Even though I started preparing for second year final exams 1.5years earlier, I still was stressed during all the exams. Yet again, I had worked very hard and I believed that I deserved some vacation time. But this time it was different, I definitely had learnt my lesson after first year and I improvised my study time table with previous experiences. Just like in second year, I started studying from the first day. Also, I decided to have some fun in third year.
I went as deep as the sea floor and as high as the mountains in India, along with a luxury trip to the busiest place for Indians in Middle East(can you guess?*). Along with vacations, I went to attend cartooning classes and cleared my music junior exam. Apart from all this, I renewed my interest to read novels, doodle and surf the web. For a bit of academic touch, I tried studying Kaplan notes along with my friend. Since I was not able to study anatomy,biochem or physio in second year(due to overload of study material), I tried again to study those 3 subjects. Even though I was only partially successful, Kaplan notes and USMLE prep gave me hope for the future that I don’t have to byheart the textbooks forever. I did too many things in third year and writing all about them won’t suffice to say that, I never let an opportunity pass by.
One carry-home message from my third year prep is that, I had read every chapter of all the 3 subjects(PSM, Ophthal, ENT) well before 3 months of third year final exams. In the end, I was just revising the topics though I remembered nothing. But revision was easy once I finished underlining the first time.
As far as individual subject progress goes: How much ever I tried to tackle my favorite PSM, it wasn’t possible. So I had to resort to brief reading and giving my personal touch to answers(the beginning of many more). I was lucky to have been placed in a good unit with a good teacher who used to show every case in OPD for findings in Ophthal. Clinical cases helped me learn the Ophthal terminology and clinical features soon. Since I was interested I surgery, I thought that I liked ENT by default though it didn’t work out that way. This was the tough nut in third year but it had to crack with exam pressure.
On the whole, third year taught me that I can have fun in MBBS if I managed my time.
* it’s Dubai, UAE
PSM: Preventive and social medicine, ENT: Ear, nose and throat/otorhinolaryngology, USMLE: Unites States Medical Licensing Examination, OPD: Out Patient Department.