1.Congratulations on achieving such an amazing feat. Tell us a bit about yourself. Please also tell us your individual marks in each subject.
Hi,
Thanks a lot for inviting to be a part of this novel initiative.
I am Amogh Pathak, currently a third year student at Seth G S Medical College in Mumbai.
I did my schooling and junior college education at Nashik. I got SML 23 in the NEET 2013, after which I joined Seth GSMC. At that time I also represented India at the International Biology Olympiad 2013 at Bern, Switzerland and won a Silver Medal for the country.
I am also a State level Skating player and a trekker by passion.
My marks in first MBBS were
496/600
(Will send the individual marks with mark sheet)
2.So, when all of this is new and the rest of us are still busy figuring the head and tail of the subject, how did you tackle and master the syllabus?
It’s a difficult question to answer. I would say that the pattern and the depth of studies in 12 standard helped a lot to face the knowledge explosion of medical subjects.
12th studies helped especially in biochemistry and physiology.
Anatomy was comparatively vast and new. I mainly tried to understand the concepts and reasoning behind the design of the subject.
3.Did you have a set schedule, a time table that you stuck to? What were the daily hours that you put in self study ?
The year began with moving to a new city. It took time to get adjusted to hostels, the food and the new institute. The schedule was not fixed for any day but I would put all the time I could get into self study. Around 2 hours in the morning and 2-3 after college wes my self study time.
4.Did you have a different methodology of tackling the subjects? Any special notes that you prepared?
I used to take notes in the lectures and then read the topic from textbooks.
I prepared any topic with the point of view of a theory exam in the form of long and short question answers and then move towards the minute details for mcqs.
5.Do you have any special pointers for specific subjects? The do’s and don’ts of it?
For anat I practiced various diagrams, for physio I prepared flowcharts for various concepts. Biochem was mostly making concise notes and practicing the structures of molecules to understand the pathways.
6.Was there any help that you acquired while exam preparation? Like any visual aids any professional guidance? Or those little tit bits that the professors tell us but none other than the toppers pay attention to? Please share with us.
I never studied any subject based on the “IMP” pattern, but made my own Imps. There was no special guidance, except for 3D orientation videos on YouTube.
The points highlighted by professors in college are of utmost importance for mastering the subject. They help you to understand the reasoning which books may not. They focus on the point which are necessary to know for exams.
7.How vital is the Question bank during exams? Does it come highly recommended or you advice thorough reading of the text and having confound knowledge of the subject?
Never used question banks for studying.
Only referred to them few days before exams to make sure I don’t miss any topics.
Through reading is must for first year subjects.
8.How do you propose the students study and what kind of discipline should be followed during exam time?
There’s never a single way to tackle any subject. Search for a pattern that suits you. All the unit tests and term exams in college are for you to try various methods. Take all of them seriously.
Maintain a good balance between fun and studies.
Extra curricular activities are must to refresh you mind.
9.Could you give some important pointers on Exam writing skills? And also how should one prepare for a practical exam?
The days of Essay pattern answers are gone. Now you need to focus on convincing the examiner that you have understood the subject.
Try to include more diagrams, flow charts. Answer in points. Design your answers using headings. Always add where the knowledge about the topic is applied in actual practice.
For practicals, make full use of the teaching and hands on learning. You should develop confidence for answers in a viva. Practice.
10.Any special tricks and tacts for the students of your college who would be reading this?
No lecture is a waste of time. There’s always at least one new point that you would have missed in the books.
Not all lectures are directly useful for an exam but, no knowledge ever goes waste.
11.So, do you have any parting thoughts? Like disclosing that secret mantra that you chanted or that special brand of energy drink you savoured? Just .seriously though..anything at all?
Enjoy what you are doing.
