There is a general premonition that one wont pass DNB in their first attempt. While there may be many people who have failed for various reasons, statistics do show that the trend has been improving in recent years and whatever difficulty the exam poses is probably because of higher expectations from examiners for its sheer magnitude. Imagine qualifying National Eligibilty and Entrance Test (NEET) and then giving a National level exit exam for passing DNB where you will compete with candidates from all over India and not just your region or university. What is being debated in NMC bill today is already happening to DNBs from across the nation for many years. While some may argue that its tough , this may also be a DNBs biggest strength cause those who do pass DNB whether in first attempt or last are almost certainly of high quality. So lets take a look at some statistics which tell the reality of the pass rates as they were and as they are.
As a matter of fact DNB Final exam is tougher than an MD/MS final exam. The principle reason being that its a National Level Exit exam while MD/MS final exam is a state level or university level exam. The point to be taken here is if you pass a national level exit exam you may face a tougher test than MD/MS because sometimes you get support from your staff at college to help you pass your MD/MS exam. Even those who attempt DNB after MD/MS fail miserably and recent statistics from medical reporters suggest that only 39% MD/MS pass DNB in the same subject. Thus many MD/MS candidates may discourage you from taking DNB because they know how tough it is. This was true to a large extent and pass rates have been debated for a long time instilling fear into an aspirants mind. NBE has been hugely criticized for not passing DNB students in the past , managing an overall pass rate of only 10-15%. This was the time, probably when there was no centralized counselling, when one needed to directly approach the concerned hospital to apply for DNB courses. Thus those with power and money easily managed to get into DNB while the deserving candidates had to face defeat. Consequently and presumably NBE also had to fail a large number of candidates in final exam because these candidates were never upto the mark.
Now however, situation has changed. There is a centralized counselling, meritorious students are getting through, getting their desired branches at desired institutes and now the admissions are through NEET PG which further increases the credibilty. The first batch of Students admitted through Centralized counselling in 2011 January passed/gave their final exams in December 2013. Their results have been really good compared to the previous years.It can be safely said that pass percentages in the past years have gone up from " FAIL!! FAIL !! FAIL !! " to " YOU WILL PASS IF YOU STUDY " and the situation is only going to improve from here with so many quality candidates coming and joining DNB.
NBE has made a lot of changes to examination system , there is an annual Formative Assesment Test unlike MD/MS where you get to know how to write your final exam and often get personal advice from your examiners. Also now you get interpreters for your practical exams, usually college SR’s, so dont worry about language barriers. The overall scenario for DNB PG’s is improving day by day.