Authors' diary: How to study during Ramzaan

This video has been requested since last year! Finally made it! :)

Exam Prep Hacks -Tips for a lazy person

Hola everyone!

This post is for those people who really struggle during exam time, not because they can't understand studies or are stressed, but for someone who is really lazy and no amount of stress can change that (believe me I'm one of those :P)

So if you're someone who puts on their best game forward during exams and becomes a ninja  - this post is not for you! :P

Okay, so you know your exams are just around the corner and you have shit loads of syllabus to complete and you know there will be last minute panic yet you do not make a strategy and  "go with the flow", completely regret it later and are desperate to change this.

Understand that this post won't make you active all of a sudden, this post is all about embracing your laziness and turning into an asset and to rock your exams always without being under constant stress ;)

Let's get down to the basics then.

1. Always set rewards for yourself.

Sitting continuously for 5-6 hours IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE. Your concentration span is of a fly and you get distracted very easily, so instead of setting a target of studying for 5-6 hours continuously and then being disappointed later, make short targets. Like finishing one or two topics in one sitting and then maybe watching an episode of friends or going out for a walk. This way you feel like you've "earned" the break and will keep you motivated.

2. JUST SWITCH OFF YOUR PHONE.

Let's face it. Our phone's are the greatest source of distraction. Be it a whatsapp text, facebook notification or instagram post, we are constantly checking our phones. Either turn the internet off or put it on do not disturb mode, check the phones during your breaks.

3. Exercise!!!

Okay yes I get it, how is exercise gonna help me study? Remember endorphins- feel good hormones? Yeah well, they are secreted whenever we exercise. Exercise also help increase the blood flow and makes us more active. So, go for a walk for 20 min, skip in your room or dance, Whatever keeps you going, believe me, it's really gonna help. Will increase your concentration too!

4. Coffee.

I do not need to explain this. This is like a godsent drink!!  Everyone swears by it, but honestly, whatever will help you stay up.

5. Make realistic targets.

DO NOT set your goals according to others. Forget how your roommate is studying, how the lights of the topper of your class is always turned on. You know yourself the best. Do what suits you. Set targets for yourself. Setting targets according to others will just leave you disappointed and demotivated. It's a vicious cycle. Don't do it.

6. Select a time best suited for you.

Decide if you're a morning or a night person. And stick to that. Again, do not follow others. If you're a morning person, sleep well in time and wake up as early you can. If you're a night owl, prolong your study for as late as you can. Push yourself a little. Lol, just a little though :P

7. Sleep is your best friend.

Haha. Sleep to your rescue. It has been documented that sleep is very important to convert your short term memory to long term memory, so don't shy away taking those naps! :P Lack of sleep will cause dark circles too :P

But obviously not too long, 4-5 hours is adequate during exam time :P

8. Good diet.

Last but the most important part. Keep yourself hydrated and try to have a healthy diet, something which isn't too heavy. Heavy or oily food will just make you sleepy, tired and of course gain weight. Keep drinking water and fluids. Your brain needs food to function!

Hope all these things help you guys in acing your exams!

So the next time someone calls you lazy, Be Proud ;)

Ashita Kohli

Preparing for NEET - Part 2

Hello everyone.

So now for my part 2 post on NEET PG prep, I will provide you with a seventh month schedule, but before that let’s  talk about the pros and cons of joining classes and how to deal with studies if you don’t join one.

Now in my earlier post I did mention that classes will help YOU with only 20% of the entire prep that also with sustained proper attention in the 12 hour class with proper notes and revision.

     1. The biggest thing you achieve by attending class is that the professors don’t beat around the bush, they give you point to point details and explain the things which they know by experience that the students are bound to screw up the most.

This is not something you can’t achieve by your own.  If you can get your hand on any class notes, then that’s enough, just thoroughly read that book, be regular in solving mcq’s and discuss your issues in group chats or with your study buddies. This does take care of it plus you gain a lot more, because here you are actively seeking answers and not being spoon fed like in classes

If you don’t have any class notes and our reading standard books, I suggest only read the bold lines, don’t read anything else. If you clearly don’t know anything about a particular topic then only read it in depth.

2. Weekly test series and grand test with ranking. This is beneficial only if you stick to the schedule, sadly I feel only 3 out of 10 students are regular at these exams. Also even if you don’t join the regular course, you can just join the test series, which I feel is a great option .

The bad point is that sometimes students feel torn between their own study speed, the subjects they want to study first and the test series schedule. Sometimes the test series just overwhelms you a lot cause every week you need to prepare for a different subject.  This has happened to me, and I feel that if I hadn’t join the test series to begin with, maybe I  wouldn’t have been so confused as to whether what to study and what to revise.

So it’s very important that you all know your own study patterns and your comfort. Don’t do things just because everyone else is doing it.  Chart down your schedule, and once you start with it, stick to it. Don’t listen to people and try doing things their way, you are your own person and you are awesome.

NOW for the study schedule.  This way of prep is bold and ridiculous. Its exhausting and It will demand that you trust the process, but it will work. It was taught to me by one of my friend. Its esp for the ones who haven’t joined any classes.

·         This first phase is for you to grab onto all the possible books on mcq’s you can for the last ten year mcq’s. And then you go crazy, just solve the mcq. Don’t read the explanations. Just solve and solve, just  reading the answers. Thats it. This whole process should take you a month at the max of rigorous solving.

·         Take a break..chill out for a couple of days

·         Phase two. repeat the phase one, now I  have tried this. And by experience I will tell you this is when it gets tough, monotonous and downright stupid but keep going at it. This will take you two months max.

·         Breaktime

·         Phase three is when you repeat it all over again, but now you will see the difference. You will love solving cause now the answers will flow out of you. Cause you have just learned 30.000 important one liners of all the 20 subjects. This process will take you 20 days.

·         Phase four is when you read and solve your doubts, read any damn book you want. Search for pictures, make your own picture library.

Remember 75% mcq are repeats, so this plan is made in a way that you learn all of those 75% first

You need to solve atleast all the mcq a minimum of five times to score a decent rank

Your speed of solving should reach 300 questions in one hour with atleast 65- 70% right.

These above are your goals after you are done with phase four

Irrespective you choose to follow this plan or any of the tips in my part 1 post, or if you choose to modify it according to you. Remember the most important thing is that you have to be consistent and do smart studies and not study like a dog. Have your wits about yourself and don’t  waste your time on reading unnecessary details.

Thank you

Sakkan

Preparing for NEET: Part 1

Hello folks,

This is a common post requested as to how to prepare for NEET PG exams.
And as to whether joining classes is really required to get a decent rank.

So today I will share with you a study schedule told to me by my professor. Which takes around 7 month hardcore prep.

Now for a general approach to it
1. Classes are not essential. Classes add only 20% to the entire PG prep of yours.. That's with like max optimum attention and taking down notes vigorously.

2. Don't read standard books. The competition is so high, that the publishers end up increasing the number of pages. Just to make the book more appealing. Reading those books is a waste of your time cause they repeat the explanations over and over again with unnecessary details which will make you take a month atleast to finish a subject like obstetrics.
The only decent book I found was modit khanna for medicine, like the initial pages of high yield notes and the questions and not the explanations. Don't read the explanations unless the answer is not known to you through the high yeild section.

3. Try getting your hands on class notes. Be it DAMS, Bhatia or IAMS. They are all amazing and to the point. And that's what is needed.

4. Get the NEET PG question booklet, by Arvind Arora. A minimum of last five years questions of NEET is a must to solve.

5. Never sit with a pen and a paper or a marker during your first read for any subject. You will end up marking the whole book and write unnecessary notes  and wasting a lot of precious time. Save it for your second and third read or when you are confident enough that you know the flow of the subject and now just need to focus on details.

6. While reading if you have any doubts make a point to jot it down and find answers before sleeping or at the end of the week. But do solve them. Cause at the end just before exams these are the doubts that trouble you the most.

7. You need to score only a 75% aggregate to score a decent rank. Like to be in the top 3000. That is very much possible with a 7 month smart prep. For the the fight in between the top 3000 see the next para

8. Imagine yourself after a 24hr emergency duty, back to back and just next day you have to write theory paper of your uni exam.That's a near about situation of how mind stressed you are before neet.
Like it's 20 subjects..and you need to shift your focus from ophthalmology to psm in a matter of seconds. If you can't do that and if you waste your time even like an extra 5 mins on one question then you will be compromising the tail questions and that's when the stress gets to you. You keep looking at the timer and boom you black out.

A solution to this is you need to train your brain to deal with this situation. I have an aggregate of tips from medicowesome authors to deal with this.

- Solve the grand test. Just don't stick to one subject solving be as varied as possible. Like your best shot is solving 100 random questions every day doesn't matter if you know only 5subjects out of the 20, you only need to train your brain to deal with it.

- Solve the questions after an on call or after a very stressful day, give yourself the taste of it. So that your brain will be able to switch attentions during exams.

I feel the battle between the top 3000 rankers all comes down to who switched their attention between questions the fastest. The knowledge is the same it all matters that whether you were able to use it to your best or not.

9. Follow medicowesome :D
A bit cheeky but seriously it helps. Every now and then try reading the various posts. It will help you to condition your brain to all the subjects piece by piece.

10. A lot of questions are photo based. Try making your own picture library like jot down the things of pics you want to search for and look for it at the end of the day or the week end.

11. We don't promote apps and stuff but I would seriously advice downloading the pg prep app from Google play. It has stats to show your progress, daily exams, a 55 thousand question bank, photo questions, subject wise and grand test questions. It is amazing. Go ahead download it if you haven't and stick to it.

12. Have a way to destress yourself during the prep. Like be it running , movie, at a cafe or a novel.
Pg prep is a monotonous dumb thing to do , let's not lie to our selves -_-
You need to keep your engine at a steady pace so that you are able to fast track during the last month before your exam.
Like I personally read manga :D
Weekly updates were my solace and paradise. That's the way I treated myself after I had completed my schedule for the week.

I will upload a seven month prep schedule in part 2.

- Sakkan

An overview of the NEET PG entrance exam

AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEET PG ENTRANCE EXAM
by Dr. Prateek Charuchandra Joshi (DNB AIR 291, MH state rank 51)

Fact of the day: Talking to yourself is a sign of smartness

"Look at that guy, roaming around here and there in the marketplace, muttering words and talking to himself. He seems totally insane. Doesn't he?"

MBBS practical viva tips on examination

Smile, stay confident.
Keep calm.
And rock those vivas!

This video is on how to not make silly mistakes during pracs!

Concepts vs mnemonics

"There are two ways to learn something - One is through pure logic  ie, from first principles (building up a concept). The other is mnemonics (To help retrieve info quickly... To avoid all the time and thinking taken to derive it).

The best thing is to learn both ways. If you forget the mnemonic, you can derive it from the concept. If you forget the concept, you'd at least have the mnemonic." - SG

Many people question whether mnemonics really help. This is what I have to say in explanation. Learn both like SG said. They'll help if you manage to remember, if you forget, you can use your knowledge and understanding to come to the same conclusion.

That's all!

SG is a good friend and is very philosophical on learning. These are some random thoughts that she sent and I thought of sharing them because I strongly agree!

-IkaN

Step 2 CK score 251 experience by Saminathan Anbalagan

So in this post, Saminathan Anbalagan, IMG from India talks about how he scored a 251 on Step 2 CK and his journey.

Saminathan:
There are a lot of experience posts which are excellent guides.. I actually went through many of them and took the one which suited me.. So I’ll first write about few areas where I felt difficult.. And then give the whole experience..

I didn't have proper guidance for the assessments.. CMS, NBME and UWSA.. I didn't know how to go about.. I guess many people are feeling the same.. So lemme give an overview..

Step 1 score 256 experience by Satish Advani

So in this post, Satish Advani, CMC Pakistan talks about how he scored a 256 on Step 1 and his journey.

Satish:

I’ll try to make this guide as helpful as possible. Whatever I write here is based on my own experience and the experiences of top scorers I observed during my preparation. 

Resources:

This is the most important part of your preparation and probably most variable also because it depends on your previous knowledge and your way of studying so you have to find out what works for you.

Kaplan, highyield, roadmap, BRS, etc etc the list goes on and on. Important thing is to stick with one book for one subject. If you have difficulty understanding anything google it. It will take sometime but it is going to be worth it.

Here is the list of stuff I used, whether or not I found them helpful and what was my previous knowledge in these subjects (on a scale of 0 to 10)

Physiology: 4/10

I never read Guyton or Ganong in my medical school. Just glanced at a review book to but still I never found this subject too hard.

Kaplan notes - Read the notes and watched the videos . I didn’t like this book. Dragged myself upto the renal system then decided to skip. And then started BRS.

BRS physiology - Hands down the best book for physiology. Probably somewhat difficult to understand at first because its written in a concise way but it’s GOLD my friends. It's questions are important also specially the CVS and respiratory part. Owe my star to this book for these systems.

Biochemistry – How to study?

We see many requests coming to our study groups, asking for few tips to study Biochemistry. Today I thought we should talk about it for the sake of our 1^st year Medicowesomites!! Yay!

Ok, Biochemistry, as the name itself implies is about Chemistry in Biological systems. So what do we most encounter in Biochemistry and how to tackle them?

Anatomy and Neuroanatomy - How to Study

Hi guys, I'm Jay once again, and I passed my Anatomy and Neuroanatomy subjects today in my first year. yayyyy!! :D

So I thought I'd share some facts about how I studied anatomy in my MS1 or First year of Medicine.

First, which books to read?

How to study for final year MBBS

"IkaN, can you write a post on guiding a final year MBBS student who has just started and already feels burnt out? What books can I use? How should I organize my notes? How can I balance my posting with learning for theory? How can I maintain the right attitude and avoid feeling overwhelmed? I tend to compare myself with others as in how well they get along and why I can’t do the same? I feel negative already. Please help me. I idolize you a lot and I really need you to give me a path to follow!"

- Asked on Tumblr

Don't let the score get you down

"Sometimes, I wonder if I should judge myself by the marks I get at the university exams.

I work hard, sickening hard, but my scores don't give justice. I've never been able to enter in the league of 70+s and Ds.

Does it make me less of a doctor? Or have I chosen a wrong profession? Confused.

I seek some inspiring comments. Thank you in advance."

-Asked on my college group

Studying anatomy again

Hey, I really like your blog a lot. I'm still doing my first year. I failed again. This is my 5th trial over all. I feel pretty lost at the moment, I don't know where I'm going wrong. I really love this field but day by day I'm losing my groove and don't even feel like reading the same stuff again. Please do help me out. I want to come out of this mess, so hard for me to motivate myself. I really feel lost. Thanks for your inspiring messages before. God bless you! :)

-Asked by Anonymous

Hey. I can understand that what you are going through must be really tough. Studying for the same subject again and again is really boring and can be frustrating at times. I am so sorry you have to go through this :(

 Alright! So what can we do?

Tip 1: Fake it till you make it.
Pretend you are a super awesome anatomy professor and teach it to yourself after reading.
Write cool things and fun facts about anatomy. Make colorful notes.
Celebrate after every page you read. Be happy while studying.
You have to fake interest in the subject. Because otherwise you won't be able to study for it.

Tip 2: Figure out what went wrong in the previous attempts.
I think you can tell what went wrong. Was there an easy question in your viva that you did not answer? Was there a question with high weight age that you didn't about? Did you mark more than half MCQ's wrong? Did you fail to draw diagrams? Did you forget the answer or did you not know about it? Are you just studying important questions and not reading everything that is supposed to be read? What are your weak points: Neuroanatomy? Abdominal anatomy? Embryology?

Work on it.

Tip 3: Get another book or resource
Maybe your textbook isn't good enough for you any more. Stick to you but get new books just to have a read in other words.
Google for diagrams.
Make mnemonics.
YouTube songs on anatomy. Play them and sing them!
There is a lot of help available, just look for it.

Tip 4: Visualize it
Palpate your brachial artery and tendons while studying. Imagine the muscles in your feet. Visualize how your skull looks like on the inside. Look at diagrams, cadavers and notice the origin and insertion of various muscles. If you can't see it, you won't be able to answer questions related to it.

Tip 5: Live in anatomy
So here's a fun thing you can do. Talk to yourself in anatomy.

Today, when I didn't know the answer to the question, I used my trapezius with my 11th cranial nerve to shrug my shoulders.
To tease my friend, I used Genioglossus to protrude my tongue :P
I used my facial nerve and orbicularis oculi to wink at my girl friend ;)
I am glad I have strong pelvic muscles iliococcygeus and my internal organs aren't prolapsing.

Maybe you could write a "Life in anatomy" diary! xD

Make stupid anatomy jokes. (Soleus has a soul and heart?) Play anatomy games and quizzes.

Have fun with studying, please. But please, study everyday. Make a study plan and study a lil bit of everything. An hour everyday of: Head and neck, limbs, neuroanatomy, embryology, etc. Revise. Revise. Revise. Anatomy is all about memorization and you are likely to forget if you don't revise. Have someone keep a track of your progress. If you can't, email me. I would love to help you out and see you kick anatomy's gluteus maximus this year :D

-IkaN

On 23rd Aug 2016 the person who asked this question messaged me:

Ikaannn... I passsedd! Thank you so much for everything. Really, you helped me so much, IkaN, you have no ideaa. I was so down. You lifted me up and helped me through it. I owe you <3

Sending you big teddy bear hugs :*

Thank you for keeping me in your prayers!

 

Related posts:
Giving the exam you failed in
When you get tired of studying

Study tips on preparing for PG CET

Hey everyone!

So many of you have been asking me how to prepare for the Indian PG exams. As you all know, I am preparing for studies abroad and I don't find myself competent to answer the question. But, we convinced Dr. Prateek Charuchandra Joshi to share his study tips with us.. And he agreed! How cool is this guy! Thanks, Prateek! ^__^

I asked him a few questions focusing on the strategy of studying and irrelevant questions like - how many months/attempts did you take, what were your MBBS scores, how was internship, etc. were not asked simply because these are variable for all of you and you can't do anything about it. What you can do is get a general idea from this post, and make your personalized study schedule :)

Time management and avoiding silly mistakes in exams

"Hello there! Do you have any tips to stay focus and manage my time while doing a paper? I tend to rush and didn't read the questions properly which caused me to make stupid mistakes!" - Asked on Tumbr

Divide number of questions by number of minutes. Have some spare time at the end.

How to keep up with medical school

"I was wondering if you have any tips on how to study daily and not fall behind in med school?" - Asked on Tumblr

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”

Preparing for MCQ exams in Medical School

Well, hi again! Jay here. Today I’m gonna discuss about how to prepare for MCQ points in your exams.

If your college is like mine, where MCQ is the main format of asking questions in Med school, my friend, you are not alone in feeling helpless or lost in sometimes. For some of us, explaining stuff makes more sense but the truth is in MCQs you really cannot explain. You have to be on point.

So without further time wasting, here I am with my points which works for me. But I really understand it could be different from person to person. If you have some more points, why not comment down below? ;)

On excessive worrying about exams

(I received an email yesterday and based on that email, I am writing this post.)

This is the most important advice I would like to give medical students world wide. Or anyone for that matter - Don't take exams seriously.

Once exams start, you can not be stressing yourself.

It's a fragile period, you are testing yourself, there is competition and expectations that you have to meet. It's easy for anyone who isn't psychologically prepared or doesn't have the right mental attitude to break down.

I have heard of people become suicidal right before the exam or simply decide to quit.

Don't let stress kill you. It's just a piece of paper. The score is just a number. You have amazing, amazing things and adventures ahead of you, I promise. Just survive this. One day at a time.

Don't quit before trying. Just attempt and see what happens. Go ahead. Keep going, keep moving forward. You are more prepared than you think you are. It's just the stress fogging your thoughts.

I pretend it's video game. The test is just a level I need to cross by collecting points. I need to keep running like the dude in Temple Run and keep collecting coins. Going level after level just like in Candy Crush. I have given so many exams and crossed so many levels till date. Here's another one, no big deal. I don't need a high score to finish the game, I just need to play the game.

Practice reckless optimism. After reading one page, I do a flying kick and say I am gonna do so good in tomorrow's test. Laugh about how anxious you are and how the score won't even matter after 10 years. Sing a song. Eat chocolate. Be happy and keep studying. Fake it till you make it.