Hepatology is a medicinal branch that deals with the study of pancreas, biliary tree, gallbladder and liver and also the management of disorders in these organs. This branch of medicine was traditionally regarded as the sub-specialty of gastroenterology, but now it has grown as a separate specialty of medicine due to its rapid expansion and candidates who specialize in this field of medicine are called as Hepatologists.

DM in Hepatology is a three-year specialty course offered only by a few colleges in India and the name of government college offering this course in India is given below:

• Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi

This institute is permitted with an intake capacity of four students per year to this three-year course.

Qualification required to seek admission to the DM in Hepatology course:

To seek admission to this course in the Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences, candidates must have completed their MD in pediatrics or general medicine from an institute recognized by the Diplomat or institute of National Board in pediatrics/general medicine or any other equivalent examination.

However, the institute requires that candidates must have completed their MD course before the entrance examination held for admission to the DM in Hepatology course. Otherwise, candidates will not be permitted to appear for the entrance examination. If a candidate is waiting for the results and not able to enclose the completion certificate, he/she can mention the same in the application and should compulsorily submit the certificate at least one day before the entrance examination and should get the hall ticket.

How to apply to the institution:

Candidate can download the application from the website of the institution at www.ilbs.in and duly filled in application must be submitted along with required documents to the Associate Dean, Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences, D-1, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 11070 with DD for an amount of Rs.2500 payable at New Delhi drawn in favor of the Director, ILBS, New Delhi before the last date specified by the institution every year. Normally, the institute issues notification in leading newspapers and portals calling for applications from candidates for the DM in Hepatology course.

Method of Selection:

Selection of Candidate for the DM in Hepatology course offered by the institute will be based on the merit secured by them in the entrance examination. The test would be conducted for one-and-half hours with 100 multiple-choice questions, for which 70 marks will be awarded in total and balance 30 marks will be on the basis of department assessment and final interview by the Department of Hepatology of the institution.

Merit fixation:

The Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi will adopt the following criteria if two candidates secure the same marks in the entrance examination:

• Selection will be made on the basis of the minimum number of attempts in which the candidate has completed his/her MBBS/DNB/MS/MD

• Preference will be given to candidates with highest marks in the final year MBBS course

• Candidates who are elder with respect to age will be given preference

Scope of DM in Hepatology:

Hepatology treats complications and diseases pertaining to alcohol and viral hepatitis. According to a report more than two million people are infected by Hepatitis B virus and some of them are persistent carriers of this virus. Up to 80% of liver cancers is caused Hepatitis C or B virus and in terms of mortality the later is the second only to smoking among reasons causing cancer. Therefore, the demand for experts in Hepatology is ever increasing in most of the countries of the world and therefore candidates with DM in Hepatology can find very good job prospects not only in India, but in other foreign countries as well.