"It's absolutely essential to practice MCQs" says Dr. Dhanush Amin (NEET-PG AIR-246)

 

PrepLadder congratulates Dr. Dhanush on securing Rank-246 in NEET-PG 2019. We wish him all the best for his career and future ahead. To find out how he achieved this incredible feat, we spoke to the man himself and tried to understand what it takes to attain such a rank. Hello, please tell us something about yourself. I'm Dr. Dhanush Amin, basically from Udupi, Karnataka. I completed my MBBS from VIMS, Ballari and I secured AIR 246 in NEET-PG 2019. What do you think is the correct approach to study for NEET-PG? Only MCQs or Theory + MCQs? Both are equally essential in preparing for any entrance exam. When should preparation ideally be started? It's not the few months of preparation that counts (it definitely matters) But what matters more is the overall knowledge which you have acquired throughout the under-graduation. Start building your concepts from 2nd year onwards, and solve MCQs from Internship. Please list the books you studied for each subject. Anatomy -Rajesh Kaushal Physio- coaching notes Biochemistry - Rebecca James Pharmacology- Gobind Rai Garg Pathology- Robbins + Sparsh Gupta MCQ book FMT, Micro- coaching notes PSM - Vivek Jain Ophthalmology - Sashwat Ray + class notes Medicine - Thameem sir's notes, class notes Surgery- class notes SARP, ENT, Ortho, Peds - class notes. 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 had attempted NEET PG '18 during my internship and had secured AIR 4.5k. I had studied how much ever I could in the busy internship of my college but I feel my preparation wasn't complete. After my internship, I made a Strength-Weakness analysis of subjects, focused more on my weak topics, solved more MCQs, grand tests etc along with good revision. I secured AIR 1.8k in AIIMS, 249 in PGI Chandigarh, 164 in JIPMER. I continued to move forward regardless of setbacks and worked harder to achieve a score of 869 with All India Rank 246 in NEET PG which will give me my dream branch which I want! Many factors matter in order to get a good rank, few of them are not even under our control. Have faith, keep working hard and continue studying, things will eventually fall into place. How big is the role of practice and revision while preparing for NEET-PG and how much time should be dedicated for it? It's absolutely essential to practice MCQs, just by reading theory we won't exactly come to know our weak areas and the things which we tend to forget. So, practice and solve MCQs, go back to the topics from ur notes which u aren't able to solve, revise them there itself; bookmark the questions which u feel is difficult/or those which u want to see them again. It's even more important to revise these bookmarked questions. Keep giving Grand tests from the beginning even though u aren't completely prepared, you will exactly come to know where u stand and can track your improvement. I used to write down the high yield and volatile stuff in a small notebook while I'm studying and used to revise these points every time before the exam. Did PrepLadder play a part in your success? If yes, how? Yes, definitely! I had attended Live classes of Gobind Rai Garg sir's Pharmacology, Vivek Jain sir's PSM, Rajesh Kaushal sir's Anatomy. I used to read Gobind sir 's MCQ book from my 2nd year of MBBS itself. The way he teaches is awesome, the mnemonics, his way of explaining concepts are the best. His notes along with MCQs from his review book is more than sufficient for Pharmacology. Almost all the questions were from sir's notes only. Vivek Jain sir 's PSM class was really very useful. I was a bit afraid of PSM since its actually very vast to read on your own plus it carries a lot of weightage in NEET PG. But after attending Sir's class, I read and revised the class notes multiple times and solved MCQs from sir's review book and that fear of PSM just vanished. His concepts of epidemiology, biostatistics were too good. Rajesh sir's way of teaching anatomy is unique and I had only read his Workbook which was given in his class for anatomy which covered almost all high yield stuff. Did you use a time table/ study plan to keep your preparation on track? Yes, I did make a timetable. I used to allot days for a particular subject and used to try finishing it. But the majority of the times something or the other used to be incomplete so I used to keep some Buffer days( days which I have not alloted anything to read) in my timetable so that I can finish those pending topics /MCQ practice. Taking breaks in between maybe once in 7-10days is very much needed for your mind to get refreshed. Were you a topper or a mediocre student during MBBS? I was RGUHS University topper in Medicine, 2nd rank in Pediatrics. My aggregate in MBBS was 73.42% List the most difficult and easiest subjects for you. Difficult- Anatomy, Surgery, Ophthalmology. Easy- Pathology, Pharmacology, Forensic, ENT, Skin, Anesthesia, Psychiatry. One mistake that you believe everyone must avoid while preparing for NEET-PG. Read standard books during your UG, build concepts and concentrate more on basics rather than HiFi stuff. It actually doesn't matter much which coaching Institute you join, coz each of them will toppers who have done well in the exam. And for central Institute exams, it's really important to solve and revise previous years question papers, IT'S A MUST! There is no fixed formula to get an amazing rank coz everyone's style and approach is different, So just Keep studying, revising and solving. There would be days when u will feel low and clueless, speak to ur seniors or friends who care for you and come back on track. Remember, Everyone, are in the same boat. So keep studying, NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL ITS DONE. I would like to thank my mentor Dr.Riyaz sir, nodal officer of NICU, VIMS for his constant support and encouragement and my friends and seniors for being there for me during my difficult times. What was your strategy to tackle negative marking?How many questions did you attempt? I attempted 291 questions in NEET. The number of attempts depends on the marking pattern of the exam. In NEET it's +4 -1 so I think even if u are able to rule out 2 options then u must attempt that question. And suppose if u are able to rule out only one option then read and understand the question well, if we think and correlate then there are chances that we could rule out one more option as well, so you can still attempt that question. The solving strategy for PGI is completely different. Some last tips for our readers preparing for PG? Keep your faith, fight for what you believe in and hold on to your dreams! It might seem impossible in the beginning, but eventually, things will fall into place! We thank Dr. Dhanush for sharing his success story. Keep Following PrepLadder.