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Read the 1st Part of the Article Here

RACE FOR MDS PG ENTRANCE PREPARATION PART I – BY DR.GOWRI SHANKAR

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TIME MANAGEMENT

It requires minimum of 4-6 months for initial preparation and 4 months for final preparation for a particular exam. Start planning to prepare for entrance exam as soon as you enter internship.

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  • Pen down  all the subjects systematically and assess how much time you need for each subject and assign the time according to availability . Try to stick to this rough estimated time schedule.
  • stress on proper revision Schedule

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[stextbox id="download"]Allot minimum of 5 hrs/day during initial preparation and a minimum of 8 hrs/day during final preparation.[/stextbox]

Two methods of preparation can be identifed. They are:

First Method (Subject-wise preparation)

Procure all the study material and finish subject by subject within stipulated time. The proposed allotment of time for each subject for initial preparation may be considered:

     Pre-clinicals—2- 2 ½months

     Clinical subjects—3 -3 ½ months

Physiology                               ——–1 week

Biochemistry                           ——– 1 week

Pathology                                ——–  1 week

Microbiology                          ———1 week

Pharmacology                      ———- 1 week

Dental materials                  ———–1 week

Dental anatomy and oral histology—1week

b)  Dental radiology ……………………………………        1 week

c)   Oral surgery ………………………………………….       1 weeks

d)  Periodontology ………………………………………      1 week

e)   Conservative dentistry ……………………………        1 week

f)   Endodontics ………………………………………….      1 week

g)  Prosthodontics ………………………………………      1 week

h)   Orthodontics  ——————————-                 1 week

1.     pedodontics            …………………                                   1 week

i)    Community dentistry ……………………………..         1 week

j)    General medicne ……………………………………       1 week

k)   General surgery …………………………………….        1 week

Advantage of reading the subjects in the above sequence is repitition of topics and overlapping of MCQs.

Advantage of this method is better understanding of the subject; increased memory retention due to immediate repetition and revision of MCQs.

Disadvantage of this method is that if unexpected entrance dates are announced or if you fail to follow the schedule strictly, there is chance of skipping one or two subjects which may cost you a PG seat.

Second method ( Incremental Study of Every subject )

In this method incremental reading of every subject everyday in a sequence is done instead of reading a single subject at a stretch. This is followed by reading previous years MCQs. This method is advantageous in situations where unexpected dates for entrance exam are announced.

Best method would be to follow the first method for initial preparation and second method for subsequent preparations;

however, program planning and time to be alloted is subject to individual capacities and capabilities.

The interview of many toppers reveal the following principles of preparation

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  • Minimum time required for PG preparation is 6-8 months.
  • Keep one day/ week as relaxation day or revision day depending upon you time ration.
  • Don’t read any single subject at a stretch.
  • Don’t read all the subjects at a stretch from any single individual mcq book.
  • Read a subject from one book—revise it from other book
  • During study times, take a break every fifteen to twenty minutes
  • Read both the clinical and non clinical subjects at same time. Here is an brief idea to read clinical and its concurrent preclinical or relative subject.
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• Split your  time  in the ratio of 1:1:1;1

i.e.., one fact oriented clinical subject: 1 technical subject : one relative preclinical subject.

Suppose you are reading for 6 hours a day –tentatively you can draw your time table like this

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The main theme is to be

Be in touch  with all the subjects at any time simultaneously covering the previous year mcq .

The answer is definitely –yes –yes -yes

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Remember  “R” formula

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 Importance of MCQs

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* Do atleast 200 mcq per day  including one practice test  In essence there are 12000 mcq in dentistry which are given interchangeably.

By calculation at this rate you will able to revise  2-3 times .

No. of  mcq  per day= 200 ( either from clinical, preclinicals or previous year MCQ)

No.of  working days in a month= 24-25

No. of  mcq completed in a month on average = 6000

Total No.of  mcq completed in 4 months on average =24000

No.of revisions on average =  24000/12000=2.

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Use previous MCQs to check your progress and preparedness for the exam. Reading the subject again and again will not help much; it is important that the progress be monitored properly by evaluating yourselves by proper self-assessment test.

 

During self-assessment test:

Don’t proceed beyond the questions you answered wrong by simply knowing the right answer. Purpose is not to learn a particular question, but to find out which topic requires follow-up.we suggest you not to allow more than 45 seconds for each MCQ during practice.

So Don’t worry. Be happy. Have a positive outlook and be confident.

To be continued ….