Complete paper
100 multiple-choice questions
The computer-based examination contains 100 questions and has a total duration of one hour and forty-five minutes.
FET practice
Prepare for focused fellowship-level decisions.
Understand the FET structure, connect your feeder qualification with the right fellowship and practise specialty-specific clinical reasoning.
About FET
A qualifying-cum-ranking examination for NBEMS fellowship programmes.
The Fellowship Entrance Test, or FET, is conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences for admission to designated Fellowship of National Board and Fellowship of National Board Post Doctoral programmes. Indian and international candidates may participate subject to the eligibility rules for their category and chosen course.
FET is organised by fellowship course or a clubbed group of related courses. A candidate selects one eligible fellowship course or clubbed group in the application, and the corresponding paper connects knowledge from the specified feeder qualification with the intended fellowship area.
Use the official NBEMS FET page for the current information bulletin, notices, application link and results.
FET exam pattern
Two timed parts completed in 105 minutes.
Part A
40 questions in 45 minutes
Part A assesses knowledge from the eligible feeder broad or super-specialty qualification connected with the selected fellowship course or group.
Part B
60 questions in 60 minutes
Part B focuses on the concerned fellowship subject at entry level, including relevant clinical practice and applied basic sciences.
Correct response
+4 marks
Each correct response receives four marks, making accuracy and careful reading central to the final score.
Incorrect response
−1 mark
One mark is deducted for an incorrect response. An unattempted question receives zero marks.
Qualifying criterion
50th percentile
Qualifying status and merit are determined separately for each fellowship course or clubbed group under the applicable bulletin.
The scheme above follows the current FET information bulletin available when this page was prepared. Confirm the pattern, marking and qualifying criterion for your own session.
Eligibility
Your feeder qualification determines the fellowship you can choose.
Relevant qualification
Course-specific feeder degree
Candidates need the MD, MS, DM, MCh, DNB, DrNB or equivalent qualification specified as the feeder for the selected fellowship course or clubbed group.
Completion cut-off
Qualification by the stated date
The recognised degree or provisional pass certificate must be obtained by the cut-off stated in the current bulletin, together with any course-specific documents.
Professional registration
NMC or State Medical Council
Indian candidates must hold the required medical registration and produce documentary proof as prescribed. The bulletin states that there is no upper age limit for fellowship admission.
Eligibility differs across fellowship courses. Check the current feeder-qualification table before applying; possessing a postgraduate qualification alone does not establish eligibility for every fellowship.
How the paper is designed
Move from feeder knowledge to fellowship-level application.
Part A foundation
Revise the complete feeder curriculum
Part A may draw from all eligible feeder qualifications for the course. Build a broad exit-level foundation rather than revising only topics that appear immediately related to the fellowship.
Part B focus
Apply specialty knowledge
Part B examines the fellowship subject at entry level through its clinical practice and relevant basic sciences. Expect integrated decisions rather than isolated factual recall.
Clubbed groups
Prepare every included area
For a clubbed group, Part B distributes questions across the grouped fellowship courses. Use the current bulletin to identify every component before planning revision.
Fellowship subject details
Representative areas requiring focused clinical preparation.
Fellowship offerings and feeder mappings may change between admission sessions. The subjects below illustrate the range described in recent FET material; they are not a substitute for the official course and feeder-qualification annexures.
Advanced medical care
Medical, paediatric and critical-care fellowships
These fields demand strong physiology, investigation interpretation and rapid management of complex patients.
Interventional Cardiology
Connect coronary and structural heart disease with hemodynamics, angiographic interpretation, patient selection, procedural planning, complications and post-procedure care.
Critical Care Medicine
Integrate resuscitation, ventilation, shock, sepsis, organ support, monitoring, nutrition, infection control and ethical decisions in unstable patients.
Infectious Diseases
Revise syndromic diagnosis, microbiological testing, antimicrobial selection and stewardship, infection prevention and management in immunocompromised hosts.
Paediatric Intensive Care
Apply age-specific physiology to respiratory failure, shock, neurological emergencies, monitoring, ventilation and safe organ support in critically ill children.
Paediatric Cardiology
Cover congenital and acquired heart disease, fetal and paediatric circulation, echocardiographic reasoning, catheter-based assessment and longitudinal care.
Paediatric Gastroenterology
Study gastrointestinal, hepatic and nutritional disorders in children, including diagnostic pathways, endoscopy principles and chronic disease management.
Procedural practice
Surgical and musculoskeletal fellowships
Preparation should unite anatomy and imaging with indications, technique, perioperative care and complication management.
Minimal Access Surgery
Revise patient selection, access and energy devices, operative anatomy, laparoscopic and endoscopic principles, ergonomics and management of complications.
Spine Surgery
Integrate spinal anatomy, biomechanics, neurological localisation, imaging, trauma, deformity, degeneration, infection, tumors and operative decision-making.
Sports Medicine
Cover exercise physiology, acute and overuse injuries, rehabilitation, return-to-play decisions, prevention, nutrition and medical problems in athletes.
Head and Neck Oncology
Combine anatomy, staging, pathology, imaging, airway and nutritional care with multidisciplinary decisions in head-and-neck malignancy.
Hand and Microvascular Surgery
Revise functional anatomy, tendon and nerve injury, fracture care, soft-tissue reconstruction, microsurgical principles and postoperative rehabilitation.
Liver Transplantation
Understand recipient and donor selection, end-stage liver disease, perioperative management, immunosuppression, rejection, infection and graft complications.
Focused pathways
Perioperative and reproductive fellowships
These areas combine a strong feeder-specialty base with focused investigation, procedure and longitudinal-care decisions.
Pain Medicine
Assess acute and chronic pain using pharmacological, physical, psychological and interventional approaches while recognising risk, function and safe follow-up.
Neuroanaesthesia
Apply cerebral physiology, neuro-monitoring, airway and hemodynamic management to neurosurgical procedures, neurotrauma and postoperative critical care.
Maternal and Foetal Medicine
Integrate high-risk obstetrics, prenatal screening and diagnosis, fetal growth and surveillance, maternal disease and multidisciplinary perinatal planning.
Reproductive Medicine
Cover reproductive endocrinology, infertility evaluation, ovulation induction, assisted reproduction, laboratory principles, ethics and treatment complications.
Always use the current NBEMS bulletin to confirm whether a fellowship is offered, whether it sits in a clubbed group and which feeder qualifications are eligible.
Preparation tips for FET
Build breadth first, then sharpen fellowship-level decisions.
Confirm your exact paper
Map your qualification to the current fellowship course or clubbed group before studying. Let the official feeder table define your scope.
Protect Part A breadth
Revise the complete feeder curriculum at postgraduate level. Avoid narrowing preparation prematurely to the fellowship title.
Build a Part B framework
Organise fellowship topics around presentation, investigation, selection, intervention, complications and follow-up so knowledge supports clinical decisions.
Practise separate timed parts
Train 40-question and 60-question blocks using their official time limits, then complete full papers to strengthen pacing and concentration.
Review negative-marking errors
Classify mistakes as knowledge gaps, missed clues, over-interpretation or avoidable guesses and revise the cause rather than the answer alone.
Use current specialty guidance
Connect core textbooks with recent guidelines, classifications and procedural standards while keeping the expected entry-level scope in view.
Before applying
Use current NBEMS documents for final decisions.
Fellowship courses, clubbed groups, feeder qualifications, dates, programme terms and admission rules can change between sessions. Verify every application decision against the current NBEMS information bulletin, its annexures and subsequent notices.
FET FAQ
Frequently asked questions about FET applications and fellowship admission.
Schedule information checked on 1 October 2026. Confirm the admission session, application dates and course-specific requirements in the current NBEMS bulletin and subsequent notices.
A date for the next FET sitting could not be verified from official sources checked on 1 October 2026. Monitor the official NBEMS FET page for the new session's bulletin and schedule. Do not treat dates predicted by third-party websites as confirmed.
The admission-session label and calendar year of the examination can differ. For example, NBEMS scheduled FET 2025 for 14 March 2026. Check the session named in the official notice, rather than assuming that an examination held in 2026 belongs to the 2026 admission session.
The next session's application window could not be verified as of 1 October 2026. Use the application notice on the official NBEMS FET page for opening and closing dates, fees and deadlines. The previous session's application timetable does not establish the next one.
Follow the correct session's application link from the official NBEMS FET page. Register, complete the form and uploads, choose an eligible fellowship paper and test city, pay the fee and submit. Save the confirmation and check your application status.
Eligibility depends on the course-specific feeder qualification and session cut-off. The referenced bulletin lists recognised MD, MS, DNB, DM, MCh or DrNB routes, as applicable. Check the exact course mapping before applying.
Match your qualification to the course-specific feeder table and check any clubbed group in the current bulletin. Confirm eligible courses before selecting a paper; a similar specialty name alone does not establish eligibility.
Keep qualification, registration, identification and contact details ready. Prepare photographs, signature, thumb impression and any prescribed documents in the current formats. Verify names and dates against your certificates.
Only permitted fields can be corrected within notified windows. In the referenced bulletin, name, nationality, test city, mobile number, Aadhaar and email were excluded. Check the new session's editing rules.
Use the admit-card and result links on the official NBEMS FET page when released. Follow the session-specific notices, retain your login details and check your admit card's date, venue and reporting instructions.
Follow the NBEMS counselling notices for FNB admission and the session's separate registration, choice-filling, allotment and reporting instructions. Qualification alone does not guarantee a seat. International applicants should follow the applicable Fellowship Programme for International Students instructions rather than assume the domestic process applies.
Turn specialty knowledge into fellowship-level decisions.
Strengthen your feeder foundation, practise focused clinical reasoning and develop reliable pacing across both parts of FET.