Topper in MBBS goes to which branch

Being a topper in MBBS is a dream of many students. Most of the students who are doing MBBS were toppers in their classes when they were in school. But the reality comes in front during MBBS and especially during exams time. During viva time to be very precise. Haha...

Many of us joined the medical college with a dream of either being a "Cardiologist" or a "Radiologist" or a " Neuro-Surgeon" like doctor strange. But how many of us are actually getting our dream true?

So, In this quick article, I would like to explain "Topper in MBBS goes to which branch". This question is really very subjective. As it completely depends on one's own choice and field of interest. Although you must have great merit to have an ampul number of choices. But, Let's assume that you are the topper of your batch and your NEET PG/ NEXT score is quite impressive too. So, now what will be your thought process? 

From a topper point of view, He/She would go for their field of interest in my opinion. But there are other factors that a topper could consider, like: -

Workload 

This is one of the most considered factors for choosing a branch after MBBS. As we all know, India is a very populated country, and here the condition of Medical Residents is not very good. They are being asked to work for 72-84 hours without rest in government setups. So, the topper definitely might choose a branch with a low workload and very few and low emergency calls. 

This criterion is being fulfilled by the branches like " Dermatology" and "Radiology". They are relatively less workload and few emergency calls. Although radiology may have a little bit more workload. But both the branches are being liked by toppers. 

And we can see that by analyzing previous years' trends of medical pg counseling and choice filling. In the past year, there has been an increased interest in toppers for Such branches due to which these branches have a very high cutoff in every college.

Money 

Although money should not be the primary factor for choosing a branch. But many students consider money too. And there is no bad thing that you consider money, after all, money is necessary for a good life. 

The Branches Like Surgery, Orthopedics, Medicine, Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine are very good paying branches. And many toppers go for them too.

Scope of Research

This what a topper always wants to do. Many toppers want to indulge themselves in research work and all. This is because research work and publications make you very famous among the community if it goes well. 

Branches like Community Medicine, Medicine, Surgery, Opthalmology, Pediatrics, OBGY have endless scope for research.

Safety 

Nowadays this factor is gaining importance. Nobody wants to get beaten just because of something wrong happened with the patient. I agree that some doctors do gross mistakes that lead to complications. But not every time for complications and death of a patient the doctor is responsible.

As there are chances of increasing violence against the doctors so many toppers prefer to opt for a safe branch with less patient interaction.

Branches Like Radiology, Dermatology are preferred by toppers. It has also been seen that sometimes these top rankers go for non-clinical branches.

Respect

There is a general dictum in India that Cardiologists, Surgeons, neurosurgeons, etc. are more respected. So for having a good status in society and in family Students also choose such branches 

Intrest 

Above all that I have discussed is just based on my assumptions. But this the major determining factor that what a student will choose. This factor is applicable every time. If you are interested in a particular field then it doesn't matter that how much workload you are going to have there, how much money you are going to earn, what is the scope for research, and the criteria for safety and respect.

The thing in which you are interested will keep you happy forever. This will be your job in the future and I feel that we should take our occupation as our hobby.

Summary 

So after that long article if you are still reading this then I am very thankful to you. From Here onwards I won't consume most of your time. So to conclude " The branches that are being Chosen by MBBS Toppers" are; -

• Radiology
• Dermatology
• Medicine
  
• Surgery
• Orthopedics
• OBGY
• Pediatrics
• ENT
• Opthalmology 
• Community Medicine 
  

Should I read Harrison in MBBS?

 How many of you guys love medicine as a subject?

If you ask the same question to me then I will say that I like the subject a lot. But it doesn't mean that I am going to read the medicine the whole day. and By reading medicine the whole day I mean reading Harrison. You guys might be aware of the fact that Harrison is considered "The Backbone of the Med School". But is it really worth reading whole books cover by the cover if I am just doing MBBS?

I use to get a lot of queries from a lot of medical students that whether they should start studying Harrison from the beginning of their clinical subjects to get a strong foundation. I would simply like to say No to this approach. Yes! you might be surprised to hear but it's not the best way neither the second-best way. 

See, Harrison is a huge book. It's an ocean of vast knowledge where everything is very expanded and linked with each other. You will need a lot of time to just read every like of the book by heart and most probably the double of that to learn every line of it. But then what about the other 18 subjects of your MBBS. Who is going to complete them?

Here in this article, I am going to talk about the benefits and the issues that you will face if you are going to read the whole Harrison during your MBBS by heart.

Note: - I don't want to discourage anyone from completing that book, it's a wonderful book for medicine. I am just putting my views regarding some very common queries which people ask. Here I am going to tell most of the things in the Indian Medical Colleges Context, but they might be helpful for others a well

Issues

• Time Consuming: - Harrison is not a review book. It's a textbook and the Big one. It is having more than 4000 pages and the font size of that book is also very small that makes the book very lengthy. It will consume a lot of time if you go through the book line by line to understand one thing. If you will give whole of your time to medicine only then how you are going to complete rest of your subjects for exams.
• Very Vast: - For me, Harrison is a reference book and I use it for gathering information about some topics that I don't understand from my other books of medicine. It's too vast and too lengthy to even complete a single topic from it quickly.
• Hard to Write Exams with Harrison: - Let's say you have read the Harrison before your exams successfully, but the main problem comes when you are going to write answers from that knowledge that you gained from the book. Why? because you have read a lot of stuff in the paragraph manner and you don't how to represent the stuff in your answer sheet. Also, you will have a lot of information regarding something that might be very relevant according to you and you want to write it in your answer paper but, but, but you have limited time and you have to complete all the answers.
• Lack Of Time for Other Subjects: - So guy it's very obvious that if you like medicine then you are dreaming to get a PG seat in Medicine. You might also know that the cutoff for Internal Medicine in India is very high. If you think that you can end up with a very good rank by just reading medicine then it's not true. You have to work on other major subjects like Surgery, Obs Gyne, etc. also. With medicine alone, you cannot get a good rank. You have to plan accordingly and give proper time to all other subjects also.

 Benefits

• Good Concepts: - If you will somehow manage to complete the Harrison during your MBBS then literally you will be having a very good conceptual knowledge regarding the physiology of the human body and the pathology of the diseases. Things will be very easy for you and definitely, you will become very good at history-taking as well.
• Good Integration with Other Subjects: - As I said earlier, Harrison is a vast ocean of knowledge and everything here is very expanded and integrated. So if you will complete it by heart then your understanding of other subjects will also improve and you will able to integrate subjects with each other.

Completing Harrison is a really very challenging task especially when you are an MBBS student where you have to complete the rest of the other subjects in a limited time. I am not saying that it's impossible to complete it. I just want to convey that it's not necessary to complete the whole book in UG. You will be going to get admission in MD Medicine and that would be the best time to read and complete Harrison.

By this article, I never meant to discourage anyone to complete the book. I just presented my thoughts, I just want to tell you what I feel should be done. 

Harrison For Competitive Exams

As far as NEET PG or NEXT is concerned I really don't find any need to read Medicine from Harrison. The strong explanation behind it is that when we prepare for any competitive exam we should pay more attention to revisions and crisp study materials. In the end, the thing that matters in the exam is your speed and accuracy, yeah definitely knowledge also but what would you do with that knowledge that is not relevant at your level. 

Choose the weapons that will help you in war, Not that which you can't use at the right time.

So, I would like to say that rather than going with the bulk of knowledge pay more attention to revision strategies. Here is one of my articles on "How to Revise Efficiently" if you want to know about some revision tricks.

If you want to know more about the NEXT Exam the here is the Article Link.

 

If you have any queries feel free to comment below and Keep me Supporting.

How To Study Anatomy Efficiently ?

Hello Young Medicos, so here we are with a new blog article on how to study Anatomy efficiently? I am getting a lot of questions regarding anatomy. Many new medical students are worried about Anatomy. It's very obvious because it's a very volatile subject. It has many jargons in it that itself take 2-3 weeks to get used to them. But Guys let me make me think very clear, if you start understanding anatomy then it will be a very easy and most interesting subject of the first MBBS. 

So, first thing first, as we all know that anatomy is the study of the internal architecture of the human body at both gross and microscopic levels. So, I would like to advise you not to study as a subject but study it as you are reading it to know about yourself internally. Start developing interest in the subject. I know that many of you will not agree with me about starting loving anatomy. here is a blog of mine regarding " How to prepare the hard Subject" I hope it will give you some orientation regarding how to approach the hard subjects. 

Why Anatomy Is So Important?

Anatomy is the foundation of many clinical subjects. Anatomy is the foundation of Surgery, Radiology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, and many other clinical subjects. If you are weak at anatomy then definitely you will end up struggling with these clinical subjects. It's the subject of basic science that covers many aspects of Surgery, without knowing the normal anatomy of the body how a Surgeon is supposed to do corrective surgery. 

You can not ignore Anatomy if somehow you managed to pass the subject in your first year without a good understanding of anatomy then this subject may haunt you in your final year. At that time you will not have sufficient time to start anatomy from the beginning. 

Let's get back to the topic, in this article I tried to convey most of the effective ways that could help you to get comfortable with anatomy. I personally tried these methods when I was in my first year of med school and it helped me a lot. So, without wasting the time let's get started.

Read from One Book only

Many of the students generally tend to refer to a lot of books for one subject. This is the worst strategy for understanding anatomy. You have to aware of the fact that you just don't have the anatomy to study throughout your first year. You can not give the whole of your time to anatomy. I admit referring from multiple can make your concepts crystal clear but it will consume a lot of time. Your standard textbooks like B.D Chaurasia or Vishram Singh are more than sufficient to learn anatomy and make good concepts. You need not refer to Gray's Anatomy every time it just consumes a lot of your time and energy. Just stick with one book till the end and you will get a good result. 

Attend Anatomy Lectures Regularly

Okay Okay, I know it's kinda hard to practice it in reality because many times anatomy lectures are very sleepy. But if you want to learn anatomy by heart you have to attend lectures. if I speak about myself, I was not very consistent in attending lectures but later I realized that I had done a huge mistake. I don't want to let you repeat the same mistake. If you don't like attending the lectures then you can go for some online lectures available on youtube or you can buy the lectures from platforms like MARROW or Prepladder. 

Try to Go through the topic before going to Dissection

Probably the best and effective way to learn anatomy is first to read it from textbooks and then apply your knowledge in the Dissection Hall. Humans are visual learners and our brain learns quickly after watching something. After reading the topic and then performing its dissection on human cadaver make your understanding better and you could retain the topic for a very long time.

After that, I don't think that you need to cram the things and have to worry about the exams.

Learn With Diagrams 

As I said earlier, we are visual learners and anatomy becomes very easy if we learn it with diagrams. with the diagram, we can get the actual view regarding the structures. I usually learn to draw the diagram first with all labels so that I could get a fair idea about the topic and then I proceed into reading the theory. This method helps me a lot and makes the anatomy very smooth and easy-going. 

Initially, you might face some problems but eventually, you find that this method is very effective and helpful.

Do regular Revisions  

As being humans our mind is programmed for forgetting things. The best thing we can do to tackle this is regular revisions. I have created a post "How To Revise efficiently " where I have explained details about everything and how regular revision works. you should refer to this amazing post. I have explained the scientific basis of forgetting and the classical forgetting curve. I hope that you will like that post as well.

Conclusion

For many students, anatomy seems very difficult. In this article, I have discussed anatomy and how to learn it efficiently. I discussed that why this subject is so important and how will it affect your academics if you don't take it seriously.

There are some of the very effective ways in the articles that helped me a lot while learning anatomy. I hope that these tips will help you a lot a well. 

If you like the article just drop a heart emoji in the comment section below ...:)

How to Revise Efficiently :- Revision strategy

 

Just imagine that our brain memory is like our phone memory. Once we store something in it remained store there forever. Yeah! At least till your phone is damaged. I know that many of you are thinking that it will be a great boon. But wait, if it would be very beneficial for us then in due course of evolution many of us might have achieved it. At least we medicos might have achieved it because we'll all have to memorize a lot of stuff. Drugs, Sings and symptoms, triads, tests, anatomy a lot of things. But still, we tend to forget everything.

So, it is because forgetting is a defense mechanism for an individual. Without forgetting things our survival will be very difficult. Imagine you had a bad past experience that haunts you every day. It’s better to forget that experience. There can be many bad experiences like heartbreaks, any big loss, or something like that. Now, think again what if your memory is like your phone memory. It will be completely impossible for you to move on from that experience. Our body is designed to survive and forgetting the things is a crucial part of survival

“Time heals everything” is a very popular phrase we all know that. But what does it actually mean? That means as time passes our brain reduces the intensity of that past experience.

Ok, Ok I know that you guys might have been thinking that how it will help us? How forgetting things could be beneficial for making our memory strong. For that I want you to know about the physiology of forgetting.

 

Why do we forget?

It’s the main root of all problems. You are medical students and many of you might know about it. So, there is a process in our brain that is called “Synaptic Plasticity”. Synaptic Plasticity means that when we learn something new our brain tries to keep it in memory and for that, it makes some new neuronal connections. As you all know that our neurons can’t divide and they are limited.

 When a child learns things new things like language his neurons make new connections and he could be able to learn the language easily. But as we grow old we learn a lot of things. Due to this our neuronal connections get saturated. Now when we try to learn new things we tend to forget any other old thing. When we try to learn something new neuronal connections form an old connections break.

P.C:- Wikipedia 

That is the simple science behind forgetting things. There is a German psychiatrist Hermann Ebbinghaus who gave a forgetting curve. Forgetting curve is a curve that hypothesizes the decline of memory retention in time. This curve shows the relation of memory with time.

 

How can we use forgetfulness as a strength?

Forgetting things is very normal. We all forget things and it’s beneficial too as I said earlier. It could be used as a strength also. Consider your brain neurons like your body’s muscles. We do exercise and hurt our body muscle a little which is a result they become bigger and stronger.

Now apply the same concept to your memory, forget some part of your information and review it later. It will make your memory strong.

 

How to use it for Revisions?

I know that you have been waiting for this part. I wanted to create a mindset so that you can understand the main part of this article that’s why I talked about all those things previously.

We all know that revision is a crucial part of the studies. But how can you get the maximum benefit of it? For getting the maximum benefit of revision you need to know that you must have to forget some part of the information before revising it again. Revising the topics or any other thing will have no benefits for your memory. We all revise things but the way might not be the correct. Here I will tell you one of the most popular methods of revision.

 

Spaced Repetition

This is the most popular technique of revision among students. This technique is developed after forgetting the curve. According to this technique, you can reduce memory erosion in a long run by flattening the forgetting curve.

For applying the spaced repetition method you need to have a proper revision schedule. I am giving an out view of a study schedule here.

You can Revise like:- 

• Revision 1 - Same day i.e. Day 1 
• Revision 2 - Next day i.e. Day 2
• Revision 3 - After 1st week i.e. Week 1
• Revision 4 - After 2nd week i.e. Week 2
• Revision 5 - After 1st month i.e. Month 1 
• Last revision - After 2nd Month i.e. Month 2

Try this basic outline and create a schedule according to yourself.

 

How will it be useful?

Our brain always tries to work with the least workload possible. When it comes to memory our brain only tries to keep that part of the information that is considered useful to the brain. We have long-term memory and short-term memory.

 When we learn something, it gets stored in ou short-term memory and started to evaporate quickly. After 1 day for instance we just have 60% of the information that we read a day before, so there is an erosion of memory. Now on revising that part again there will be positive enforcement to our brain that that information is useful. 

Now our brain will try to retain it for some longer duration. But we still lose some part of it. Now again after some time revise it, now the portion of information lost will be less and the duration of information retained has been increased. Keep that repletion either according to your schedule or by using my provided outline.

Eventually,, your brain will shift that information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

Conclusion

We all forget things but it's very normal. It’s an important defense mechanism for our survival. Forgetting things help us to move on from our past experiences.

Here in that article,,, I have discussed the best way to revise any subject so that it could remain in our mind for a long time. I discussed the fact that why do we forget things. There is a phenomenon called synaptic plasticity due to which when we learn new things our brain makes new connections with neurons and breaks some old connections. New connections formation leads to the formation of new memory whereas old connections breakdown leads to erosion of memory.

There is a forgetting curve that describes the relation of memory retained with time. And we can utilize the forgetfulness of things to build a strong memory. It’s simply like doing a workout to build strong muscles. Study and try to retain information, obliviously there will be some memory erosion. Revise that topic again when you feel that there is some part of the information that is missing. This process is called Spaced Repetition. That will tell your brain that it’s a useful part of the information and it should be stored for the long term. This is how you can keep information in your long term memory.

 

I hope that that article helped you. Share this with your friends and other students.

How To Choose Branch After MBBS? Detailed explanation with relevant factors

How to Choose a medical Branch?

Most of us might have thought about it once at least. We all use to about a suitable specialty. A specialty that will be good for us. But in the end, what happened. As we have a lot of options available we get confused. Studies have proven that a confused mind cannot make a solid decision. The same happens to us.

We think about specialties for us after MBBS. But then we get a lot of options. These options make us more puzzled. Then, in that condition, we seek someone who can advise us. Sometimes the advice is genuine and helpful but sometimes not.

So in this article, I discussed some factors that one should consider to choose a residency for himself/herself.

Passion  

First thing first, if you are passionate about any branch then don’t think much. There is nothing more than passion. The thing that matters at the end of the day is your satisfaction. But wait, what does that passion mean? Passion is not that you like to read books on that subject. Passion means that you should like that subject in practice.

This factor far outweighs other factors. But the truth is that it does not apply to all of us. There are a few students who are passionate about a specific branch.

Before going further I want you to ask some questions to yourself. This will help you to have a base to think further.

1. How much time will I have for me and my family?
2. Will I be burned out and miserable or love what I will be doing?
3. Will I do that Job for my whole life?
4. How much money will I make?

The answers to these questions will make your work easy.

A systematic approach to choose a specialty

What are your areas of scientific and clinical interest?

It’s the very first step to go for a branch. Find out which subject you like the most. For that, the easy way is just to ask yourself which subject you prefer to study any other subject.

• If you like Pharmacology and physiology then you can go for Anesthesia or internal medicine.
• If you like anatomy then surely Surgery is the best.
• If you are more curious about the brain the Neurology or Psychiatry

Relationships, Interactions, and Level of patient contact

If you are a guy with good communication skills and more of an extrovert type then medical branches are for you. Branches like Internal medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Family Medicine will suits you the best. These branches will let you make long term relations with your patients.

But you are more of an introvert type and don’t like a lot of patient interaction then there are branches like radiology. In branches like radiology, pathology you are not directly related to patient care.

But if you are extrovert up to an extent and like a short relationship with patients then you should surgical branches. Branches like General Surgery, Plastic surgery, Orthopedics will be best. These branches involve brief and efficient patient interaction

There is a midway also branches like Urology, Dermatology, OBGYN which have both surgical and medical work. So if you want to be a physician and a surgeon as well then you can opt for them. But you will be considered either pf one out of them.

Work-Life balance

You wanted to be a doctor because you wanted a good life. Don’t forget that. If you cannot enjoy your life and your work then everything is waste. Never let your professional life to interfere with your personal life. Enjoy your life and let yourself do your job with as ease. Consider a branch that has fewer burnouts. That allows you to have a quality life.

Like surgical braches have fewer burnout rates. But on the other hand, the surgical branches are more challenging.

Burnout rates of Different Branches (source:- Medscape 2019 national physician Burnout, depression, and suicide Report)

Source: - Medscape

 

Feasibility

Will you do that job for your whole life? We have discussed many factors. I think till now you may have a clear vision of your branch. But think about it as well. You have to do it forever. If you will not be happy then it will be very difficult for you to carry on with your job. Once a wise man said, “ Make your hobby your job, then people will pay you for your hobby”. So it’s totally up to you if you will be happy or not.

Money

The factor that most of the students consider in the first place is money. In my opinion, money should not be a primary or a secondary factor to choose a branch. Compensation differences between specialties will be far less important than other factors. It’s a very reductionist approach. We should indeed be rewarded for our hard work. But money is an aspect of life but not life itself. There are many confounding factors if someone is considering money as a primary factor. One should consider these confounding factors too.

Money Time Ratio

When it comes to money with time it becomes more important than money alone. The money time ratio is a major factor. MBBS students (in the majority) always keep on thinking about money alone. You should also think about the time too. In the beginning, we don’t consider family time but later on, we realize its importance A doctor who earns 2 Lakhs/month and works 8 hours a day is much better than a doctor working 12houra a day for 3 lakhs/month. A proper balance between time and money should be needed. So never consider money alone.

     

Tertiary consideration

In the end, I would like to add a few points. There are the less important point but significant

1. Assess your skill: - Make yourself aware of your skills. Work on yourself and know that what skill you are lacking. Medical branches require a skill. identify your skill and accordingly choose a medical branch. If you want a specific branch and you think you lack skills for that branch then develop them. Find someone expert in that field and try to learn things.
2. Terminal branches Vs Super-Specializations: - People who wish to settle down early prefer terminal branches. But most of the students usually choose a branch that has its super specialty course also. So if you have a target to settle down as soon as possible then terminal branches like orthopedic are good.  
3. Violence against Doctors: - We use to get news about violence against doctors. Many students don’t consider some branches because of this fear. Ye,s it’s a serious issue in our country. But think for a while, we cannot clap by one hand. The root problem here is the doctor’s communication skills. Doctors with branches like Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Pediatrics are more prone to violence. But you can avoid that thing with your god communication skills. You will not get every time a violent patient. Even I should say I patients or his relatives are never violent to you until you made them do so.
4. Opportunity to go abroad: - if you guys are planning to go abroad then don’t think about any branch much. Especially if you have plans for USMLE. You are not free to choose any branch of your choice. You will have limited options there like Internal medicine, but no surgical branches. So for that, I suggest to not to choose PG in India if you want to settle down there.

 

Conclusion

Choosing your residency might be a difficult task. We have a lot of options available which confuses us. Some are passionate about a specific branch. Those who are sure about a branch need not worry much. But the problem comes when we are uncertain and it becomes very hard when we get confused with many options available. A confused mind cannot make a solid decision. So I tried to make this process a little bit easier for you guys.

We started with 4 basic questions before going it the article.

1. How much time will I have for me and my family?
2. Will I be burned out and miserable or love what I will be doing?
3. Will I do that Job for my whole life?
4. How much money will I make?

Here I gave more, importance to time and quality of life. I put money question last because it is just an aspect of life, not life itself. We discussed many points in the article and I have added some tertiary points too. Those points are less considered but sometimes affect the decisions.

Sometimes we are not interested in medical practice after MBBS. I know that we get into MBBS because we all want to be a doctor. But sometimes our destiny wants something else. Don't worry about that you can read my article on Career Options After MBBS. You may find it useful too...

Career options After MBBS

What I can Do After MBBS?

After MBBS doesn’t mean that you are going to be a doctor only. Many people think that MBBS means doctors. But it’s not always true. Yes, I know that we get into the MBBS or any other medical courses to become a doctor. But in due course of time, our interest might change and we may not find medicine interesting anymore. In that situation, I want to say that it's not a big deal. You can choose other careers also.

There are many other options available today after MBBS. It is not mandatory that if you have done MBBS then you have to be a doctor. All of are not made for the patient care field. Sometimes some other circumstances also let us lose our interest in the medical field.

So here in this article, I have discussed some of the best options after MBBS. These are the popular options and many people are doing them.

MD or MS

This is one of the most popular options. The majority of medical students after completing their under graduation MBBS go for a post-graduation MD or MS. These courses are the extension of medical studies. MD or MS are considered specialties and you can be a doctor in a particular field. There are a lot of branches from which you can do your MD or MS. You can refer to my article on how to choose a medical branch if you are confused to choose a branch.

For doing MD or MS you have to give an entrance exam called NEET PG. Your merit will decide that for which branch you are eligible to take admission. But from the coming year, NEET-PG is going to replace by the NEXT Exam. Here is an Article on the NEXT Exam just tap here for more information about it

DNB

DNB is Diplomate of National Board is also a medical qualification. It is similar to MD or MS but in India people prefer MD or MS over DNBs. The admission to these courses is also through the NEET PG. These courses look similar to MD or MS but they have some differences to them. But at the end of the day, you will be considered as a doctor. You will interact with patients.

Startups

Startups in the health care sector are the best idea. There are many health startups currently running in our country like 1mg.com, Pharmeasy, EyeNetra etc. You can also go with the idea of a startup. The only thing you need is an innovative mind and a revolutionary idea. A revolutionary idea can be anything that can solve the problem of the majority of people. Definitely, your startup will stand out if you introduce a problem-solving product to your customers.

You need to work a lot on yourself for that. You have to learn some business skills. A startup is always a good idea to start a career. But it’s a risky thing due to which many of us afraid to choose this path. Not all startups are successful in any field.

CMS

CMS is a combined medical services examination that comes under UPSC. UPSC is Union Public Service Commission. This exam id for the recruitment of medical officers for various jobs comes under the government of India. This is a 2 paper objective type written examination. Candidates have to qualify for the written exam after that they are called for an Interview.

UPSC

If you want an administrative post like IAS or IPS you can go for the UPSC exam. MBBS graduates can appear for the UPSC exam. UPSC exams also have medical science as an optional subject. We have a very great example of Dr.Roman Saini who was an MBBS graduate and cleared the UPSC exam and become an IAS. Currently, He is the owner of his startup Unacedemy. This example depicts that you can either go for a startup or any other thing or even for both if you want.

MBA

MBA in Healthcare and Hospital management is a 2 years course. This course is one year shorter than conventional MD or MS which are 3 years of programs. Students who go for MBA after doing MBBS are on higher ground than those who are strictly following medical courses throughout. With MBA you can get a decent job in any healthcare setup. Your task will be the management of staff, health services, and containing the expenditure.

MHA

MHA is similar to an MBA but the difference is that it is specified hospital management. Master in Health Administration course has a good scope in many new corporates. MHA is it a specialized degree that limits your options for just hospital/ healthcare options. If we compare between an MBA and an MHA then mostly corporates prefer an MBA. The reasons are many but the main reason is the freedom of knowing that an MBA has. An MBA is not limited to medical situations only. But MHA is also an emerging course and there is good scope in that field too.

M.tech in biomedical engineering and biological sciences

M.tech in biomedical engineering is a 2 years program. The objective of this course is to integrate technology with biomedical science. This course is offered by IITs. There will be a written test of mathematics for an MBBS student to get into the course. The syllabus for the test will be 12^th class CBSE math’s syllabus. Students will get objective type as well as descriptive type questions.

MMST

Master in Medical science and technology is a 3 years post-graduation program for MBBS graduates. This course is offered by IIT Kharagpur. This program imparts science and engineering skills to medical professionals. MMST is a kind of course designed for doctors who also have a technology niche. You can go for MMST if you have a good interest in technology and can do great with the integration of medical science and technology.

Clinical research

Clinical research is another best option after MBBS. But in India's research work so not much supported. ICMR is an organization which is supporting medical researchers in India. Though you can go abroad for medical research there are many countries like the USA, Australia, etc. who are focusing on research a lot. There is a good scope in research. Nut for that you must have a great interest in that field.

So far we have discussed 10 alternative career options after MBBS. I would also like to add some more options that many are aware of. These options are: -

1. Work with PHCs 
2. Voluntary work with NGOs
3. Master in Public Health

These are also some alternatives. I did not discuss them here because they are not significant

Summary

Doing MBBS doesn’t mean that you are going to be a doctor only. There are many alternative career options available there. I have discussed many options there. Starting from the most conventional MD or MS then DNB, Startups, Civil services, Management to the field of technology. Each option is from a different field. Being in MBBS doesn’t mean that you have created a barrier for yourself to choose any other field. You can choose any field that you want.

Options like MD or MS and DNB keep you in the medical field. You can interact with patients. Whereas startups are completely new fields that will be requiring a lot of new skills and knowledge. Management is also a good carrier option and for that, you can opt MBA or MHA after MBBS. You can land up in administrative fields can be an IAS, IPS or a Medical Officer with UPSC and CMS. If you have a good interest in technology then courses like MMST and M.Tech in biomedical science will suit you. Clinical research is also a good option if you have a deep interest in any field.

You can Comment me below if you have any queries regarding anything.

8 Tips to Prepare Hard Subjects

Hard Subjects

Every one of us is having a hard subject, which makes us feel uneasy. Whenever someone utters that subject’s name the daunting feeling and the fear and pain of that subject keep us pulling down and make us feel low. Whenever we have to prepare for that subject for any of our tests we try to avoid it as far as possible.

Ever wonder why that particular subject is hard for you. But easy for your other friend or your batch mates?

The main reason is your mindset towards that subject. Basically, we don’t have any interest in difficult subjects. But wait a minute think in a reverse manner. The difficulty of that subject is not letting you gain interest in that subject. It’s your no interest in that subject due to which that subject has been so hard.

It’s a bitter truth that the subject that seems hard to you is hard for you because of your own choice.

So, how should I correct it? How to bring it back on track? And how to gain my interest in that particular subject?

Don’t worry guys it’s never been too late for anything. I am here to share some of the best tips to prepare your hard subject.

But before going further I want to let you aware of the fact. The subject that seems hard to you is your weakest subject among all others, wonder why?  It’s because you didn’t give it the proper time to subject or we procrastinate its schedule 

8 Tips to prepare hard subjects

TIP 1:- Identify your hard subject

This is a prerequisite for gaining confidence in your difficult subject. First, you should be aware that which subject is your hard subject. There are some easy ways to identify it.

1. Our hardest subject is our weakest subject, as I said earlier.
2. We tend to avoid that subject. We all spare our difficult subject for last. We think that we will do it later when if we get time in the end.
3. We have very low academic attendance in that subject’s lectures. In the end, we struggle to pull it above the optimum attendance required.
4. We do not pay attention to that subject’s lecture even if we are present in class.

So, I think that these points will help you to pick out your hard subject/subjects. There may be more than one hard subject. Any subject could be a hard subject for anyone. Some feel like biochemistry is hard, for some students’ pathology is difficult. For some, there might be pharmacology, microbiology, or any other subject. It’s very subjective to say so don’t worry you are not alone.

 
TIP 2:- Cross The mental Barrier

So we have identified that which subject seems difficult. Now it's action time. The first and foremost action is to dump the previous mindset that this subject is very difficult and I can’t do it. Such thoughts act as a barrier for us to go ahead with that subject. These thoughts pull us back into our studies.

So, don’t ever think that you can’t master that subject because it’s very hard. Someone else is loving this subject then why don’t you? Get up and try to cross that mental barrier. The best way to do it stop procrastinating the study schedule for that particular subject.

Recommendations: -

1. Make a schedule where you provide a dedicated slot for that difficult subject daily.
2. Avoid all of your distractions so that you can focus on your subject completely.
3. Prefer the time will be that which will have fewer distractions like night time or early morning.
4. I would prefer an early morning time slot.

TIP 3:- Ease your way into it slowly

After getting mentally ready for it, the next work is to get comfortable with that subject. For that ease your way slowly into the subject. In short, take small baby steps to read that subject and start with the basics of that subject.

Consider yourself as a little child and teach yourself like a child. Start with little and basic concepts on that topic or subject. It will help you to lay a good foundation for it. Try to go at a very slow pace with your ease in that subject.

Recommendations:-

1. Don’t start with complex topics first. Start with an easy topic or I should say the easier one in the beginning. That the simple topic could be any topic from any random chapter.

Eventually, you will start loving the subject and will get yourself ready for some complex things.

 

TIP 4:- Sandwich it between the easy subjects

Easy and strong topics and subjects can help you to get victory over your hard subject. Put your hard subject study time in between the study interval of 2 easy subjects.

This will help your mind to get some time to process the information. It will help you to consolidate your memory. All these things motivate you to study your hard subject further.

 

TIP 5:- Correlate With other Subjects

Try to establish links with the subjects you like and have confidence. MBBS subjects are all over-connected with each other in many ways. You don’t have to do anything new. The only thing you need to do is to exploit this privilege as much as you can.

This will save you the majority of the time. Complement any hard and complex topic with some other subject’s similar topic. For example, you can mix information from pathology and medicine or you can mix information from pediatrics and medicine, and so on. There can be many combinations as per your choice.

This will help you to get some kind of orientation for your subject. This helps you to keep information in your memory for a long time. It will also help you to gain confidence

Recommendations: -

1. You can Link Pharmacology with Medicine.
2. You can link Pediatrics and medicine.
3. You can go with Anatomy and Surgery, pathology with medicine.
4. Pre-clinical subjects can also be linked like physiology and anatomy.
5. You can also link para-clinical subjects like pharmacology with microbiology, etc.

 

TIP:6- Have a Graphic Representation of your preparation

This is one of the most important tips which will help you a lot. Make a progress chart on a paper having different blocks in it. Color one block whenever you complete one topic.

Look at that chart every day, you will see that the number of empty blocks is reducing.  This will boost you up. This will reinforce the information in your subconscious mind that you are conquering over that difficult subject.

Believe me, your subconscious mind will help you in a very efficient way. The subconscious mind is like a baby who doesn’t understand words. The only thing it understands is graphics, visuals, and images. This progress chart will make it believe that you are doing well in that subject. Once your subconscious mind realizes that you are doing better, you will feel much more confident and enthusiastic about the subject.

Recommendations: - 

1. You can apply this tip to other subjects also. This is a very effective technique for grasping any topic easily.

 

TIP 7:- Help and Support

Seek the help of your seniors or friends or teachers. Ask them to help you understand the difficult topic. When we keep on reading and progressing the hard subject it saturates us. We start hating that subject. We start having a monocular vision of the subject. In short, your brain got fed up and stop processing any new and complex information.

So, in that case, take a break from that subject. Seek someone good at it and who can easily explain the complex things. Sometimes we need a different vision to look towards the problem. We might be lacking that vision, so there is no harm in seeking someone for help.

Sometimes some minute things can revolutionize the whole vision of the subject. So just go for any help without any hesitation.

 

TIP 8:- Regular Revisions

Everything is easy but required that things should be in our minds forever. Then only it’s easy for us. So, what is the best way to keep the whole bulk of knowledge and information in mind? The answer is simple, Revision … Revision… and Revision… Reading any hard subject is important to conquer that subject but revising that subject is a crucial part of sustaining our victory over it. So plan a good revision strategy. Give proper revision time to your subject. Not only to your hard and weak subjects but revise easy subjects also.

Revision is as important as sharping an old sword again. It makes the sword sharper than before. Same with revising the subject at frequent intervals.

you can check out my post on How To Revise Efficiently? This post will help you to plan a good revision schedule and it will also explain to you why it is important to forget things.

Recommendations: -

1. Create a revision chart to revise the topics.
2. The best way to revise any topic is to start teaching it to your friends. It will be a win-win situation for both of you.
3. Create short notes and flashcards for quick revision.
4. Don’t read unnecessary bulk of information during revision.

Conclusion

We all have some hard subjects. It’s not a new thing. But we should be aware that the subject that seems hard to us. It is hard for us because of our own choice and habits. The habit of procrastinating the subject and not taking it seriously. All these things enforces our subconscious mind to believe that this particular subject is very difficult and I cannot do it. It creates a mindset and develops a feeling of fear towards that subject.

But there is nothing to worry about. We all do mistakes. We all make some wrong choices. It happens with all of us.

Let have a quick look at all the tips that I discussed in the above article. Here I discussed a total of 8 tips that could help you conquer your hard subject.

TIP 1:- Identify your hard subject

Many ways have been discussed in the article to identify your hard subject. Hope you might find them useful.

TIP 2:- Cross The mental Barrier

Your mind is a powerful tool that can make you win in any situation. Don’t feed it with some negative reviews of anyone regarding the subject.

TIP 3:- Ease your way into it slowly

Consider yourself as a baby and start your subject with very basics.

TIP 4:- Sandwich it between the easy subjects

Continuous cycles of easy and hard subject study sessions will help you to not to get fed up easily. You can work constantly on your weakness as well as on your strengths.

TIP 5:- Correlate With other Subjects

Try to establish links and try to connect dots with other subjects. Our brain tends to retain connected information for a much longer time than just a single segment of information.

TIP 6:- Have a Graphic Representation of your preparation

Graphical representations and progress charts are a very important part of your preparations. This reinforces your subconscious mind to believe that you are doing better in your subjects. Eventually builds your confidence on that subject.

TIP 7:- Help and Support

Always seek for help and support from teachers or that subject expert for some complex topics. Sometimes some people can provide a new point of view towards that subject that can revolutionize your complete vision towards that subject.

 

TIP 8:- Regular Revisions

Revision is the key to retaining any subject forever into your memory.

 

These tips helped me personally and I hope that you will find it useful too.