Preface :
A warm welcome to all the dental students . Your friendly Dr.Deb is here again .
This time we present you an article by Dr. Gaurav Mathur .
Credentials of Dr.Mathur
AIPGDEE 2012 rank 89
COMEDK 2012 rank 11
MANIPAL 2012 rank 42
JSSU 2012 rank 44
KLE 2012 rank 86
So I hand Over the Article to Dr.Gaurav .
A warm to all docs from me (Dr.Gaurav)
First of all..all the best to mds aspirants…I hope that this helps you all in deciding your preparation strategy…theres no one method to prepare for exams. Take advice from all but follow that which is best for you….ask your seniors about their way of prep, books they followed, exams they gave. But I must say again “Follow what is best according to you”
To start with, remember few points..
Keep your objectives very clear, i.e. your aim for preparation. Many times during preparation, question arises in our mind about usefulness of this preparation, but always remember…
“People who think get only that, what is left behind by people who try”
Hard work always pays off in the end. Keep your mind focused, procure all appropriate study material and do dedicated hard work, its definitely gonna pay off in the end.
Don’t think that competition is so tough, its not possible, its too hard, I cant read so much, etc etc . believe me people, these thoughts come in every mind, but it lies in your own hands entirely how to deal with them and prove them wrong.
Here are some points about my preparation that ill like to share with you all.
1. Time:
I attended my internship for about 6 months…then started prep for this year exams..so had roughly 6 and half mnths in my hand for aipg and 7 and half for MAHE and COMED, time is not less for those who have just started prep but time management is very very important and every second counts..utilize this time to its fullest extent. remember..each second you waste your competitors get ahead of you , SO DONT GIVE THEM THIS CHANCE!!! Don’t think that this is my first attempt, ill do better prep next year. Students do get selected in first attempt, its no rocket science. Just give your maximum to it.
2. Books to be done-
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pulse and dentist , neeraj wadhwan..(excellent explanations) , aiims dental papers mudit khanna (for aiims and aipg only)-
previous 5 years papers , amit ashish (again for aiims and aipg only) 5yrs , NBDE papers (very imp for aiims, aipg and mahe) ,
Other entrance papers (can be found in Dental bytes or Dental quest) , dental explore (for bhu papers) , prabhakaran- for perio
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3. Theory -
Reading theory part is very important.Mere cramming mcqs wont help you..u must understand question, logic behind it and then solve questions…also “dont read just anything and everything, thats not possible”, read what is RELEVANT…AND FROM GOOD BOOKS . Mark new questions from explanations, synopsis and maintain separate diary for values,scientists, years..etc…theyll be helpful to you for last time revisions and yes I must tell here that my theory part was always strong thoughout my clg life so I didnt face too many difficulties in reading books and my ntes. But yes, if you feel that you are not able to do theory part then its ok, no need to worry, read explanations and synopsis part carefully.
4. Schedule-
Having a proper schedule is very very important. Set your priorities, like which topic and how many topics u have to finish in how much time and try to stick to it, also dont make a very hectic schedule….relax…dont overstress yourself.
5. Coaching classes- I didnt join any classes coz I started very late and so I had to decide things myself, if u think that u wont be able to keep up to your schedule then join classes but dont just rely on them completely, the schedule that they provide may not be suitable for all students .Set your own priorities and work according to them.
6. Sequence-
a. What I did first was read a particular topic (not everything, just brushed through them) from buks and then solved questions
from pulse ,dentest and read their explanations..
b. Once I completed them…I moved on to aipg and aiims papers… Aipg and Aiims papers didnt take too much time( theory and explanation part becomes very handy in these papers and helps solving them).
c. NBDE: Next I started NBDE papers, NBDE are comparatively easy to do but still essential and lengthy, so plan properly. I wasn’t able to complete all, but I completed clinicals. You dont have to do them at a stretch, you can also do them at a rate of 1-2 papers per day right from beginning, since new aspirants have a lot of time u can finish them off within 4-5 months at this rate…aiims and aipg papers have repeats from them definitely.
d. Medical Papers: Right from very first day of my preparation…started Mudit khanna and amit ashish and did few questions per day instead of doing them at a stretch…they took A LOTT OF TIME!!! Problem with these papers is that they are very difficult to retain and very very important…aipg and aiims definitely repeats questions from these. keep separate time for their revision…believe me ppl…doing these papers was HARDEST part of my strategy and they are very volatile so make sure u revise them properly…I didn’t do explanations as there was no time but in any case if u read them its always beneficial..
e. Then I started bytes…there was no time left so cldnt finish all papers..but THE MORE YOU DO THE BETTER!!!! these papers not only helps you to assess your preparation but also builds up your speed and also tells you the important topics and pattern for a particular exam, it also serves as a question bank from where questions can be asked…
f. Prabhakaran: perio has about 300questions..can be done anytime u want, by the time I reached this stage I had already done a lot of questions and many were repeat from prabhakaran, so doing it wasn’t a problem.
g. After aipg, you’ll again get around one month, again set your eyes on next important exam…PREPARE ACCORDING TO IT!! make your schedule according to it…don’t modify your schedule for other exams that comes in between…like my next exam was comed…so i studied according to it. and just revised 1-2 days before other exams…
7. REVISION:
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This is the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of your preparation.
Remember, DOING A NUMBER OF BOOKS DOES NOT COUNT. BUT NUMBER OF REVISIONS YOU DO IS MORE IMPORTANT.
Revise as many times as possible, forgetting things is normal but what matters is who forgets LESS. Keep separate time for revision…
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8. Time to be given per day :
Now it depends upon time u have in your hand and your speed. When I was attending internship I was able to study 3-4 hrs per day. And afterwards when I really sat for prep I increased it to 7-8 hrs per day and eventually to 12-13hrs. It was too hectic for me but I had to compensate for time lost in clg. Those preparing this year and starting right away, you’ll be having more time so u don’t have to stress so much…relax but don’t relax too much…on avg u need to give abt 8-10 hrs per day for prep.
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9. Exams : ALWAYS AIM FOR AIPG, as it includes preparation for all other exams. And attempt as many exams as possible. If u have worked fair enough, you’ll surely land up somewhere. Remember,
“Believe in yourself, if anyone else can do it, you’re no less..keep faith..”
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I hope it helps you in your preparation…if there’s anything I can help you with regarding preparation. do let me know…
Dr. Gaurav Mathur