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Dr.Abhinav Singh's Blog

how to prepare for all india pre pg MEDICAL exam

Posted byDr.Abhinav Singh10 May 2012 - Filed inHealth-#how to prepare for all india pre pg

MEDICAL exam - 334 views

hi friends, i realise that many people must be in the same position as i was one year back......... i

know that at the start of prep, there are a thousand questions and even more doubts and

uncertainities ,......... there is an urge to make it in the very next jan......to use the time availablemost effectively so that we dont repent later about how we used the time for preparation.

i think the min i can for people like me is to speak out, to say something about what i learnt from

1 yr or prep.

but one thing,........... LUCK DEFINITELY MATTERS.+matters how hard u study, in the end it

all comes down to the D-day and how u perform on that day.also how much u can keep ur coolon that day and steer thru the questions well makes a lot of difference . so right from the firstday, AIM FOR THE BEST BUT BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST. in anycase, a good

preparation definitely is ALL u can do , so forget about the rest for now.

in most exams with mcq type of questions, two type of people are likely to fare well. one.....those

with a great memory.............two..........those with a good logic and reasoning . and the ones with

both can prove to be lethal. i think these two abilities are inborn, cant really improve on them but

one can definitely try to get the 100% of the raw materials one has. also these abilities tend tocompensate for each other to some extent. i.e. a guy with a great logic, reasoning and analytical

skills can get more mcqs correct with less preparation, and someone with great memory can

setup a huge database with which he can crack most of the questions. these two types of peopleare always going to dominate the initial ranks (upto 300 maybe). so i think there is no method by

which u can ensure a rank up there. these places are already filled up!!!. so u will eventually be

there if u were meant to be there. WORK FOR it BUT DONT STRIVE FOR IT OR BE CRAZYFOR IT. and DONT COMPARE THE AMT OF HARD WORK WITH THE OUTCOME. JUST

TRY TO GET THE BEST OUT OF YOURSELF.

realise what type are u. and u will know how much work u need to do.

all thru out the preps, i think the focus should be on GETTING THE MCQS RIGHT that is what

matters in the end . hell with the facts and figures, get enough practice of SOLVING mcqs sothat u get an idea what is it that they want to know by asking the question. i think this is a

subconscious proccess which develops only by doing max mcqs.

so whenever ever u come across any mcq, dont just look out for the ans in case u have no idea

about the topic. try to think something, try to fit in some logic, try to rule out the options, etc

........ and believe me u will be able to get many mcqs right in the end JUST LIKE THAT.!!!
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2/11

i would always suggest retrospetive reading for most subjects. exception : Pathology (robbins-

read the imp chapter whole, they will be help in many other subject mcqs. in fact , i say robbins

is the best book to begin prep. it will create a good database that will help all the way)

Psychiatry ( ahuja- small and well written book. worth going thru whole)

for rest subjects best to go retro acc to me ,......... bcos,- there is such a huge amount of theory

involved. every chapter, ever page, ever line can be framed as an mcq. no end to that. if u try to

read and remember every thing that has been written, u would never end ur preps. so realise onething U ARE NEVER GONNA BE A MASTER OF EVERY SUBJECT OR TOPIC. U ARE

NEVER GONNA BE ABLE TO SOLVE 'ALL' THE MCQS. u are always gonna come across

alien mcqs no matter how much u know. so give up the greed of knowing any subject absolutely

thoroughly........ thats never gonna happen.

instead ur motto should be to finish a subject swiftly, but covering most of the imp and freq

asked topic. and about the rest topics......... u would come across many of them as u do moremcqs. and in no case should u miss a whole subject by the end of the year- that would be a

hangable crime.

summarising - the first milestone should be to cover all subjects in the first reading by coveringmost of the imp topics,..............by JUL-AUG 06.

study one subject at a time, ........ get any mcq book (ashish amit is a good one). take a chapter,FIRST GO THROUGH THE MCQS............TRY TO SOLVE THEM...........THEN SEE THE

ANS...... then read the respective topic from the book.

that would make the preparation lively and interesting. keep ur focus on playing the game..........

i.e. solving the mcqs ( hell with facts and figures). believe me u will become hungry and addictedfor mcqs in some time.

when u are finished with one subject , u will have a confidence ........ BUT IT WONT LAST !!!!ur clarity about the subject will fade with time. (esp. applies to people like me who have memory

< 256 MB !!!!!). so the imp thing is revision..... WILL HAVE TO READ EACH SUBJECT

MORE THAN ONCE AT ALL COST.

hence imp to be rapid in doing any subject........ dont waste too much time on any subject...........

if something taking a frustratingly long time, JUST LEAVE IT.

so that was about doing the subjects, but there is one thing equally important which i would like

to really stress upon.............and that is GROUP STUDY.

make a group of 4-6 good friends who are sincere enough and who carry along with each otherwell. devote some hours (preferablly 2.5-3 and at the end of the day) for group discussion. select

a good place without any disturbance (and without any means of entertainment nearby!!). take a

book like Salgunan whre mcqs are in a haphazard manner (i.e. not topic wise )............go thru thepages.... try to tell each other what u know..........share information and imp point u have..........


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and look back into the book where needed... ......... one person at a time can read aloud imp

points from the topic u come across. etc etc.... devise your methods.

that will really help u cover more topics and theory in shorter time.....give u an alternate way of

dumping database into ur head........ and at the same time make the preparations a really enjoying

experience.

third equally imp thing is TEST PRACTICE.

after most of the people in ur group have finished the course once (would be around aug-sept),

suscribe to mock test papers which coaching classes provide(we hd got the vidyasagar mtp's).....and once a week sit togather to write a paper..... that will really help u a great deal to give u the

knack of SOLVING MCQS IN REAL TIME , show ur progress,.....ur weak subjects .........ur

guessing ability.etc. u will know how many difficult question u should be attempting.

believe me the performance in these papers is very indicative of your real position. so in the endu will be able to know what to roughly expect in AI.

really tired of typing by now !..... but would like to add a few things.......

MUDIT AND ASHISH- very useful books, try to cover as much as possible.

PHYSIO(GANONG)- really pithy book. can ask from anywhere..... proof- AI06 paper !!! try tocovr as much as possible.

BIOCHEM(harper)- really imp subj....can reallly make or break ur day. but very time consuming. can be done effectively by group study.

PHARMAC- (KDT)dont miss anticancer, antiarryhtmics and newer drugs from harri.

PATHO (robbns)- great book.....worth reading most of the chapters. group study very useful.

MICRO - another difficult subject..... can never be a champ...... stick to ananthnarayan... cover itas much as possible retro....and dont aim to be a champ!!!

HARRISON(Medicine !!)-

most controversial subj. my warning - never try to read tht book pro. u will never steer to the

other end of that sea....and if u do , wont know where u have landed!!!! meaning to say tht even

if u manage to read it ..will never remember all.... not cost effective.best thing acc to me - solve as many mcqs as possible and just have a look in harri about each of

those topics.......DONT CRAM ALL .... ONLY READ 'THAT' TOPIC.build database gradually

secondly, HARRISON TABLES ARE POWER PUNCHES.. DONT MISS ANYONE U COME

ACROSS.............THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF HIDDEN MCQS IN THERE!!!!

Surgery - difficult subject to cover. reading L&B is fruitless. instead solve as many mcqs as

possible. IF HAVE TIME ... do schwartz pretest (recommended).


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PSM -scoring sujbect. group study v.imp to prevent sleep.

SKIN - harrison best acc to me. few pages will cover most+ mudit ashish ......enough.

Anaesthesia - kdt for drugs, coaching class pamplhlet +mudit khanna........enough(NO LEE).

RADIO- mudit ashish enoughRADIO THERAPY- DONT MISS THIS ONE. there are questions scattered all place in recentexms. me did not read. if u can come across some basic book...read it now only.......will

definitely give u an edge.

so thats it about preparations but remember, in the end it all comes to the Dday and Dday is all

that matters.so be focused ,fresh, and at ease on that day. dont torture your mind much for 1wk

before that day. do justice to each and evry question, and PLEASE AVOID SILLYMISTAKES.......BCOS THAT WILL REALLY PRICK UR SOUL LATER.

SUMMARY(keywords)- HASTE, FOCUS ON MCQS, REVISION, TEST PRACTICE,GROUP DISCUSSION, DAY.

home

http://www.smarteach.com/Content/Medrc/Demos/2783/smarteach.htm

These are the words of ANVITA PAURANIK,the AIPG

TOPPER.

http://www.rxpgonline.com/postt94377.html

Hi everyone! I can't really put in words how eternally blessed I've

been feeling. By God's grace, I'm in a position to finally write about

these tedious competitive exams.

The books, the methodology of studying... all are so variable and

yet they are all correct. There is simply no fixed path, you have to

chart your own.

So if you happen to read this post in the middle of your prep, and

find some of the textbooks/mcq books to be different, just move
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5/11

on.... nothing here is black and white.

I've put together the lists of books which i'd referred plus some

random points regarding the ever challenging preparation for All

India Pre-PG. If you have any queries, you are free to post. I'll trymy best to help you out.

New mcq books are launched quite frequently...its advised to have

a look at all books which are available, then choose whichever you

find the best..

all the best!

Anatomy

BDC

Langmans embryology (has beautiful colored illustrations and

clinical correlations- so better than inderbir singh)

Netters Atlas for ref

Physiology

Ganong (esp the initial chapters- nerve, muscle. plus concepts for

cardiorespiratoryPhysiology, renal function etc)

Few mcqs at the back of ganong are good.

Biochemistry

Lippincotts (a beautifully illustrated must read text : xerox not

advised)

Harper for ref for genetics (esp the glossary) and few metabolism

charts

for MCQs of 1st year you can do saumya shukla. but please keep in

mind that explanations in amit ashish are far superior. the only

reason why s.shukla is popular is that mcqs are arranged chapter
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tissue infect, regional syndromes and glossary in Maheshwari.

Skin: do the mcqs and refer Neena Khannas excellent book: simply

read the captions and see images. read the synopsis.

Anesthesia: Ajay Yadavs book is a must read..esp the 1st half-

basics, inhalational and i/v agents.

Radiology: most of the signs asked in systemic radiology can be

memorized easily if youve read texts of medicine and surgery in

final year. Sumit sethis book is handy and good for quick revision,

should be read completely.

Psychiatry: did mcqs 1st from amit ashish rather than s.shukla

neeraj ahuja- not quite appealing, did only few chapters

scanning the glossary of Kaplan and Saddocks is a good idea.

MCQs for sarp: s.shukla for chapter-wise mcqs, then switch to

Amit ashish.

Pediatrics: intial chapters of Ghai- newborn, jaundice etc. mcqs

from amit ashish. didn't find 'talekar' or span to be any useful.

know the basics of cyanotic heart diseases from ghai, milestones

from Nelson.

the two volumes of Saumya Shukla are okay since they give mcqs

chapter wise. And THAT is perhaps the only reason why its

popular. Having the whole of 1st year subjects together is good.but nothing can beat the explanations of Amit-Ashish

The content fororthopaedicsand opthal in SS is too much in detail

and should be read with caution! Several answers in S.Shukla differ

from that given in amit ashish...do not waste time in searching the

references; learn whichever ans you feel is better OR else follow
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AA.

Tumor- Rachna Chaurasia

again the explanations in AA are superior. You can refer robbins

alongwith this book. you can skip gynec tumors as they can bedone from sakshi hans

USMLEbooks may be used for following (but not prerequisite)

Behavioral sciences kaplan video-Psychiatryand stats

Flowcharts of bacteriology and virolgy classification from Kaplan

1st Aid for step 1 is good but youll never have the time (or

energy!) left for it...after doing AA/S.shukla

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------

Maximum time given to preclinical and paraclinical subjects. I

started off with anat, then biochem and physio. Then 2nd year,

PSM, sarpoo and in the end med, surg,Obsgyn.

Before starting to read any text-book, just look up MCQs asked on

that topic. Say, before reading general path, just look up mcqs

already asked on it. It will give you an eye for marking facts in the

books which might me asked next time.

Better to open the textbook alongwith the (half cooked) isolated

explanation given in MCQ books. Youll have pictorial memory plus

get to mark new mcqs, if you refer to the respective pages.

Advantage of Subject wise mcq books:

Chapter wise arrangement of MCQs helps in better

comprehension of the subject.You can finish reading that chapter from the text-book in one go.

Demerits:

extremely time consuming.

very difficult to revise these subj wise books in the end along with
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10/11

recent papers and AA.

Solution: to do only questions and ans & not the whole

explanation.

OR to do only those topics which you find tough/difficult....

Time give to various subjects:

it is highly variable. For me 1st year was like kora kagaz, so gave

around 1 and half month.

for 2nd yr subjc and med, surg, I gave on an average 2 weeks

New Editions of textbooks:

it used to give me jitters! for textbooks like Park, Ganong etc, just

read the preface and notedown the new changes. read em if you

have time.

Harrison's 17th edition

Can't say much about it. I just used to turn pages if I happened to

find any references esp while reading micro- legionella/leptospira

etc.

Used to look up tables esp in 1st part- for hematonco and genetics.

Genetic Linkage is well described (it was asked in may08AIIMS)

I really don't know how fruitful it will be to read it extensively. Just

that your pre and para clinical subjects should not suffer..

Revision:

DON'T READ anything new for atleast 2 months before all india

make a fresh time-table

revise those subjects first at which you're bad off

its neither necessary nor possible to revise every subject and every

book.

I used to mark diificult mcqs in my books with a colored pen...then
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11/11

used to solve only those questions

sometimes simply "turning pages" of a well thumbed book may

work wonders.

"never ever mark answers in your amit ashish "

==

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