Being thorough with your basics is a must- says Dr. Praful Pandey (AIIMS PG Rank 2)

PrepLadder congratulates Dr. Praful Pandey on achieving AIIMS PG Rank 2 held in May 2017. We wish him all the best for his career and future ahead. Dr. Praful emphasized that revision and MCQ based approach is the key to crack the exam. Hello, please tell us something about yourself. Hello, my name is Dr. Praful Pandey. I have done my MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical College. I secured Rank 2 in AIIMS PG Exam held in May 2017. What do you think is the correct approach to study for AIIMS PG? Only MCQ's or Theory+MCQ's? AIIMS is a very conceptual exam according to me. Being thorough with your basics is a must to be able to crack it. I would recommend that one should focus on their concepts and standard books in their MBBS and adopt a much more revision and MCQ based approach during internship. When should the preparation ideally be started? I believe that one should start as early as possible because the more time you have the more thoroughly you read. Such detailed reading helps a lot in the exams. Please list the books you studied for each subject. The books I studied for preparation are as follows:

• Anatomy- HAMS textbook and diagrams from Gray's anatomy
• Physiology- Ganong
• Biochem- Harper and Arvind Arora
• Pathology- Robbins
• Pharmacology- Garg
• Microbiology- I made notes from Ananthanarayan and Paniker's Textbook of Microbiology in my 2nd year / Mukherjee for Parasitology
• Forensics- Sumit Seth
• PSM- Vivek Jain + Parks notes made in 3rd year + Biostatistics for USMLE
• ENT- Buddhiraja
• Ophthal- Class notes + Parsons
• Medicine- I read a major chunk of Harrisons out of interest. If not possible Dr. Thameem Sir's notes are very good
• Surgery- General Surgery from Bailey Discussion notes for Trauma rest - Pritesh Singh
• Paeds- Ghai
• Gynae- Hopkins manual
• Derma- Neena Khanna
• Psych- Discussion
• Anaesthesia- Discussion
• Ortho- Apurv Mehra
• Radio- Discussion

Have you attempted any PG exam previously? If yes, what were your ranks then and what did you do different this time that lead to your success? Yes, I previously attempted PG Exams. In AIIMS November 2016 session, my rank was 98 and in NEET my All India rank was 153. How big is the role of practice and revision while preparing for AIIMS PG and how much time should be dedicated for it? Revision is the key according to me. One doesn't need to crack the toughest questions to crack the exam. One just needs to solve the basic questions with utmost accuracy for which multi cycles of revision are a must. I would recommend dedicating at least 2 months before the exam purely for revision. Did PrepLadder play a part in your success? If yes, how? Yes absolutely. It was my go to website to have my doubts answered. Did you use a time table/study plan to keep your preparation on track? Yes, I followed a time table always. Time tables ensured that I didn't dedicate too much time to a particular subject or topic which is crucial as a holistic preparation is needed. Were you a topper or a mediocre student during MBBS? I was slightly above mediocre but definitely not a topper in any sense. List the most difficult and easiest subjects for you. For me the easiest subject was Surgery thanks to an amazing teacher in my surgery unit in final year. The toughest subject was Biochem as I always felt like it's a different language. One mistake that you believe everyone must avoid while preparing for AIIMS PG. The mistake that one should avoid is focusing too much on repeats and guides. Topics may be remotely repeated but a purely repeat based approach is no longer a viable option according to me. How many questions did you attempt in AIIMS PG? I attempted 197 out of 200 questions. Some last tips for our readers preparing for PG? Everyone feels hopeless at some point of time. The key is to keep pushing no matter what. Hard work is always rewarded. Also read: A subject read but not revised is as good as not read -says PrepLadder Alumni Dr. Pawan Goel (AIIMS Rank 1/ PGI Rank 7) Work hard, have self confidence, and success will be yours - says Dr. Akhil Baby (AIIMS Rank 8) Study theory because AIIMS PG will test your concepts - says Dr. N. Amrutha (AIIMS Rank 12) Start preparing from internship to get through AIIMS exam – says Dr. Dipin Sudhakaran (AIIMS Rank 15) Repetition lies at the heart of mastery - says Dr. Mohsin Raj Mantoo (AIIMS Rank 16/ PGI Rank 11) Clarity of concepts and revision is essential - says Dr. Meghashyam (AIIMS Rank 17/ PGI Rank 3) Keep following PrepLadder!!