Interview with our topper Dr. Vivek Tewari PGI & AIIMS NOV, 2011

Dr Vivek Tiwari did his MBBS from Maulana Azad Medical College and joined DAMS ___ Regd no______
He secured Rank 18 IN PGI NOV2011 Exam
He secured Rank 5 IN AIIMS NOV2011 Exam
DAMS: Congratulations on securing a good rank. What is the secret of your success in this exam?Dr VIVEK: Thank you.. There was no other secret besides hard work and blessings of my parents..
DAMS: How did your parents, family and friends contribute to your success?Dr VIVEK: My family and friends were the cornerstone of my success..my family gave me mental support all through this phase..and my friends provided me the guidance whenever I needed it..i will like to thank ALPESH GOYAL my fast friend for his valuable support,he is a born genius..who clarified all my doubts.
DAMS: Who influenced you to take up Medicine?Dr VIVEK: Actually my elder brother has done BDS,so there was this medical environment right there during my +2 phase..moreover,my maternal grandfather is a doctor and my 3 maternal uncles are also doctors…so there was always this fascination about this profession.
DAMS: 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?Dr VIVEK: Yes,I was never sure whether I will be able to clear any pg entrance with internship…but my parents encouraged me throughout my preparation..
DAMS: Which books did you read for the theory part?Dr VIVEK: For final year subjects ,I relied on IAMS notes which I read during final year…for other subjects ,I tried to cover theory from mcq books only and test and discussion classes..although I could not do full syllabus in any subject…its very difficult to complete all theory syllabus during internship..but I tried to read as much as I can from these books..
DAMS : Which books did you read for MCQ revision? Which revision books were the most productive and which were least?Dr VIVEK: Amit Ashish ,Mudit Khanna…there is no alternative to them ,it is indispensable to do these books ,if u want to clear pg entrance…although here also I could not finish all..i did previous 5 year papers from amit ashish and 5 years from Mudit khanna..for pharma-gobind rai garg is a very gud book..and for micro Rachna Chourasia..for pgi ,Manoj Choudhary is a wonderful book..
DAMS : How important you think was DAMS in your preparation ?Dr VIVEK: I joined grand test series of DAMS…it was very productive to give DAMS GT..specially for PGI, those tests are the best..
DAMS: What do you think is the better way of preparation between selective, intensive study and wide, extensive study? What did you choose as your style of studying?Dr VIVEK: I think its better to study extensively during final year and to do intensive focussed study in internship..thats what I followed..
DAMS: Indian PG entrances are highly competitive so to compete them students end up in appearing in multiple PG exams , kindly extend your views on this and also their pros and cons of appearing in multiple PG entrances .Dr VIVEK: I think giving multiple exams has a certain advantage that if u could not do well in 1 for whatsoever reason ,u still have a chance…provided there is ample gap between various exams..
DAMS: Which subjects did you focus on?Dr VIVEK: I focussed on the short subjects more. I think to get good rank in any exam ,they are much more important than the long ones…
DAMS: What was your strategy for the exam day? How many questions did you attempt and why?Dr VIVEK: There was no strategy for the exam per se , I just tried to give my best. I just thought I have to mark between 600-700 options in PGI coz I thought that is the appropriate number to attempt in PGI ,though I could not count actually in the end…I just finished my paper on time. moreover before exams I thought to be careful in marking responses during exam and to give ample time for it…although in the exam in nervousness ,I marked 3 options wrongly…this is the thing one should be most careful about ..because there is no point in studying if u cant show it in exams..
DAMS: What do you want to specialize in, why and where?Dr VIVEK: I want to take either Gen. surgery or Orthopaedics…coz I have lot of interest in surgical field. moreover its like a passion to me to do surgeries..
DAMS: Which teachers in DAMS influenced you most and what do you like about DAMS and would recommend to your juniors?Dr VIVEK: I did not join DAMS classroom programme, so I cant tell about it…though my friends tell me that its good..specially surgery and pharma…I joined Grand test series. which I found very productive in PGI. some questions came directly from it in the exam…