like i said before i did my mbbs from SMIMS.however i did my internship from a different college (neel ratan sarkar medical hospital and college,kolkata).why?i wanted more exposure.more patients and all that.was that a good decision?i believe it was.i got a LOT of hands on clinical experience.though, the things i learnt in nrs, i dont think will help me much in the US.the standard of patient care there was the lowest that i have seen.but hey...who am i to complain?i saw about 100 patients per day, assisted in surgeries (even laps), and delievered about 200 babies in 3 months.so no complaints.every experience counts.
however what i did not do while i was in kolkata was study.i did not study a single word.i am not proud of the fact but i think i will be excused because i was working for about 13 hours per day and was too tired to do anything else.mentally also, the language problem was a stressor (i speak nepali hindi and english fluently...and NOW i speak bengali too...thanks to kolkata and no thanks to my bengali bf :D ).people in kolkata dont speak much hindi...and almost no english..ok i am exaggerating a little but the thing is the hospital where i worked was for poor and very very rural people of west bengal.so there the people did not speak much of these 2 languages.this was why when i came back home i used to be SO tired because apart from all the medical things i had to learn a new language too.so i did not open my books at all.all i did was sleep and eat and wash clothes...i dont know why but i washed a LOT of clothes when i was in kolkata ... :)
did all this harm my usmle preps?i guess it did.i mean i was completely out of touch with my books for 9 months.there were days when i got scared and said...."hey i HAVE to start studyin".and then i would open my book for about 4 days but then i would go back to my old and lazy habits after 4 days.do i regret it?not even for 1/2 a minute.what i learnt in kolkata was and will be indispensible in my life.clinic stuffs and non clinic stuffs.but i guess i would not advice this to all.i mean dont study like crazy if you dont want to.but dont NOT open your books at all.if nothing if there was an interesting case you saw r a procedure you did, come back home and read about it.not for exams.for your own knowledge.it barely takes 1/2 an hour each day.
ok now advice time ( i will try and include this feature in all my blogs...wont promise though)...internship is a time when we are supposed to learn stuffs.seriously...there are many people/doctors in india these days who dont take internship seriously because they are too busy preparing for the post graduation exams.but i do believe that basics are an absolute must for our life...medical or non medical field...always make the base strong and you will never fail in life....ok ok too much for a day...what i am sayin is that if you are in your internship year.do your internship well...not half heartedly.and AFTER you manage to do that if you have the time and the energy to go to your books in the evening...well nothing like it.personally took my internship year as the much needed break year....4 n half years of intense high pressure (almost autoclave like) studying in the med school deserved a break...and the internship year was the perfect time.
what happened when i did this?i finished my internship and came back home (which is in gangtok) all fresh and prepared to do some studying for the usmle steps.
oh ya....another advice...i didn do this one myself but i think that during your internship if you give you GREs (Graduate -something- Examinations) then it may be helpful.GRE's are a non medico post graduate entrance exams which will help you to get to the US if you are all restless and want to get there as soon as possible.many options once you do your GREs and get a good score (which is around 1300+).what many medical people usually do after passing is join an MPH program in the US.and while they have joined a college to do MPH they start preparing for MLE's.whats the benefit of doing MPH?well you get a study visa for one (now visa issue is a big thing...i will discuss this subsequently in my future blogs), also you will meet many people who are there and doing the same so i guess you will find 'partners in mle crimes' :D.also an extra degree and an extra knowledge is never harmful.you can work in some place (part time jobs) so that you will be financially independent too (though i dont know how attractive working as a waiter or something is after you have finished your mbbs...some people may be able to do it....but me ...i amnot proud of the fact that i dun believe in things like dignity of labour)...but thats about GREs...i know the info is a little vague.if you want to know let me know your questions i will try and answer them.
oh yes one more thing.some people do this too.they give one of the steps....usually step one when they are doing their internship.and then take a break in between their internship to go to the US and do their step 2 CS and their externship.i dont really know whether this is a good idea.my friend did this and everything was fine.but while he was in US we had our graduation and degree giving and all that.when my freind came back to india after 5 months of everything in us he came to college to collect his degree he was asked to come later...about 6 months later.so he lost a lot of time there which was alright if it was just 6 months of nothing.but 6 months later for him meant that he missed out on 2009's matching.so i guess that is a year loss for him.check with your college if they have similar issues if you plan to go to the US while you are doin your internship.again i would suggest you finish your internship before heading out to the US for anything.take one step at a time...and no pun intended!!
so now lets see have i left out anything??ummm...i dont think so.ya one more thing..while you are on your break year (i mean the internship time) make sure you get your passports and everything done (ie if you already dont have one) because once you start studying you dont want such trivialities bothering you.also in this year make sure you join a LOT of usmle forums and read everything about the exams.the better informed you are the less you are going to be dissapointed when faced with reality...my bf kept telling me this and i didn listen to him and well of course i regret it now.like i regret many things that i did and did not do while giving my exams.
come back and read on if you want to know more.
ps: i googled this GRE is Graduate Record Examination.and MPH is Masters in Public Health.
however what i did not do while i was in kolkata was study.i did not study a single word.i am not proud of the fact but i think i will be excused because i was working for about 13 hours per day and was too tired to do anything else.mentally also, the language problem was a stressor (i speak nepali hindi and english fluently...and NOW i speak bengali too...thanks to kolkata and no thanks to my bengali bf :D ).people in kolkata dont speak much hindi...and almost no english..ok i am exaggerating a little but the thing is the hospital where i worked was for poor and very very rural people of west bengal.so there the people did not speak much of these 2 languages.this was why when i came back home i used to be SO tired because apart from all the medical things i had to learn a new language too.so i did not open my books at all.all i did was sleep and eat and wash clothes...i dont know why but i washed a LOT of clothes when i was in kolkata ... :)
did all this harm my usmle preps?i guess it did.i mean i was completely out of touch with my books for 9 months.there were days when i got scared and said...."hey i HAVE to start studyin".and then i would open my book for about 4 days but then i would go back to my old and lazy habits after 4 days.do i regret it?not even for 1/2 a minute.what i learnt in kolkata was and will be indispensible in my life.clinic stuffs and non clinic stuffs.but i guess i would not advice this to all.i mean dont study like crazy if you dont want to.but dont NOT open your books at all.if nothing if there was an interesting case you saw r a procedure you did, come back home and read about it.not for exams.for your own knowledge.it barely takes 1/2 an hour each day.
ok now advice time ( i will try and include this feature in all my blogs...wont promise though)...internship is a time when we are supposed to learn stuffs.seriously...there are many people/doctors in india these days who dont take internship seriously because they are too busy preparing for the post graduation exams.but i do believe that basics are an absolute must for our life...medical or non medical field...always make the base strong and you will never fail in life....ok ok too much for a day...what i am sayin is that if you are in your internship year.do your internship well...not half heartedly.and AFTER you manage to do that if you have the time and the energy to go to your books in the evening...well nothing like it.personally took my internship year as the much needed break year....4 n half years of intense high pressure (almost autoclave like) studying in the med school deserved a break...and the internship year was the perfect time.
what happened when i did this?i finished my internship and came back home (which is in gangtok) all fresh and prepared to do some studying for the usmle steps.
oh ya....another advice...i didn do this one myself but i think that during your internship if you give you GREs (Graduate -something- Examinations) then it may be helpful.GRE's are a non medico post graduate entrance exams which will help you to get to the US if you are all restless and want to get there as soon as possible.many options once you do your GREs and get a good score (which is around 1300+).what many medical people usually do after passing is join an MPH program in the US.and while they have joined a college to do MPH they start preparing for MLE's.whats the benefit of doing MPH?well you get a study visa for one (now visa issue is a big thing...i will discuss this subsequently in my future blogs), also you will meet many people who are there and doing the same so i guess you will find 'partners in mle crimes' :D.also an extra degree and an extra knowledge is never harmful.you can work in some place (part time jobs) so that you will be financially independent too (though i dont know how attractive working as a waiter or something is after you have finished your mbbs...some people may be able to do it....but me ...i amnot proud of the fact that i dun believe in things like dignity of labour)...but thats about GREs...i know the info is a little vague.if you want to know let me know your questions i will try and answer them.
oh yes one more thing.some people do this too.they give one of the steps....usually step one when they are doing their internship.and then take a break in between their internship to go to the US and do their step 2 CS and their externship.i dont really know whether this is a good idea.my friend did this and everything was fine.but while he was in US we had our graduation and degree giving and all that.when my freind came back to india after 5 months of everything in us he came to college to collect his degree he was asked to come later...about 6 months later.so he lost a lot of time there which was alright if it was just 6 months of nothing.but 6 months later for him meant that he missed out on 2009's matching.so i guess that is a year loss for him.check with your college if they have similar issues if you plan to go to the US while you are doin your internship.again i would suggest you finish your internship before heading out to the US for anything.take one step at a time...and no pun intended!!
so now lets see have i left out anything??ummm...i dont think so.ya one more thing..while you are on your break year (i mean the internship time) make sure you get your passports and everything done (ie if you already dont have one) because once you start studying you dont want such trivialities bothering you.also in this year make sure you join a LOT of usmle forums and read everything about the exams.the better informed you are the less you are going to be dissapointed when faced with reality...my bf kept telling me this and i didn listen to him and well of course i regret it now.like i regret many things that i did and did not do while giving my exams.
come back and read on if you want to know more.
ps: i googled this GRE is Graduate Record Examination.and MPH is Masters in Public Health.
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