What an FNB means on a doctor's profile
The FNB is the National Board's two-year fellowship in a narrow field — a real, examined qualification, but a fellowship rather than a degree.
The Fellow of National Board is a post-doctoral fellowship of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences: two years of training and an examination in a sub-speciality narrower than a DM or MCh — reproductive medicine, spine surgery, paediatric cardiology, critical care, minimal access surgery and others — taken after a postgraduate degree. Unlike most things called "fellowship" on a doctor's letterhead, it is examined and accredited by a statutory body, which is why it is listed here among the qualifications rather than the memberships.
It is still a fellowship, not a degree: it adds a field of practice to a specialist, it does not make one. An FNB (Minimal Access Surgery) holder is a surgeon with a recognised further training; the surgical degree underneath is what licenses the surgery.
How to check whether a doctor holds an FNB
- Read the register entryA doctor's record on the Indian Medical Register names the qualification the state medical council recorded at registration, and further qualifications where the doctor has had them added. If the doctor says they hold an FNB and the register shows only the primary degree, the FNB has not been registered — which is common and not by itself a warning, but it does mean the register cannot confirm it.
- Check the college was recognised for the courseThe NMC's College and Course Search lists which institutions are recognised for which courses. This applies to degrees and diplomas; a fellowship or membership awarded by a society is not a course the NMC recognises, and will not appear there.
- Ask the awarding body when it mattersThe society or college that awarded it can confirm a fellowship or membership; that is the only check available, and this site says so on the profile. On this site a qualification is marked verified only when it has been checked against the awarding body and the date is shown; otherwise it is marked as supplied.
26 doctors record an FNB
None of them has the qualification checked against the awarding body yet. All are recorded as supplied. Counts are read from the live database and refresh hourly.
Specialities they practise
- Intensivists · 6
- Cosmetologists · 4
- Orthopaedic surgeons · 4
- Paediatricians · 3
- Cardiologists · 2
- Cardiothoracic surgeons · 2
Where they practise
Questions people ask
- Is an FNB a recognised medical qualification in India?
- Not in the statutory sense. It is awarded by a college or society rather than a university, and it is not on the schedules of recognised qualifications the National Medical Commission maintains. It may still represent real training or examination; what it cannot do is stand in for a recognised degree or diploma, and on this site it is shown alongside the qualifications, never in place of them.
Every profile lists its qualifications as supplied and says which of them have been checked against the awarding body and when. Where none has, the profile says so.
General information about medical qualifications in India, checked against the sources listed on 25 Sep 2026. Not advice about your situation. Errors can be reported through the corrections process.