Cracking the PG Nut...

Dear friends...

Guys, we are no less brilliant than anyone else, so there is no reason why we cannot crack the almost fabled pathways to a PG, DNB, USMLE, or any other such stupid stuff. Many of us lack focus and try to grab on to every bit of information that we can squeeze into our heads. There is a minute portion of the total information that is high-yield - which means, about 30% of the information can give us about 80% of the marks. If we master this 30%, which should be quite easy, we are at least assured of 80%. We are, of course, always welcome to learn beyond the 30%, in an attempt to score higher. But in an attempt to grab on to everything at the same time, most of us lose focus on the very important 30%.

Also, there is no reason why so few of Oriya doctors should go the USMLE way. The only place that we lack is any precedence - the fear of the unknown keeps us away. In the recent past there have been a few who have tried to tread the unbeaten path with some good successes. Do give this a try, if you can, and with increasing awareness, in the next few years we might see more and more people from Orissa cracking USMLE.

Please attempt any PG preparation in a group, if possible. A group should have at least 4 or more people. Discussions catapult your understanding, assimilation and retention of the topic.

Please do not restrict yourself to memorizing facts only in the form of tables and charts. A structured memorizing such as tables and charts are easy to remember, but also are very easy to forget or very difficult to recall in a situation of application, which is different from the primary environment in which a given fact was memorized. The best way to retain facts is to memorize them in a structured way but to assimilate and understand the concepts by repeated use and reuse in various situations. This does not entail any extra effort, but just reorganization of the current effort.

Any help, in the form of advice and resources for USMLE, can be asked of me, and I will try my best to provide the same, even in my limited capacity.

And finally guys, do help each other - you will only rise, never fall. Do not help each other and you may slip a footing and sustain a fall!