificate issued by
competent authority, if applicable.
-Caste certificate must be issued by
competent authority.
-Any document confirming the name of
the institution/medical college from
where the MBBS qualification was
pursued.
-Proof of identity
-Any other relevant document.
Here comes your footer Page 7
II. STUDENT RELATED ISSUES

Discussion Point 4 & 5: Misconduct of Students

National board of Examinations shall not ordinarily interfere in any dispute

which is a work place dispute or an issue involving the accredited institute or
the candidate.

However in rare or exceptional cases NBE may consider the issue for
necessary action or adjudication.

Here comes your footer Page 8

III. THESIS PROTOCOL

Discussion Point 1. Guidelines regarding the submission of thesis protocol

The guidelines for writing and submission of thesis and thesis protocol are already
available on National Board of Examinations website. Moreover accreditation is
granted to the department having a PG teacher who is well experienced with guiding
the student about how to write a thesis protocol and thesis.
It is far from understanding how candidates are finding it difficult to write thesis and
protocol under guidance of well trained PG teachers who have wide teaching
experience.

Based on your request, we shall be sending a compendium of guidelines to all DNB

coordinators soon

Discussion Point 2. Request of introduction of a system of e-

acknowledgement of thesis
Already in Place

Here comes your footer Page 9

Here comes your footer Page 10
III. THESIS PROTOCOL

In the year 2012-13, a total of 3657 number of thesis was received at the NBE office
for assessment of which 100 percent have been processed.

67.8% (2481) have been accepted & communication has already been issued to the
concerned candidates, 12% (438) have been advised modification & concerned
candidates have been communicated to submit thesis after necessary modifications
and 20.2% (739) of thesis are still under assessment.

It is to mention here that 13 candidates have not submitted their modified thesis even
more than 1 year after communication was issued though they were given 6 weeks
time to modify the thesis as advised.

6 theses were reported lost during transit from concerned assessor to NBE. For
administrative reasons, these candidates have been advised to resubmit a copy of
their thesis to NBE.
Here comes your footer Page 11
III. THESIS PROTOCOL

An alarming data has come out of the analysis done by NBE that more than 69.6%
(689) of June 2013 exam going candidates have not submitted their thesis for
assessment to NBE in time.

For June 13 examination going candidates, the last date to submit thesis was 31st of
December 2012, only 30.4% (301) of total expected thesis were received at NBE
office.

To extend maximum benefits to the candidates, the cutoff date to submit thesis was
extended twice. Even after extended cutoff date, 110 candidates failed to submit their
thesis to NBE.

The institutions are requested to abide by the timelines for thesis submission which
are well notified on NBE website as well as information bulletins published by NBE
time to time.
Here comes your footer Page 12
III. THESIS PROTOCOL

In circumstances where theses are submitted to NBE irregularly out of the schedule,
it becomes very difficult to ensure completion of assessment process by the time
candidate gets his/her DNB final exam result. This results into results/PPC getting
withheld due to lack of thesis acceptance.

Discussion Point 3. The review and acceptance of the thesis protocol by

NBE presently is taking a long time

In view of a number of thesis being received with not an expected quality of research
work, NBE has taken a step forward to get all thesis protocols assessed centrally
and to advise the candidates to modify their proposed research work accordingly.

This exercise was not satisfactorily delivered by the institutional ethical/research

committees.

Here comes your footer Page 13

III. THESIS PROTOCOL

Candidates are required to furnish the thesis protocols to NBE within 90 days of their
joining DNB training. However, its a rarity to see a protocol being submitted in time.

Institutions are forwarding protocols to NBE for assessment as late as the time when
thesis submission cutoff date has been over/about to be over. In such circumstances,
it is not possible to offer assessment remarks on such protocols.
IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION AND SCHEDULE

In 2012-2013, around 1796 protocols were received in NBE office of which around
75% have been processed and outcome has been communicated to the candidates.
Rests of the protocols are under assessment or can not be assessed as the deadline
for thesis submission is already over/shortly approaching.

95 out of 369 candidates who have been registered with NBE for DNB training in
year 2013 have not submitted their thesis protocols despite 90 days timeline being
over and each of them being reminded through individual telephonic calls.
Here comes your footer Page 14
III. THESIS PROTOCOL

So far there is no administrative penalty being imposed on erring candidates/

institutions who fail to submit thesis protocol in time. Institutions are requested to
encourage the candidates to submit thesis protocols to NBE well in time so as the
outcome can be communicated in a timely manner.

Here comes your footer Page 15

IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION
AND SCHEDULE

Discussion point 1. Schedule of Inspection

NBE has defined and formulated a clear set of guidelines and criteria regarding
inspection of hospitals/institutes. A calendar for accreditation of hospitals (both
fresh and renewal) is a process of one year and NBE ensures that the same is
maintained.

A case wherein inspection is delayed beyond prescribed schedule is due to

compliance being awaited from the hospital regarding deficiencies noted in the
application submitted.

The calendar for accreditation of hospitals is as follows:

Here comes your footer Page 16

IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION
AND SCHEDULE

Activity Time Frame

Sale of forms All around the year

Receiving of completed application 31st Jan

Scrutiny of Applications by NBE Feb-Mar
Appointment of inspectors, completion of inspection and 1st Apr- 15th June
receipt of reports
Scrutiny of reports to be completed by 31st July
Accreditation Committee, Proceedings and Approval by Aug/Sep
NBE
Communication of deficiency, acceptance of reports, etc Aug-Sep

Signing of Agreements with institutes/hospitals Oct

Consideration of cases with compliance of deficiencies Oct

Signing of Agreement Oct/ Nov

Admission Process Nov-Dec

Here comes your footer Page 17
 IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION
AND SCHEDULE

APPLICATION

SCRUTINY
RECIEVED

DEFICIENT NO DEFICIENCY

SEEK REPORT
COMPLIANCE RECEIVED

SCRUTINY

NO DEFICIENCY NO DEFICIENCY

SEEK
Here comes your footer Page 18
COMPLIANCE
IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION
AND SCHEDULE

Discussion point 2: Frequency & Schedule of External Appraisal

The purpose of local appraiser is to further improve the quality of training, assess the
training infrastructure for the DNB candidates and also assist the local institutions to
develop in to a center of academic excellence.
National Board appoints Local experts/appraisers from hospitals in the vicinity of the
concerned Hospital/Medical Institute.
National Board is conducting appraisal of all the accredited Hospitals/Medical
Institutes on an annual basis. The appraisal is done of the Hospitals/Medical
Institutions all over India.
The feedback of the shortcomings observed and suggestions for further improvement
is communicated to the concerned hospital/medical institute and each DNB trainee for
further improvement.
The concerned Hospital/Medical Institute bears the remuneration expenses for the
appointed local expert/appraiser
Here comes your footer Page 19
IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION
AND SCHEDULE

Discussion point 3: Completion of training for Jan 2013 Session

NBE shall make all possible efforts that the academic session of candidates
registered through the second phase of counseling in August 2013 is not disturbed.

The candidates shall be able to undertake December 2015 DNB Final Examinations.
IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION AND SCHEDULE
However they will be required to complete their full training at their respective
hospitals/ institutes as per NBE guidelines and complete their training by mid 2016.

Discussion point 4: Appointment of Examiners

There is no kind of preference given by NBE to any particular state/ city for selection
of professors and examiners for evaluation of theory papers or practical examinations.

NBE also ensures that most of the examiners appointed are from DNB institutes all
over
Here theyour
comes country.
footer Page 20
IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION
AND SCHEDULE

Last year for the session of December 2012, approximately 800 examiners and
assessors were appointed by NBE for theory and practical examinations from all over
the country. Out of all the examiners appointed, around 70% of them were from
various DNB institutes accredited with the NBE.

In December 2012, out of the total 165 assessors appointed for theory papers
evaluation, 111 of them were from DNB institutes all over the country.

In practical examinations also, around 650 assessors were appointed by NBE from
various institutes all over the country with majority of them coming from various DNB
institutes accredited with NBE.

Here comes your footer Page 21

V. COMMUNICATION

Each Department within NBE has a query handling unit as an integral part exclusively
for the purpose of addressing specific queries from candidates and institutes.

Apart from departmental divisions a Contact Center has been established for
receiving and sending large volume of telephonic and email queries.

IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION AND SCHEDULE

Also please be apprised that NBE has mentioned in all its guidelines that an e mail
query shall be addressed only if it is not anonymous and contains the name, postal
address and contact number of the sender.

An e mail containing vague or general queries seeking information already contained

in the information bulletin shall not be entertained. Queries shall not be entertained
from person claiming themselves to be representative, associate or officiates of the
candidate/ institute.

Department wise data of e mail communication between the NBE and candidate for
last 3 months is provided below:
Here comes your footer Page 22
V. COMMUNICATION

Turn
Department E mail Address April May June Around
Time
Registration reg@natboard.edu.in 316 1445 1201
With in 24
Counseling counseling@natboard.edu.in 70 1217 281 hrs to 7
days
Thesis &IV. ASSESSMENT
Protocol FOR ACCREDITATION
thesis@natboard.edu.in 127 AND
147 SCHEDULE
135 depending
upon the
Final Section final@natboard.edu.in 1619 1024 1542
nature of
MCQ Section cet@natboard.edu.in 194 283 398 the query

Accreditation accr@natboard.edu.in 224 410 253

Communication Protocol: For Accreditation

Average time duration between the assessment report being received and
communication being issued is around 30 days.
Here comes your footer Page 23
V. COMMUNICATION

A reminder in advance regarding the expiry of accreditation is sent to all concerned

Institutions/Hospitals.

A schedule for submission of application seeking fresh/renewal of accreditation is

communicated to each NBE accredited hospitals/institutions by post and by email as
well as a public notice in this regard is also uploaded on the NBE official website.
IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION AND SCHEDULE

100% applications received for seeking fresh/renewal of accreditation are

acknowledged.

Communication Details of Contact Center

1. Email Communications via feedback@natboard.edu.in
The NBE contact centre receives emails directly from candidates seeking various
information related to examination, thesis status etc. The contact centre sends the
queries to the respective sections for the solutions and then reverts back to the
comes your footer Page 24
candidate.
Here
V. COMMUNICATION

Number of Turn Around Time for

Turn Around Time for
Departments Emails Response/Acknowle
Solution/Answer
(Approx) dgement

FINAL 160 2 Working Hours 48 Working Hours*

FMGE 45 2 Working Hours 48 Working Hours*

IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION AND SCHEDULE
REGISTRATION &
60 2 Working Hours 24 Working Hours*
COUNSELING

DEGREE &
15 2 Working Hours 48 Working Hours*
CONVOCATION
48 to 72 Working
THESIS 180 2 Working Hours
Hours*

MISC./ FEEDBACK 100 2 Working Hours 48 Working Hours*

* It may vary as per the nature of the query

Here comes your footer Page 25
 V. COMMUNICATION

2. Telephonic Communication
NBE Contact Center is functioning for both Inbound and Outbound calls. An Inbound
Contact Center of NBE is operated by Candidate Care Executives (CCEs) to manage
incoming quires from the candidates.

Outbound Contact Center of NBE is operated for calling the candidates/ doctors/
hospitals etc for providing them the information regarding their thesis status, results,
hospital accreditation, CME workshops and for taking their valuable feedback which is
used for internal trainings and improvements.
SERVICE
NO OF CALLS NO. OF CALLS LEVEL
MONTH OFFERED ANSWERED PERCENT *
Apr-13 5287 5062 95.74
May-13 8947 8489 94.88
Jun-13 8716 8420 96.60

* Service Level Percent: The percentage of incoming calls that are answered by the Contact Center within a
specified
Here comestime
yourperiod.
footer Page 26
V. COMMUNICATION

Many appreciation e mails have been received by the Candidate Care Executives
from time to time. Between April and June 2013, 91 such mails have been received
from the candidates.

Hence the assertion made is wrong and far from actual facts.

IV. ASSESSMENT FOR ACCREDITATION AND SCHEDULE

Here comes your footer Page 27

VI. ACCREDITATION

Discussion Point a: Renewal of Accreditation

The statement made that timely inspections are not being conducted by NBE is
completely baseless and vague allegation. In fact, NBE makes all possible efforts
to ensure that timely inspection for hospitals/institutes are conducted so that
accreditation can be granted to them as per prescribed schedule.

Status of the Applications received for seeking Fresh/Renewal of Accreditation in the

year 2012

Cases Application % of
Received (2012) Applications
Processed (2012)
Fresh Cases 237 91%
Renewal Cases 466* 90%

* Out of these applications received, 150 applications were submitted by the

Hospitals/Institutions after the prescribed cut of date of which 90 were for even June-2012
Hereexpiry.
comes your footer Page 28
VI. ACCREDITATION

Communications to all concerned Institutions/Hospitals have already been issued.

Processing of less than 5% of Renewal cases is still ongoing primarily due to non-
submission of compliance by concerned Hospitals/Institutions for deficiencies
observed in the application/by NBE appointed assessor.

VI. ACCREDITATION
Processing of less than 4% of Fresh cases is still ongoing primarily due to non-
submission of compliance by concerned Hospitals/Institutions for deficiencies
observed in the application/by NBE appointed assessor.

Please be apprised that the physical assessment is recommended only after NBE
office has ensured that all necessary information is available in the application
submitted by the institute/hospital. Assessment gets delayed if the compliance is not
furnished or not furnished as per prescribed norms.

Here comes your footer Page 29

VI. ACCREDITATION

Status of the Applications received for seeking Fresh/Renewal of Accreditation

in the year 2013
A total of 604 applications (392 Renewal + 212 Fresh) seeking fresh/renewal of
accreditation have been received in the current year. 100% applications have been
acknowledged and further processed. 80 compliance reports are still awaited at the
end of Hospitals/Institutions despite repeated reminders.
VI. ACCREDITATION
Discussion Point b: Inspection for Reaccreditation

It is not possible for NBE to upload Assessment Form A & B on NBE website as
these forms are for restricted use by NBE appointed specialty assessor for NBE
accreditation. Further, these forms if uploaded on the website are liable to abuse.

Here comes your footer Page 30

VII. DNB EXAMINATIONS

Discussion Point a

DNB Final Exit Examination is a highly structured examination which has been
formulated keeping all the possibilities in mind. One single examiner or performance
does not define the candidate as a whole.
Infact having different assessors for evaluating the candidates helps in increasing
validity and reliability of the candidate assessment. Hence making such a statement
that a dislike by an examiner can affect the result of the candidate is beyond
understanding. During an assessment of the answer sheets, the examiner is
evaluating the answers of the candidate and not him.

Discussion Point b

During objective assessment, NBE already has an itemized method of assessment

in place which is followed by all the examiners.
Hence the statement made that sub par performance in even one of the parts will
effect
Here comesthe result Page
your footer of the
31 candidate is a completely vague statement.
VII. DNB EXAMINATIONS

Discussion Point c

There has been no information or complaint from anyone of any such instance of
candidates being humiliated by examiners from medical colleges.
Students are well aware of the fact that they are free to contact NBE if they face any
problem during their examination or at the institute during training.

Discussion Point d

The statement made about the fact that the pass rates in practical examinations are
extremely low is completely vague and away from the truth. In December 2012, a
total of 1910 candidates passed the practical examinations with a an overall passing
percentage of 67 %.
The passing percentage for practical examinations for all the subjects in the session
of December 2012 is given below:
Here comes your footer Page 32
VII. DNB EXAMINATIONS

Passing
Subject Percentage
Anaesthesiology 65.61
Anatomy 90.00
Biochemistry 75.00
Cardio Thoracic Surgery 65.61
Cardiology 90.00
Dermatology & Venereology 61.04
Endocrinology 77.78
Family Medicine 64.81
Forensic Medicine 100.00
Gastroenterology 68.00
General Medicine 40.93
General Surgery 44.04
Genito Urinary Surgery (Urology) 64.42
Health Administration Including Hospital
Administration 42.86
Here comes your footer Page 33
Hematology 33.33
VII. DNB EXAMINATIONS

Immunohematology & Trans Fusion Medicine 100.00

Medical Oncology 100.00
Microbiology 63.64
Neonatology 60.00
Nephrology 76.67
Neuro Surgery 41.46
Neurology 82.35
Nuclear Medicine 58.82
Obstetrics And Gynecology 54.69
Ophthalmology 69.28
Orthopedic Surgery 46.58
Otorhinolaryngology 46.84
Paediatric Surgery Part Ii 72.73
Paediatrics 61.69
Pathology 77.78

Here comes your footer Page 34

VII. DNB EXAMINATIONS

Peripheral Vascular Surgery 100.00

Pharmacology 81.82
Physical Medicine And Rehabilitation 100.00
Physiology 75.00
Plastic Surgery 43.75
Psychiatry 52.83
Radio Diagnosis 57.98
Radio Therapy 58.06
Respiratory Diseases 58.82
Rheumatology 50.00
Rural Surgery 83.33
Social And Preventive Medicine 75.00
Surgical Gastroenterology 64.58
Surgical Oncology 60.87
Here comes your footer Page 35
VIII. DNB Curriculum for General Surgery

The curriculum for General Surgery is uploaded on the website.

Here comes your footer Page 36

Here comes your footer Page 37