New Delhi: Final-year nursing students may soon need to pass a licentiate exam to get their Nursing-Midwifery license. A test similar to that of the National Exit Test (NEXT) for MBBS candidates may be introduced by the authorities. 

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is working on a common system for admission to under-graduate and post-graduate courses in India. 

The final decision, though, will be made by the planned National Nursing and Midwifery Commission, being modeled after the National Medical Commission.

A bill for the same has been presented in the Lok Sabha.

Instead of the Indian Nursing Council (INC), national and regional nursing commissions will be formed. These bodies will be vested with policy formation responsibility and controlling authority.

Also, three following self-regulatory boards will be set up;-

• UG/PG Education Board: for study and education matters.

• Assessment Rating Board: for conducting inspections at institutions and for allotting nod for starting new ones.

• Ethics and Registration Board: for registration and matters related to professional ethics.

The draft bill also recommends the setting up of a Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Council. National and regional registers, which can be accessed both online and offline, will be readied to provide information relating to all nursing professionals across the country, including their qualifications.

It also proposes the allocation of temporary licences for those who have completed nursing courses in foreign countries.

‘NEXT’ for Dentists too

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has presented the National Dental Commission Bill in the Lok Sabha that provides for the conduct of National Exit Test for those obtaining the Bachelor of Dental Surgery qualification. Instead of the Dental Council of India, a National Dental Council, which will be vested with more powers, will be constituted. Special boards will also be formed under the council, the bill recommends.