“They tough get going when the going gets tough” This motto is to be followed for getting license to practise in India and be successful.

The passing rate is low and starting early will help. Most people tend to study in last few months only and are not able to complete the syllabus. It makes more common sense to prepare side by side of university exams. You can use any good app to learn from the convenience of your hostel room at any time you are comfortable. The information provided by top teachers is very interesting and students tend to binge watch some teachers like Netflix.  The audio-visual stimulus will make you remember the facts and will be beneficial even in university questions. The speed of lectures can be adjusted as per your convenience

Due to COVID-19 face to face classes have been shut down by government orders. Hence it makes sense to get guidance of good teachers of this field online via the app. Online Recorded classes have advantage of precise notes by top faculty and can be played anytime with limited internet connectivity also. Live classes via zoom etc are a big failure due to excessive disturbance.

Problem Identification  

Even if coaching centres come to university to teach, they will not send their best teachers. It is simply not possible logistically also as one good teacher can go and teach in 100 different universities in one year. Additional comes cost factor and time factor. The faculty has left his practise behind to come and teach abroad so will charge accordingly. Most importantly the classes are conducted for long duration leading to students to get tired. Once the faculty goes back to India there is no feedback on doubts.

The university exams put so much pressure on the students that they are left with no energy to put extra hours to finish the Course from Indian perspective of patient handling. The university exams must be given with all the seriousness but mental make up has to be developed to generate a burst of energy daily to put in extra hours on consistent basis.

What is the Solution?

This is solved by using an app where doubt forums are present and lead to greater teacher student interaction. The question bank of these apps is based on current clinical based pattern is highly recommended and is made by best faculty of this field. The lectures are pin point and precise and enable you to get the concept right and apply it in the right sense. The topics are same only the methodology of asking is different. Like in physiology instead of asking about inhibition of Renshaw cell by tetanospasmin, he will give case presentation of 8-day old neonate home delivery presenting with refusal to feed and lethargy. On examination opisthotonus is noted with lock jaw. Then he will ask for mechanism of action of toxin which is inhibition of Renshaw cell.

Let us take another example. We know that leading glycogen storage disorder is Von-Gierke disease. He will now ask about 4-month-old infant with seizures. On work-up hepatomegaly was noted and blood sugar by heel prick was consistently < 45 mg%. The hypoglycemia recurs inspite of dextrose infusion. The clinical diagnosis is Von Gierke disease due to key finding of recurrent hypoglycemia with organomegaly.

The integration of medicine with pathology with pharmacology is the crux of this entire New pattern called as NEXT.  You have to finish all the three subjects in the first go to ensure that you reach that mental state where solving question is a second nature to you. I will give you one more example of this. He will describe a patient of valvular heart disease who is having fever. This mean possible infection in heart valves. He then gave images of Roth spots and Janeway lesions on the palms and asked for abdominal finding of this patient. The concept is that infective vegetations in heart can embolise to spleen causing splenic abscess and splenomegaly. Simple but in exam time the length of choices of questions will tire out your brain in first hour itself. The exam is however of 2.5 hours so you need to develop stamina to be able to sit that long.

We all tend to lose confidence and self-belief if result in not in our favour. However, persistence is the key and would help you overcome all obstacles. The positive attitude and positive vibes matter for ability to solve MCQ. When serially 5 MCQ go wrong we tend to get nervous and mess up the easier ones. It is important that to keep the faith in self-capability and self-preparation.

TEN Steps that must be executed by the aspirants to Clear the exam get license to practise in India

1. Focus on university exams and use standard textbooks plus app from first year to understand the concepts better. Subjects like anatomy, biochemistry may look dry but they must be studied to ensure better performance
2. Pathology and pharmacology is of top importance for this exam and must be understood thoroughly
3. Medicine and surgery are game changers for this examination and must be done at least twice before the exam. The topics would remain the same though choices may be long.
4. Analysis paralysis is what most medical students develop after a bad score in first attempt. This results in self-pity and self-doubt and friction with parents and friends. So, first is to be learn to mask the pain and be extra sweet to everyone on outside. Use the pain to motivate you to study extra hours.
5. Don’t be too focused on one small mistake made on one bad day of examination when your mind stopped working. Rather use this time to become more knowledgeable and wiser.
6. Let it out and talk it over with friend or family. Venting out your frustration into some body close is better than bottling up with negative emotions. Stay out of groups over cup of tea who either boast about completed 10 subjects already when you are struggling to complete third subject. They are doing it superficially and being fast reader does not mean through understanding of subject
7. Train daily into doing subjects which you are afraid of since medical college days. Don’t postpone and it is now or never.
8. Negative energy can be seen as a low point in mood that can pervade throughout your whole body and to those around you. So, keep away from negative people and start pushing your limits by focusing more per hour. Sleep deprivation will make you more negative as irritable mind is recipe for disaster
9. Finish the q bank twice before the examination from single source and not multiple sources
10. Use Final edge 3^rd edition by Jaypee publishers or Snapshots by Prep-ladder for image-based questions.