Hi friends this is your very own Superashdoc bringing to you on behalf of RxPG a
special feature interview with the Maharashtra PGMCET Rank No.2 Rushikesh
Sambhaji Patil from Grant Medical College, Mumbai. (Also ranked 154 in AIPGE)
A dear friend, Rushi, as we call him here in GMC, was a sincere student right
from First year of MBBS. Mild-mannered, calm and pragmatic Rushi is a fine
person and a great friend. Blessed with an inherent curiosity and an
unquenchable thirst for knowledge Rushi has scaled this pinnacle of success only
by sheer handwork and dedication. Even in this moment of glory he is his own
humble self.
When I and everyone else bombarded him with congratulatory phone calls he was so
embarrassed that he couldn’t even speak!
”I know my hard work has paid off, but please don’t praise me too much. After
all there are so many brilliant students who are better than me, I was just a
bit lucky! “These were his words when I got in touch with him for this
interview!
But I wouldn’t hear of it and here we are. Exclusive formal interview with the
man himself! Let’s get started….
ASHRAY: What is the secret of your success in AIPGE/PGMCET exam?
RUSHIKESH: Sheer determination, faith in god, and positive thinking are a key to
the success.
Quality study, recollection of points, and knowing pattern of exam are
essentially important. Nothing is to be taken granted and not a single mistake
is excusable in such a competitive exam. Keeping your mind cool and presence of
mind in exam matters the lot.
ASHRAY: How much time do you think one requires for serious preparation for
this examination?
RUSHIKESH: Presently competition is becoming very tough. One has to go through
all subjects. Also there is important role of his study during his academic
years. So time for this study varies individually. I personally think quality
study for 4 to 5 months are enough for 80% of people.
ASHRAY: Which books did you read for the theory part?
RUSHIKESH: Books which helped me most are Harrison (especially for genetics and
oncology), Robbins (immunology, hematology, GIT, various cancers), CMDT
(especially for anticancer drugs). These books concluded more than 60% MCQs. I
will insist to have recent edition of all this books and no doubt other routine
books. You may not be able to read whole books but important topics and
frequently asked topic should be on tip of your tongue.
 Dr Rushikesh Patil, MHPGCET (2), AIPGE (154)
ASHRAY: How important you think is internet in preparation?
RUSHIKESH: For me internet is useful for reference matter, information about
upcoming drugs and treatment. There are so many reference sites which one can go
through.
ASHRAY: How did your parents, family and friends contribute to your success?
RUSHIKESH: I think for anybody’s success environment around him is very
important. My family was so supportive and friends were so cooperative that
without them I would not have made it.
ASHRAY: How would you visualize your success?
RUSHIKESH: This success is temporary. Such things come and go. Many exams are
there ahead. Important thing is that how we interact with people in practice.
They are not much bothered about your academic success. But yes, this success is
very important for our confidence.
ASHRAY: To whom do you attribute your success?
RUSHIKESH: No doubt, first to god. Next it goes to my guru and parents who had
guided not only in studies but also in art of living. I should also mention my
friends and GMCites who had created supportive environment around me.
ASHRAY: What do you think is the better way of preparation between selective,
intensive study and wide, extensive study?
RUSHIKESH: No doubt, selective study only. Portion is so vast that every subject
has a super-speciality. One cannot only read and forget about the recollection
and revision. But it is a must to know in detail about important things. One
must know uncommon things about common topics and common things of uncommon
topics.
ASHRAY: What do you want to specialize in?
RUSHIKESH: Nephrology
ASHRAY: Did you attend any coaching? Were they useful?
RUSHIKESH: Yes I joined Vidyasagar of what helped me most is Harrison tests and
Test series.
ASHRAY: We appreciate the fact that preparing for an extremely competitive
exam must be really challenging. During your preparation, did you ever doubt
your ability to succeed in it?
RUSHIKESH: I had taken everything positively. I did not care about the result. I
knew if this study would not have helped me in this exam then it will stand me
in good stead in the future. I was however confident of doing well enough to get
a clinical seat.
ASHRAY: What was your daily timetable during the preparation?
RUSHIKESH: Regularity is most important. No need to get panicky at the last
moment. I used to get up daily at 7 o’clock and do yoga for 15 minutes. Then I
would go and study in the library from 9:30am till 8 O’clock in night. I used to
study with my friend and carry out discussions on what we read on that day
during lunch break or in between. Then even in night I use to do revision of
what I read in that day or read some topic from Harrison till 12 O’clock in
night. 6 to 7 hours of sleep every night is very important.
ASHRAY: What was your strategy for the revision?
RUSHIKESH: Mind you all, without revision you cannot survive. It is very
important if you take out the notes and keep on revising them periodically.
ASHRAY: Which subjects did you focus on?
RUSHIKESH: My Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Surgery
was good so I didn’t focus much on these subjects but required in Pathology,
Microbiology, PSM, and Medicine. And obviously no one can afford to make
mistakes in simple subjects like skin, Anesthesia, Radiology, Psychiatry.
ASHRAY: What was your strategy for the exam day?
RUSHIKESH: Well I had a good nights’ sleep the previous night. In the morning
followed my usual routine of Yoga. For breakfast I had some subji (vegetable
dish) and chapatti. No spicy or oily food. Then praying to God, I headed happily
and confidently for the exam centre with my hall ticket and writing material
well over 1 hour in advance.
ASHRAY: What is your impression of the AIPGE and PGMCET exam?
RUSHIKESH: Exams are really stressing now on molecular biology, genetics,
oncology, up-coming treatment and investigating modalities, hematology, and
newer statistics. But still I am happy with exam as every question has some
significance in applied medicine and it really tests your knowledge. Only one
thing I would like to advise is to reduce repetition.
For PGMCET until now questions were simple but this year questions were more on
understanding and from new edition of Harrison.
ASHRAY: RxPG is the largest and most active community website for medical
students. How do you visualise the role of RxPG in moulding the careers of the
medicos?
RUSHIKESH: I think RxPG is a great boon to the medical students. I myself came
to know of it only recently and just browsed through the various forums and
articles. I found them quite enlightening. I think by introducing the Socrates’
method of learning i.e. open discussion students will gain a lot in terms of
knowledge and maturity.
ASHRAY: How did RxPG help you in your preparation?
RUSHIKESH: As I mentioned before I was unaware of such an interactive forum. But
I assure you that I am keen to associate with RxPG as a postgraduate student,
contribute as well as learn from it.
ASHRAY: As we see on RxPG website, most of the doctors and medical students
are somewhat disillusioned by medicine as a career and some seriously think
about a career change. What would you like to say to them?
RUSHIKESH: Now competition is everywhere. Even people who are doing MD
PAEDIATRICS and OBGY are in competition with CPS courses. My advice is to take
the field of your interest. Do not get carried away by others. There are pros
and cons in every field. Success is just 1% inspiration and 99 % perspiration.
Medicine as a career has good prospects. You can stay attached to hospitals or
in many companies as an adviser in addition to routine practice. If you are
interested then super-specialty is also available. Importantly one must not
forget the main objective of the Medical field-serving the mankind. This should
come first and other things like money and status afterwards. Please do not
leave this profession as it is a rare gift –one which can give others happiness
and fulfillment to self.
ASHRAY: What is your advice to the future aspirants?
RUSHIKESH: In this competitive world frustration and depression has become more
common. One really has to proceed keeping intact ones mental health. One has to
continue sincere efforts without caring for result. Life doesn’t mean only
getting success in competitive exam but much more than that. Be happy and
positive in life.
RxPG Interviewer – Dr Ashray Naik (RxPG Nick: Superashdoc)
Note: Starting today, RxPG is presenting an year long series of interviews featuring rankers in various PG entrance exams held this year. If you have scored a rank in any PG entrance exam and want your interview to be featured on RxPG, please get in touch with Dr. Priya at rxpgonline@gmail.com. If you want to interview someone, like superashdoc did in this interview, please let us know. Please note that the actual rank is not a discriminatory factor for us to consider your interview as we want to feature interviews from a wide cross section of all ranks (high or low) in PG exams to give our visitors a balanced view of what it takes to crack a PG exam.
RxPG Maharashtra PG Forums are located at http://www.rxpgonline.com/forum55.htm and you can discuss this interview in this thread http://www.rxpgonline.com/postp204075.html
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