NEET PG round one: top rankers pick general medicine over radiology

Medical students in the country appear to be changing their choice of postgraduate courses. Data from the first round of counselling for NEET PG 2026 show that general medicine, rather than radiology, is now the first preference of young doctors with top ranks.

According to the final allotment list for the first round released by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), top rankers this year chose general medicine in large numbers. The gap between the two specialities has visibly widened as a result.

Counselling in this round covered 63,177 MD-MS seats. Of the top 100 students, 51 took MD medicine, while 28 took radiodiagnosis, a difference of 23 seats. Last year, in 2025, the gap was smaller: 46 students chose medicine and 40 chose radiology.

The picture is the same if the top 501 seats are considered. Of these, 233 candidates took general medicine. MD radiodiagnosis came second, with 149 seats allotted. Together, the two branches accounted for 382 of the top 501 seats, about 76.2 per cent of the total allotment. General medicine got nearly 1.6 times as many seats as radiology.

The most chosen courses among the top 501 were: MD general medicine 233, MD radiodiagnosis (radiology) 149, MD dermatology 37, MS general surgery 25, MS obstetrics and gynaecology 15, NBEMS general medicine 10, MD nuclear medicine 9, MD paediatrics 7, MD orthopaedics 6 and NBEMS radiodiagnosis 6.

On why preferences have changed, medical education experts and former office-bearers of resident doctors' associations say young doctors no longer see a postgraduate course as the final goal. They see it as a launch pad or transit station in their careers. After MD medicine, many paths open to super-speciality or narrow-speciality fields such as cardiology, nephrology, neurology, gastroenterology and critical care. Students who want to keep all options open at the start of their careers find this flexibility attractive.

Radiology remains a popular subject, but the growing role of AI in medical imaging has raised doubts and confusion in students' minds about the future. Practical concerns, such as the heavy cost of installing very expensive radiology equipment and the risk of long-term occupational radiation exposure, are also influencing their decisions.

The number of seats also makes a difference. There are more than 4,000 general medicine seats across the country, against about 1,200 in radiology. A student therefore has a better chance of getting a preferred seat in a good college in general medicine.