Last Friday I took an entrance exam. This is for MMed Family Medicine offered as a distance learning course from CMC Vellore. It was an enjoyable experience in the sense that it needed no last minute preparation unlike UG internals and final exams, though I did solve up questions about a few common diseases in general practice like Diabetes, Hypertension so on from a wonderful book: Swanson's Family Medicine Review, A problem oriented approach, (thanks to RK) a book well named because the questions are very real life practice situations and written like short stories making you want to keep reading the next question.
So the questions in the entrance exam were framed such that it tested our knowledge and practice skills developed over time and not overnight. That's something appreciable as well as challenging. Of course there were a few annoying questions like "What is the normal amount of menstrual blood in each cycle?" with options being 80 ml, 90 ml, 100 ml, 120 ml which I probably got wrong. But most others were like patients in your clinical practice like a lady with 6 months of increased frequency of urination, urgency and pus cells in urine but with sterile culture each time- (options being RCC, Renal TB etc). The exact patient I'm struggling with currently without a diagnosis. All kinds of problems, Psychiatry, Medicine, Pediatrics, OBG, Ophthalmology, ENT, Surgery were covered. Most common causes of a few symptoms like vertigo, sensorineural deafness in children, organism in COPD exacerbation, fever in a child presenting in Vellore were asked (?Scrub typhus).
There was no negative marking and so I could answer all questions with less fear.
By the time I reached the question number 75/80, I realised the total number of questions were 120 and not 100 like I thought. But I had enough time with total time of the test being 90 minutes. There were a few students reading Environmental Science before entering the exam confusing me but I soon realised there was entrance for UG in CMC Vellore that was simultaneously conducted which was for 3 hrs.
In the queue before entering the hall, I met this interesting girl who recently graduated from MBBS who now has probably reached Sittilingi Valley, Tamil Nadu- Tribal Health Initiative
with passion to work there for the community. I got to catch hold of her after the test too and we took the same auto to metro and the metro as well. It was lovely to interact with someone who reminded me again that such wonderful doctors are all around scattered. We need to really have a network of such doctors who really are passionate about being a person who make a difference in people's lives and not get started with the next degree just for the sake of it. This network is forming and will certainly be something I'd work on actively.
We bought some books outside the MG road metro for low price (The Power of Habit for me and The Alchemist for her).
I'll probably visit her at Sittilingi.
I hope this post will be helpful to those who plan to write the entrance for MMed in Family medicine in future. I failed to get any details on the exam online before mine but luckily one of my friends' classmate who is finishing PGDFM had some advice and was able to give me the details similar to the above.
It'd be nice if I get through the admission. But I realised today that PGDFM course application opens in June which doesn't need entrance exam. The curriculum is almost the same as MMed but the degree might not be through the University (that seems to be the difference). So I might as well apply to that if this doesn't work. So that is something you might want to consider if you have considered MMed.
So the questions in the entrance exam were framed such that it tested our knowledge and practice skills developed over time and not overnight. That's something appreciable as well as challenging. Of course there were a few annoying questions like "What is the normal amount of menstrual blood in each cycle?" with options being 80 ml, 90 ml, 100 ml, 120 ml which I probably got wrong. But most others were like patients in your clinical practice like a lady with 6 months of increased frequency of urination, urgency and pus cells in urine but with sterile culture each time- (options being RCC, Renal TB etc). The exact patient I'm struggling with currently without a diagnosis. All kinds of problems, Psychiatry, Medicine, Pediatrics, OBG, Ophthalmology, ENT, Surgery were covered. Most common causes of a few symptoms like vertigo, sensorineural deafness in children, organism in COPD exacerbation, fever in a child presenting in Vellore were asked (?Scrub typhus).
There was no negative marking and so I could answer all questions with less fear.
By the time I reached the question number 75/80, I realised the total number of questions were 120 and not 100 like I thought. But I had enough time with total time of the test being 90 minutes. There were a few students reading Environmental Science before entering the exam confusing me but I soon realised there was entrance for UG in CMC Vellore that was simultaneously conducted which was for 3 hrs.
In the queue before entering the hall, I met this interesting girl who recently graduated from MBBS who now has probably reached Sittilingi Valley, Tamil Nadu- Tribal Health Initiative
with passion to work there for the community. I got to catch hold of her after the test too and we took the same auto to metro and the metro as well. It was lovely to interact with someone who reminded me again that such wonderful doctors are all around scattered. We need to really have a network of such doctors who really are passionate about being a person who make a difference in people's lives and not get started with the next degree just for the sake of it. This network is forming and will certainly be something I'd work on actively.
We bought some books outside the MG road metro for low price (The Power of Habit for me and The Alchemist for her).
I'll probably visit her at Sittilingi.
I hope this post will be helpful to those who plan to write the entrance for MMed in Family medicine in future. I failed to get any details on the exam online before mine but luckily one of my friends' classmate who is finishing PGDFM had some advice and was able to give me the details similar to the above.
It'd be nice if I get through the admission. But I realised today that PGDFM course application opens in June which doesn't need entrance exam. The curriculum is almost the same as MMed but the degree might not be through the University (that seems to be the difference). So I might as well apply to that if this doesn't work. So that is something you might want to consider if you have considered MMed.
