The date of the major examination has just been announced or maybe you’ve known it for sometime now. People are getting busier by the day and not even properly responding to your text messages or maybe even turning down your invitation for a short lunch together, all for the sake of STUDYING!
Exam is just a fortnight away. You’ve yet to even open your book. Forget the management of acute pericarditis, what does it even mean?
You’ve got two options at this point.
- To study & give your absolute dedication.
- Give up. Literally. As no amount of studying is going to be of help anyway.
So, if you’ve read my previous post on “6 Ways To Study in Final Year of Medical School”, you would know that I actually started my preparation somewhere in the middle of my final year.
As I approached the study week, many of my batch mates literally just began their preparation. However, they still managed to pull through, we all did and if they can, certainly you can too!
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- Year 5 MBBS In MAHSA University
- MBBS Final Professional Exam Overview Batch 9 (2017-2022) – Theory & Clinicals
1. Collect & Compile those Past Year’s Questions / Past Year’s Notes / End-of-Posting Questions / Short Notes from your seniors or batch mates.
Literally. They’re a lifesaver.
There is a very high possibility for the questions to repeat themselves or even if they do not, there are similarities in the questions.
Besides that, those notes are usually simplified and curated in a way that would be easy to comprehend.
2. Just START with QUESTIONS!
It can be from Question Bank books or even Past Year’s.
Starting with question will force you to think actively rather than passively and most of the time, you already know the information at hand. It is just a matter of digging it out o your brain.
Do not be afraid to make mistakes of course. It is not the real exam yet.
Skip the questions that you have gotten correct because chances are, once you’ve gotten it correct, you will definitely get it right should the question be repeated in the future, unless it was a “lucky strike”.
For the questions that you have gotten wrong, take some time to read the short notes on the topic. Flag the question and come back to it.
3. Set a TIMETABLE
You’ve got to make those last few minutes count.
I mean you can’t just squander whatever seconds or minutes of the day that you have left.
Identify the formats used for your exam.
For example:
- Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
- Multiple Essay Questions (MEQs)
- Short Essay Questions (SEQs)
Make it a goal to practice a certain number of questions from it and set a time limit. Do not do too much but not too little either. Find a limit that is sustainable for you for these next two weeks and do it DAILY!
4. Do MOCK Exams
Do it. Just do it. Keep doing it.
After all, you are preparing for an examination nevertheless. Rather than becoming all anxious on the exam day, treat everyday of your study week like as if it is one so that by the time exam day approaches, you would be immune to it.
Remember to adhere to the time limit!
5. Enough SLEEP
Schedule at least a minimum of 6 hours of sleep. True that the recommended sleep duration is about 8-9 hours per day but time is of the essence anyway.
Hence, schedule that amount of sleep and schedule everything else around it.
Of course, if you are able to still meet the adequate requirement of sleep per night, then that is excellent.
However, you want to ensure that you retain those information that you have painstakingly tried to plant deep into your head.
6. Stay HYDRATED & Consume REAL FOODS
If you’re a social drinker or an avid soda drinker, now is the time to fast from those.
Just. Till. Exam. Is. Over.
You need to ensure that your brain is fully optimised to absorb and retain information. Besides that, your body needs to be at its optimal health. Falling sick right before exam will definitely dampen your progress.
Thus, if it is avoidable, AVOID it.
Stay hydrated by consuming the appropriate amount according to your weight.
I follow this method:
For every 20kg of our total body weight = 1.5L of water.
Hence, a 60kg individual requires 3 x 1.5L of water.
Of course, if you feel the need to consume more, do go ahead.
Moving on, consuming real foods. By “real foods”, I mean reducing or avoiding (if you can), the processed foods, instant foods and junk foods.
Granted, they may provide satiety but they sorely lack in terms of nutritional value. Thus, consuming a high calorific content without added nutritious value to the brain and body and since examinations are just are just around the corner, optimising your health is the key.
The Theoretical Doctor 