Revision for an adequate number of times, writing a test after completing a subject satisfactorily and correcting the mistakes you make in the mock tests.

No, I knew my shortcomings. It was mainly last minute jitteriness and I handled my plans in such a way that I could complete all main subjects before the jitteriness set in. Writing mock tests from ADRPLEXUS gave a huge boost to my confidence.

Six months, if you can handle both reading subjects and writing tests simultaneously, and balance both well.

April 2017,right after my internship got over, I have always wanted PGI and I prepared only for PGI. During internship, workload was too hectic to think of anything else.

I faced problems of volatile memory right from the minute I joined MBBS. MBBS and the problem of volatile memory go hand in hand. I devised methods of remembering stuff of my own right from my UG days and I carried them over to my PG Preps. These methods are more self acquired as the comfort of using them varies from individual to individual. My methods included using mnemonics, TV show anecdotes, movie characters etc. It’s about making the process of learning more fun.

One thing about timetables is, you can plan meticulously all you want. Executing is totally another thing. I planned a lot but could never stick to the timetable. Timetables however kept me in touch with reality of how much time I am losing and the fear of sticking to the timetable kept me going fast. But in the end, I always ended up consuming two or three days more than planned.

Try finishing off a subject within the stipulated week, revise as much as you can and write mock tests after preparing for it, that’s the best way you can make use of a test.

Mostly class notes.

In addition I used the following books:

Physiology – Aravind Arora

Biochemistry – Rebecca James

Pathology – Devesh Mishra

Pharmacology – Sparsh Gupta

Microbiology – Apurv Shankara Sastry

Only notes for the remaining subjects.

I stopped preparing 12 hours before the day of the exam. I went out to get some fresh air and I don’t recollect thinking of the exam until the morning of the exam. Adequate sleep of 9 hours and a good breakfast works wonders.

While writing mock tests in ADRPLEXUS, I devised a plan for PGI and how I should execute it the mains. I started from question 1 and ran through quickly doing all the easy to medium tough questions, leaving out the hard, time consuming ones. I marked on an average 2 to 3 options (only those I was very certain of). In the end with around 15 mins to go, I was left with 15 to 16 hard questions. I chose to attend 6 and left out 10 questions.

Question of depression arises from self doubt and comparing with peers. Firstly, I did not have self doubt, I knew I can make it into PGI with meticulous planning and hardwork, secondly, I wrote the tests separately at my own convenience, spaced out in time and the need for comparing my results with peers was nullified.