the draft national education policy 2019 has suggested sweeping changes in medical education one of the more radical suggestions is the proposal to allow lateral entry of nursing and dental graduates into the mbbs course with a common foundational one to twoyear course for doctors dentists and nursesother significant changes include curbing the role of the various councils for medicine nursing and dentistry to only setting professional standards and outsourcing inspection and accreditation work to empaneled agencies the draft policy also reiterates the proposal to introduce the muchawaited common exit exam for all mbbs graduatesthe draft suggests doing away with fee regulation completely while mandating scholarships for 50 per cent students with 20 per cent getting full scholarshipin a radical shift from the current model the draft policy recommends that the first year or two of the mbbs course should be designed as a common period for all science graduates after which they can take up medicine mbbs dentistry bds nursing or other specialisations common foundational courses based on medical pluralism will be followed by core courses focused on specific systems and electives that encourage bridging across systems graduates from other medical disciplines such as nursing dental etc will also be allowed lateral entry into the mbbs course states the draft policyin line with the spirit of providing autonomy to educational institutions to charter their own course fees for professional education courses will be left to the management of educational institutions both public and private states the draft policy adding that institutions would have to fulfill their social obligations and provide scholarships to students from the socially and economically weaker sections of society yet it also sets the goal of improving access to healthcare education for rural students and lowering the cost of educationthe proposed common exit exam for mbbs should also serve as the entrance exam for postgraduate programmes the draft suggests this exit examination will be administered at the end of the fourth year of the mbbs so that students are relieved of the burden of studying for a separate competitive entrance examinations at the end of their residency period with the entrance examination out of the way they can spend their residency period acquiring valuable skills and competence states the draft adding that similar common exit examinations could be conducted for dental education and other disciplines toociting tremendous shortage of professionals in the health sector the draft policy suggests the setting up of a separate committee to work out a detailed transformation plan for the sectorstating that professional education must be separated from professional practice the draft policy envisages converting the medical council of india mci and councils for dentistry and nursing into professional standard setting bodies that could also provide a curriculum framework against which educational institutions will prepare their own curriculaall institutions offering professional education will also be mandatorily accredited once every 5 years by accreditation agencies empanelled by national assessment and accreditation council naac in consultation with the professional councils independent accreditation agencies with