Aakarsha Sahay
Lokmanya Tilak Medical College, Sion
BAtch 2014
rank 1
It’s about the consistency and patience, we need to put in efforts everyday.
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, I am Aakarsha Sahay from final year at LTMMC Sion. Psm-159, Ophthal-81, ENT-78
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?
Everybody faces that difficulty in the beginning what I feel is that its about the consistency and patience, we need to put in efforts everyday and then only we get some result, specially with a subject as huge as PSM. Eventually things will get better.
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 ?
Not really a strict schedule but yes everyday targets were there, I tried to touch two subjects at least each day so that the subjects don’t pile up plus they help in the postings as well and here we have our final year subjects and exams going on simultaneously so we need to focus on them as well thus a strict schedule never usually worked for me.
4.Is there any particular way in which you study or any special notes that you make? Maybe a different approach than what students normally do?
I have a very short term memory so I need to revise multiple times to retain a topic specially the volatile subjects like Ophthalmology and Medicine. So I believe in writing and learning as it helps better yes, but not a really quite into making notes.
5.Also how important do you think is attending lectures in college? Considering half of the students are either busy on their phones or sleeping, does it really help?
Honestly its about the teachers who are taking the lectures. There are some lectures you cant afford to miss because those people actually give a shape to what we read in books by highlighting the practical.
Practicals is the most important part for clinical subjects anything that you read is not enough but first try to figure out all the basics
6.Was there any help that you acquired while preparing for the exams? 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?
There was nothing really like preparing for these exams, for me it was always about knowing the subject and being able to apply it in the clinical scenario so, when it comes to other preparatory aids, I used to have many topics simplified in a form of a flow chart or diagram or tables for fast revisions and could go through them anywhere like even while traveling. As I mentioned earlier some tips or little tricks of remembering or co-relating stuff given by the profs have always been imp for me. During the PL, I used to follow the previous exam pattern for importants but made sure that I cover little bit around that topic also for clearer understanding plus NEVER leave any practical aspect or point they help the most!
7.What do you do to keep yourself kinda stress free? Go for a swim, go for a walk or just wiggle under the blanket and fall asleep or what?
Naps work like magic for me so whenever I used to get tired or congested “power naps” plus listening to some music and talking to friends has always been of help
8.Are you involved in any extracurricular activities, be it sports, cultural or academics? How do you manage it along with your routine academics?
Yes, for that matter both cultural and academic. I was a part of our college fashion show team for three years and was a part of the literary team the annual medical conference at our college TRINITY( that actually helped me academically). Apart from that I make sure to at least participate in little bit of sports like cricket and volleyball at college itself, I personally really love debates so yeah that too.
Without these life will get too boring and depressing specially MBBS, and this is the time when you enjoy your life, its not going to get any better in future, these experiences are a must. And trust me if you really want to study and have that self motivation you can manage both, its about your dedication because you can always take out time for what you really want to do
9.Could you give some important pointers on Exam writing skills? And also how should one prepare for a practical exam? Any special tips for the people of your college who would be reading this?
For exam writing first of all is time management and attention to the question, you win half the battle here itself, next you need to be precise with a lot of diagrams and flow charts because the examiner finds it better than reading those long boring paragraphs and stories so cut it short and come to the point. Practicals is the most important part for clinical subjects anything that you read is not enough but first try to figure out all the basics and be clear about them and always attend the clinical postings they help a lot, practice is all that helps in practical.
Interviewed By –Prajwal Shetty (IMEDSCHOLAR College representative-LTMMC)