DrNB training rules: courses, leave and the DrNB final examination

About the source

This page records the 2022 edition of NBEMS’s Manual for DrNB Super Specialty Trainees. As with the DNB manual, NBEMS says its instructions may change with decisions of the Ministry, NMC, MCC or NBEMS, and that the current bulletin for each process governs.

The courses

The manual lists 27 DrNB super specialties of three years’ duration after MD, MS or DNB:

Cardiac Anaesthesia; Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery; Cardiology; Clinical Haematology; Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology; Critical Care Medicine; Endocrinology; Gynaecological Oncology; Interventional Radiology; Medical Gastroenterology; Medical Genetics; Medical Oncology; Neonatology; Nephrology; Neuro Anaesthesia; Neuro Surgery; Neurology; Paediatric Cardiology; Paediatric Critical Care; Paediatric Neurology; Paediatric Surgery; Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery; Surgical Gastroenterology; Surgical Oncology; Thoracic Surgery; Urology; Vascular Surgery.

Direct six-year DrNB, entered after MBBS through NEET-PG, is offered in four of these: Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Neuro Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Six-year trainees take a Part I examination before the final.

Admission limits

The NEET-SS 2025 bulletin states that candidates already pursuing or who have joined a DM, MCh or DrNB through NEET-SS are not eligible for DrNB admission through NEET-SS for the entire prescribed duration of the course already joined, irrespective of resignation or discontinuation.

Training

DrNB training follows the same pattern as DNB — provisional registration with NBEMS on joining, a thesis protocol approved by the institution’s committees and conveyed to NBEMS, thesis assessment by NBEMS leading to a Thesis Acceptance Letter, an e-logbook, and formative assessment during training. The DNB training page sets these out.

Leave: the manual allows a DrNB trainee a maximum of 30 days of leave a year (Chapter 7), with the same consequences as for DNB trainees: excess leave extends training, and training must be complete by the examination’s cut-off date.

The DrNB final examination

A two-stage examination: theory, then practical (Chapter 13).

Theory

• Three papers of 100 marks each, typically ten short notes of 10 marks per paper, three hours per paper.
• Pass: 150 out of 300 in aggregate.
• Grace marks of up to 2% (6 marks) only for candidates scoring 144–149.

Practical

• 300 marks: OSCE and/or clinical examination, and viva. Pass: 150. No grace marks.
• A maximum of two attempts — one fewer than DNB. The first is compulsory, in the session in which theory is passed; the second may be taken in either of the next two sessions.
• Not appearing after applying counts as an attempt.