Surviving medical college & scoring more marks - With my experience

 

HOW TO SURVIVE MEDICAL COLLEGE LIFE AND SCORE MORE MARKS

BEING A MEDICAL GRADUATE, I KNOW THE DIFFICULTIES THAT A STUDENT EXPERIENCES DURING THEIR MEDICAL STUDIES. THE SUDDEN NEED TO STUDY A LOT OF SUBJECTS IN A LIMITED TIME MAKES STUDENTS ANXIOUS AND OFTEN MAKES THEM FEEL LIKE 'WHY DID WE CHOOSE THIS!'. BUT THAT'S FINE, IT ALMOST HAPPENS IN ANY FIELD OR ANY CAREER OF CHOICE.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY SUGGESTIONS TO SURVIVE THOSE DIFFICULT YEARS WHERE MOST OF THE STUDENTS FAIL TO PROGRESS.

1) LEARN THE ART OF TAKING NOTES 

LISTEN TO THE LECTURES AND TAKE NOTES IN THE CLASS REGULARLY. LATER WHEN YOU READ THE BOOKS, YOU CAN CORRELATE THE NOTES AND COMPLETE THE CHAPTER IN LESS TIME. TAKING NOTES HELPS YOU TO REVISE THE CHAPTER QUICKLY ESPECIALLY DURING THE EXAM DAYS. USUALLY DURING PRELIMS, MIDTERMS AND PREFINALS WE HAVE 2 TO 3 EXAMS IN A DAY, SO DURING THOSE TIMES THESE NOTES WILL BE VERY HELPFUL AND IT IS EASY TO RECALL DURING EXAMS. MOREOVER WHEN YOU GO BACK TO YOUR HOME COUNTRY FOR SCREENING EXAMS, YOU CAN REFER THOSE NOTES. SO WHATEVER YOU LEARN, NOTE IT DOWN AS WE CANNOT REMEMBER EVERYTHING. WRITING NOTES ALSO KEEPS YOU AWAKE DURING BORING LECTURES.

2) USE BOARD EXAM STUDY MATERIALS 

THESE ARE USED IN 2 SITUATIONS 

A) WHEN YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A TOPIC, YOU CAN USE THE BOARD EXAM REVIEW VIDEOS LIKE KAPLAN, PATHOMA, BOARDS AND BEYOND. THOSE VIDEOS ARE AVAILABLE ALL OVER ONLINE. IN THOSE VIDEOS, THEY TEACH ONLY THE IMPORTANT POINTS CLEARLY IN GREAT DEPTH. SO WATCHING THOSE VIDEOS CAN HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE TOPIC IN A NUTSHELL AND CLEAR YOUR CONCEPTS.

B) YOU CAN ALSO USE THE BOARD EXAM REVIEW VIDEOS AND OTHER STUDY BOOK PDF'S TO REVISE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT ALREADY IN THE BOOK. USUALLY WE READ A LOT OF THINGS IN THE BOOK BUT WE DO NOT KNOW WHICH TOPICS ARE IMPORTANT AND HIGH YIELD. SINCE THESE BOARD EXAM REVIEW VIDEOS TELLS US ONLY THE IMPORTANT POINTS, WE CAN USE THIS TO FOCUS THOSE TOPICS MORE AND REVISE THEM BEFORE EXAMS. MOST OF THE QUESTIONS IN YOUR UNIVERSITY EXAMS WILL BE FROM THOSE IMPORTANT TOPICS, SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PASS EASILY. BUT DO NOT DEPEND ONLY ON THOSE REVIEW MATERIALS, AT THIS TIME READING YOUR BOOKS IS THE BEST THING TO DO AND ANYWAYS AFTER GRADUATION YOU ARE AGAIN GOING TO READ THE REVIEW MATERIALS FOR BOARD EXAMS AND ENTRANCE EXAMS BUT U WON'T HAVE TIME TO READ BOOKS SO THE BEST TIME TO READ THE BOOKS IS DURING YOUR COLLEGE DAYS.

3) USE THE LABS WISELY 

WHENEVER YOU HAVE FREE TIME, VISIT THE ANATOMY AND PATHOLOGY LABS. STUDY ABOUT THE TOPIC BEFORE GOING TO THE LABS AND TRY TO VISUALISE IT IN THE LAB. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU ARE STUDYING ABOUT THE HEART ANATOMY, THEN FIRST READ ABOUT IT IN THE BOOKS ( https://amzn.to/3qCtJj4 - Gray's clinical photographic dissector of human body ) THEN GO TO LAB AND STUDY IT WITH THE SPECIMEN. BY THIS WAY, YOU CAN SCORE BETTER IN LAB EXAMS AND CAN DO WELL IN THEORY ALSO.

4) PRACTICE SOLVING QUESTIONS  

THERE ARE A LOT OF FREE EXAMS AND QUIZZES AVAILABLE. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THOSE APPS OR DO THOSE ONLINE. SOLVING MORE QUESTIONS HELPS YOU TO RULE OUT OPTIONS TO FIND THE CORRECT ANSWERS DURING YOUR UNIVERSITY EXAMS AND IT ALSO TRAINS YOUR BRAIN ON HOW TO THINK CRITICALLY WHEN SOLVING. THIS ALSO TAKES OUT THE FEAR OF EXAMS.

5) HAVA AN IDEA ABOUT THE CHAPTER 

READ ABOUT THE TOPIC BEFORE ATTENDING YOUR COLLEGE LECTURES.

YOU DONT HAVE TO NECESSARILY READ EVERYTHING BEFORE ATTENDING THE LECTURE, YOU CAN JUST GO THROUGH THE CHAPTER IN BOOKS OR WATCH YOUTUBE VIDEOS ABOUT THAT TOPIC BEFORE ATTENDING A LECTURE ON THAT TOPIC. THIS HELPS YOU TO FOCUS MORE DURING LECTURES AND CREATES DOUBT IN CONCEPTS WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN BECAUSE IT MEANS YOU ARE LEARNING. SO CLEAR THE DOUBTS THEN AND THERE ITSELF WITH THE LECTURER. 

6) STAY HEALTHY 

USUALLY IN SPORTS, WHEN A PLAYER GETS INJURED OFTEN HIS PERFORMANCE CAN GO DOWN. JUST LIKE THAT, TO STUDY WELL AND STAY FOCUSED YOU HAVE TO BE HEALTHY. EAT WELL, DO NOT SKIP YOUR BREAKFAST ESPECIALLY. DO MEDITATIONS AND YOGA, CREATE A HOBBIE, EXPLORE THE PLACES DURING VACATIONS AND HAVE A HAPPY MIND. 

EQUIPMENTS NEEDED FOR MEDICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS

 1) ANATOMY

Dissection kit - https://amzn.to/3nXd7kB

2) ASM 

Stethoscope - 

MICRO TONE BASIC STETHOSCOPE https://amzn.to/38k4lsd 3M LITTMANN Classic III Monitoring Stethoscope, Black Edition https://amzn.to/3onXP9n

Sphygmomanometer - https://amzn.to/3oZUMVp

Otoscope - https://amzn.to/2XRI3b9

Ophthalmoscope - https://amzn.to/2XW39VS

Tuning fork - https://amzn.to/3bP9M4F

Knee hammer - https://amzn.to/3sDuWIX

Pulse oximeter - https://amzn.to/3hZlDhG

Penlight - https://amzn.to/2M20rf5

Tongue depressor - https://amzn.to/2LOFODh

Medical kit bag - https://amzn.to/39RE6Js

3) SURGERY and OBGYN

Surgical kit - https://amzn.to/3nXd7kB

Scrub - https://amzn.to/3sENecY

Mask and Gloves - 

https://amzn.to/3qAybPC

https://amzn.to/3oZZnqD

Head cap - https://amzn.to/2XRMfaT

BOOKS NEEDED

FIRST YEAR

1) Anatomy - 

Snell's https://amzn.to/3qxfAUu

Gray's for lab https://amzn.to/3qCtJj4

2) Physiology - 

Boron https://amzn.to/2XVySqo

Guyton https://amzn.to/3nY2OwK

3) Histology - 

Junqueira https://amzn.to/3isSFa0

Di fiore's Atlas https://amzn.to/3qFQKSB

4) Neuroanatomy - 

Snell https://amzn.to/3sEOQmU

5) Biochemistry - 

Harper https://amzn.to/2XU4bSn

SECOND YEAR

1) ASM - Bates https://amzn.to/3p5stFa

2) Pathology - Robbins https://amzn.to/3bSAKbv

3) Pharmacology - Goodman https://amzn.to/3bNQixk

4) Microbiology - Jawetz https://amzn.to/35R8emQ

5) Pediatrics - Nelson https://amzn.to/39PuGht

6) Obstetrics - William https://amzn.to/39PyAGS

7) Gynecology - Comprehensive gynecology https://amzn.to/38Z9UN7

8) Surgery -

Schwartz https://amzn.to/35Q9R4j

Bailey and love https://amzn.to/35X8BMH

THIRD YEAR

1) Internal Medicine -

Harrison https://amzn.to/2LPZKWd

2) Dermatology -

Andrew https://amzn.to/3szR2MB

3) Ophthalmology -

Vaughan https://amzn.to/35VedXR

REVIEW BOOKS

1) Surgery Absite review https://amzn.to/2LPd7WP

2) First Aid for USMLE https://amzn.to/2M66hvG

3) FMGE solutions https://amzn.to/3om6n0I

4) MIST all in one for FMGE https://amzn.to/2JQDpqz

5) Kamal KV for FMGE and NEETPG

volume 1 https://amzn.to/2MxmhqP

volume 2 https://amzn.to/2JSeBP0

6) UPSC CMS Kamal KV https://amzn.to/2XmhHhy

! TRY TO GET PDF'S OF BOOKS AND ALWAYS CHECK FOR LATEST EDITION BEFORE BUYING A BOOK !

YOU ARE GOING TO BE SOMEONE'S HOPE SOMEDAY, SO NEVER STOP LEARNING. 

ALL THE BEST