FMG Radar - Dr. Palak Khanna

I'm an intern at Lady Hardinge Medical College and trying to juggle between clinical learning and studying for future endeavours.

The medical profession is not like a usual 9–5 job; it's not just an order-and-work situation. Each patient, each situation, requires your own knowledge and lessons to address the setting, which motivates you to push yourself and learn more. What made me choose this profession was my father's giving nature towards society, which always motivates me to excel more and help anyone and everyone in my capacity.

I didn't prepare for my first NEET UG but got a pretty nice score based on what I had prepared for my 12th board exams. So I dropped one year in the hope of scoring better, but little did I know I had to change all my understanding and basics. I went to a coaching institute that did not help much, and my score remained more or less the same, which was a little depressing. Then I went on to explore options like BDS, Biotech, BAMS, BHMS, as I could easily secure a government seat in those. But I wasn't satisfied with those options, and that's when abroad came into being.

Georgia, as the country is beautiful and secure with a low crime rate. Also, I had heard from my distant relatives that the study and clinical exposure are good.

Ivane javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, 1 Chachavadze, Tbilisi, Georgia

I got to know about the country from a distant relative, and a consultant introduced me to the college.

By directly going to the college website or through a consultant for MBBS abroad.

I won't lie, as that's the core learning part, but it is on you how much you want to learn. They will provide as much as they have if you show enough interest. Though language will serve as a barrier at many places and might affect patient interaction.

My university is really old, around 102 years, so their buildings are scattered all over Tbilisi. We usually prefer private hostels or apartments, but there are many good Indian hostels available. The one I lived in and would recommend for the initial years at least is Gulf Hostel, hosted by Anuradha Suri ma'am.

Indian food is available all over Tbilisi. There are many Indian restaurants and Indian messes and hostels.

I started dedicated studying while I was in my 5th year, so I was able to complete a major chunk of subjects before coming to India. I took offline classes in Georgia for some subjects like ObGyn by Sakshi ma'am, ENT by Rajiv Dhawan sir, and Anatomy by Azam sir.

I used to keep short-term goals. For a week, I would make a schedule according to my time availability.

I used to go for a walk daily and talk to my friends at that time, which served as a great buffer from studies. My study partner and I were always motivating each other.

The biggest challenge for me was managing the last week of my preparation because I was exhausted from studying. But that was the most crucial time, as you remember most things that you read during the final days. So, scheduling what to revise and how to complete most things in such a short span of time was challenging.

Completing the syllabus the first time was a challenge, but once I had a compilation of notes for all subjects, revision became an easy task. I knew what I had to focus on, and I used to highlight the points to make my next revisions more concise and quicker.

My experience of NEET UG coaching was not very good, so I took PrepLadder and relied on self-study, which turned out to be a major boon. I got more time to practice questions as I didn't need to go anywhere. All that time was saved, and I had more time for reading and memorization.

Anatomy was one subject that I never understood, and I was always afraid and procrastinated on it. But finally, when I took Azam sir's class, I was able to understand and visualize it. So I would definitely say, for any subject or topic you are afraid of, try to find a faculty that you can relate to and understand better.

I didn't rely much on PYQs; I was only able to practice PYQs once before the exam. But mock tests played a big role in building confidence for the real exam. I used to give a mock test almost every two weeks, and most importantly, I looked at the mistakes I made and tried to understand what I lacked to get that question wrong.

I was a bit nervous before the exam, but I focused more on how I had been improving in my GTs and tried to maintain that confidence. In the exam, it was all okay until I saw Section B of the first paper, which shook my confidence a little. But I concentrated more on how I had planned to attempt the paper and stuck to it. After the exam, I was confident but didn't say anything to anyone as I didn't want to jinx it.

The result came too soon for us. At first, I thought it was false news. I couldn't believe the result was out so soon. But still, I checked, and there it was. My sister was the only one home at that time, and my first words to her were, "You're the sister of a doctor now, officially."

210

I followed all the notifications provided by NBE and DMC. We had to go through some problems as the Delhi Medical Council isn't functioning properly and is on the brink of dissolution. But we went there daily to get our work done, and all the staff and officials helped us a lot in the process.

A small word—consistency—is the only advice that anyone should follow for any exam in our medical field. Studying everything is not what is expected, but studying the exact, appropriate, concise content and repeating it to remember and understand better is the real thing.

People usually don't agree with me on giving mock tests frequently, as they're afraid of scoring less and losing motivation. But they don't understand that these mock tests are not only about the scores but also about the way you think. The way our sympathetic and parasympathetic systems work in an exam setting is different, and mocks help us understand these things better.

I haven't really given it a thought yet, but I like Pediatrics, ObGyn, and Ophthalmology, and I would definitely want to pursue one of these specialties.

"It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."