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Master of Surgery (MS) – Candidates seeking admission in medical colleges to pursue a Master of Surgery (MS) must have completed MBBS degree. Admissions to the postgraduate course of MS is done on the basis of NEET PG examination. Every year around 1.5 lakh candidates register for NEET PG out of which in the year 2019, a total of 79,633 candidates qualified the same and a significant number of them opted for MS. It must also be noted that institutes like AIIMS, JIPMER PG and PGIMER are not covered by NEET PG as they conduct their own exams. There are more than 200 medical colleges in the nation that offer MS courses and the total seat intake of these colleges is 10826 (source MCI). The specializations that are available and can be chosen by MS aspirants are Obstetrics & Gynaecology, General Surgery and Orthopaedics. Candidates can go through the article below to know all about Master of Surgery which includes details like description of the course, eligibility criteria, admission process, fee structure, etc.

All about Master of Surgery (MS) – Course Details

Medical Council of India (MCI) regulates post graduate medical education in the country. The regulations postulated by MCI are referred to as “The Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations 2000.”

MCI Regulations for MS Education

• Duration – Post graduate medical education degree courses, like Master of Surgery (MS), will have a duration of three years

• Curriculum – The authorities have decided upon a competency based MS academic curriculum

• Learning – There will be self-directed and autonomous learning

• Assessments – A necessary ingredient in the PG program is formative and summative assessment

• Approach – To achieve systemic exposure to different sub-specialties of a discipline a modular approach is recommended

• Participation – In order to learn the needs of a community active participation in community-based activities is sought

Major components of MS curriculum:

• Theoretical knowledge

• Practical and clinical skills

• Thesis skills

• Attitudes including communication skills

• Training in research methodology

All about Master of Surgery (MS) – Eligibility Criteria

NEET PG exam, which is conducted by National Board of Examinations (NBE) will be the basis of admission to MS courses in medical colleges of the nation. There are some exceptional colleges which are established by an act of parliament like JIPMER and AIIMS. These colleges have their own procedure of examination and admissions.To pursue MS courses in the medical colleges candidates have to fulfil certain NEET PG 2020 eligibility criteria which includes age limit, academic qualification and internship requirements.

Eligibility criteria of NEET PG 2020 for Master of Surgery course

• Degree – Candidates must possess MBBS degree or provisional MBBS pass certificate

• Registration certificate – Aspirants must obtain provisional or permanent registration certificate issued by MCI or State Medical Council (SMC)

• Internship – Candidates ,must complete one year rotatory internship and get the completion certificate of the same issued by March 31 of the academic year

Institutes like AIIMS, JIPMER and PGIMER will conduct their own individual exams and consequently may have their own eligibility criteria. Please note that the broad criteria may remain the same, like applicant needs to be an MBBS degree holder, but there may be some minor points that the candidate needs to be aware of. To read the eligibility criteria specific to these exams, refer the table below:

Eligibility criteria for MS exams other than NEET PG

All about Master of Surgery – Admission Process

All the medical institutes in the country offering MS specializations give admission to candidates on the basis of NEET PG 2020 scores Those in the list which are excluded from the above boundations are AIIMS institutes, PGIMER, JIPMER, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum.

NEET PG is conducted nationwide by NBE and is the common exam for admission to both MS and MD courses. It is at the time of counseling that the candidates have to choose whether they wish to opt for MD or MS. The allotment of seat will be on the basis of merit rank of the candidate and score.

MS seats to be filled on the basis of NEET PG 2020

• 50% All India quota seats (all except the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir)

• State quota seats. (including Jammu & Kashmir)

• All Private Medical Colleges, Institutions & Universities/Deemed Universities

• Armed Forces Medical Services Institutions

• DNB Broad specialty courses

Institutes that do not use NEET PG score for MS admission

• AIIMS, New Delhi and other AIIMS

• PGIMER, Chandigarh

• JIPMER, Puducherry

• NIMHANS, Bengaluru

• Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum

Qualifying Percentile for NEET PG 2020

The qualifying NEET 2020 percentile, commonly known as cutoff, is the minimum percentile that a candidate is required to score in the examination to qualify. This means that if any candidate scores below the minimum qualifying percentile, s/he will not be permitted to participate in the admission processes. It must be noted that NEET PG 2020 cutoff is category specific, thus, candidates are required to refer to the qualifying percentile mentioned in the column of their category. One important thing that candidates need to keep in mind is that the qualifying percentile reflected in the table is not the same as raw score and that it is only a reflection of a candidate’s performance in comparison to their scores.

NEET PG 2020 qualifying percentile

All about MS – Colleges

After completing an MBBS degree, the next step is to get a PG degree, with many having their eyes fixed on MS. The desire to pursue MS stems from the fact that a simple MBBS degree doesn’t hold the same aces as an MS degree does. Also, with rapid development in medical sciences and creation of specialities and super-specialties, it is only natural that meritorious students would like to learn and do more in their profession.

So, today we have more and more colleges offering MS program; as per latest date, number of colleges offering MS courses totals more than 200. The combined seat intake of these colleges is 10826 (source MCI official website).

AIIMS, New Delhi rightfully claims its position as the best medical college for MS study, but there are others like CMC Vellore, LHMC and Kasturba Medical College, which are also blazing a trail and taking medical education in the country to the next level

Top colleges for MS degree (in no particular order)

MBBS vs. MS

The basic information, that most of us are known to is that if a candidate wishes to become a doctor then s/he has to get an MBBS degree. As far as the MS degree is concerned, then candidates need to keep themselves informed that MBBS degree holders have the option of pursuing advanced (postgraduate) degree, i.e., MS. To get admission into an MS course, the candidate has to either appear in the national-level exam, say NEET PG, or they may appear in exams conducted by AIIMS, New Delhi, JIPMER or PGIMER. The entrance exam is conducted because there are limited seats, with only the best getting through.

The academic curriculum at the undergraduate level (MBBS) is the same for all candidates and there is no specialisation. However, Master of Surgery offers a host of specialisations, with the academic curriculum specialisation-specific. So, a candidate pursuing MS General Surgery will have a different syllabus from someone, say, who is studying Ophthalmology.

What is an MD degree and how is it related to MS degree?

MD and MS are both postgraduate degrees. MD is an abbreviation for Doctor of Medicine, while the degree holder is called a Physician. MS is an abbreviation for Master of Surgery and candidates who successfully complete their degree are called surgeons and they perform surgeries.Admission to both these courses follows the same process which is through NEET PG. At the time of counselling, candidates will be allowed to choose from MD and MS degree, this will be on the basis of their rank and preference.

Master of Surgery Fee Structure at top Medical Colleges

Most of the candidates who do not get admission in a government college have to pay a hefty amount for admissions in private college as the latter charge high fees to provide education. When the education to be received is at post graduate level then the disparity in fee structure between government and private college is quiet evident. For instance, Banaras Hindu University’s annual fee for MS is around 14,500, this when compared to the fee structure of AIIMS institutes’ the latter charge lesser. MS degree fee for AIIMS is approximately 1600 per annum.

If we take a look at the private medical colleges then CMC, Vellore charges around 1,77, 800 per annum to give MS degree. Candidates seeking admission in Kasturba Medical College will have to pay fees depending on the specialization they choose. For example, the course fee for MS Orthopaedics at the institute is Rs. 7, 210, 000, whereas the fee for MS (General Surgery and OBG) is Rs. 6, 310, 000.

So, if candidates are not well-off they need to consider these factors.

Master of Surgery fee structure at popular Medical Colleges

All about Master of Surgery – Career Opportunities

It is an interesting fact about MS course that candidates pursuing the same are exposed to a lot of exciting and new opportunities which includes a better package and higher security. There has not been much increase in specialty and super-specialty hospitals far and near in recent years and this is going to remain a trend for quiet some time. This in other ways means that there will be ever increasing demands for MS specialist in the medicine field. Some careers options for MS degree holders are mentioned-below:

• Medical clinic – The leisure of having a medical clinic privately owned by a doctor is not something that everybody has. It benefits a medical practitioner in various ways like having private ownership over the medical clinic, setting visiting hours and fees on convenience basis,location of the clinic can be any and many. An important thing required to pursue this career is a clear conscience. It is very important that the medical practitioner does not take this as an opportunity to extract money from the needy
• Government job – There is a huge demand of doctors in Railways, Public sector, and other government initiatives, like NRHM. This is also sure to provide the practitioners with job satisfaction and high security
• Private jobs – India has a number of hospitals which are highly rated in India as well as internationally acclaimed. Some of these are Fortis, Medanta, Apollo Hospitals. It is not unknown that even the communities abroad are looking up to India in praise of its potential as a medical destination. The private sector is booming and this in turn means that there is and will be a high demand of doctors which includes those who pursued MS
• Continue studies – Candidates also have an option to keep continuing with their higher studies and pursue super specialty or Magister Chirurgiae. The course duration is three years, with degree holders frequently lapped up by super-specialty hospitals. It must be noted that doctors who hold this degree are the best paid in this profession.

All about Master of Surgery – Specialisations

What is MBBS?