Interview with our topper Dr. Kanishka Kumar

Interview with our topper Dr. Kanishka Kumar

Dr. Kanishka Kumar did his MBBS from R. G. Kar Medical College, Kolkata &

joined DAMS Test & Discussion Course

He secured Rank 10 IN NIMHANS Exam

 

DAMS: Congratulations on securing a good ranks. What is the secret of your success in this exam?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: Thanks...studying the right way and not quitting when things got worse.

DAMS: How did your parents, family and friends contribute to your success?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: My parents are doctors so they were the main motivators. They didn’t panic when initially I didn’t click anywhere. I want to thank my friends for bearing me through tough times. No one can prepare alone and we always need companions. Without them there would have been no result. More than me they believed I could do it.

DAMS: Who influenced you to take up Medicine?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: My father.

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. Kanishka Kumar: Many times, especially when my batch mates were getting selected and I was not, I seriously doubted if I am in right profession but I guess there is no pleasure without pain. Ultimately, I got a result.

DAMS:  Which books did you read for the theory part?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: For theory, Lippincott’s (only book to be read from cover to cover), Ganong(only general, nephrology, respiratory, cvs regulation), BDC(only very important topics), General Pathology from Robbins(most important book and not reading it should never be an excuse), some topics from Harrison(IHD, Dementia, Stroke etc). For the rest I think going retrograde is better.

DAMS: Which books did you read for MCQ revision? Which revision books were the most productive and which were least?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: AA and MK are must (I think they would be helpful even for NEET), just do last 5 yrs papers. For Pharma-Gobind Garg, Patho- Arvind Arora, Micro-Rachna Chaurasia, PSM- Vivek jain, medicine and surgery- AA, OBG- sakshi Arora...There is no good book for paediatrics, but Siddhartha sir is very good, follow his notes, Radiology- Sumer sir’s book (earlier I had not read it but when started reading it , I could see that all the questions are in the book. I took the radiology special paper of CMC Vellore and I was amazed that 50% questions were from that book), Ophthalmology and Orthopaedics - Across.....I found no books least productive.

 

DAMS: How important you think was DAMS in your preparation?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: If it was not DAMS, there would have been no selection. I had heard a lot about DAMS and specially came from Kolkata to join DAMS (that time DAMS was not there in Kolkata but now it is) and it turned out to be a good decision. Their USP, besides their faculty, is their tests, especially NLT(the online test series). It gives you proper grand rehearsals for NEET. I would say each and every PG aspirant should take these tests.

 

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. Kanishka Kumar: Some subjects (some frequently repeated topics only) wide and extensive and most of the subjects selective and intensive. Just look at the questions of previous years and prioritise.

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. Kanishka Kumar: I think the worst thing to happen in PG education is this NEET. We are still feeling the heat. I think appearing in multiple exams is better as anyone can have a bad day, like my rank in AIIMS was not that good but i got one in NIMHANS.

DAMS: Which subjects did you focus on?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: Biochemistry, Pathology, Pharmacology, PSM, short subjects. You see, now there is a shift in the method of preparation, earlier as AIIMS and AIPG was conducted from the same body, short subjects were very important as you could gain more by putting in less. But now focus is more on 1^st and 2^nd year. I took the NEET this year and found that barring FMT, questions were quite easy from rest of the 7 short subjects and you can tick them right even with less knowledge. So i would say concentrate on 1^st and 2^nd year subjects.

DAMS: What was your strategy for the exam day? How many questions did you attempt and why?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar:  I attempted all the questions (100 questions) as when you fight for 20 odd seats, it doesn’t make sense to leave more than 2-3% questions. The game was different for AIPG where we needed to control our attempts as seats were more but with NEET where there is no negative marking, that strategy goes for a toss as you have no option but to attempt all the questions. In AIIMS and PGI, you can’t leave more than 5 questions as seats are less. I have many friends who are toppers in AIIMS and PGI and they feel the same.

DAMS: What do you want to specialize in, why and where?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar:  Difficult question....Radiology/ortho/Surgery..I will make up my mind when rank comes.

DAMS: Which teachers in DAMS influenced you most and what do you like about DAMS and would recommend to your juniors?
Dr. Kanishka Kumar: Recommending DAMS would be an understatement as all my friends and juniors know that what i have achieved is because of DAMS. I highly recommend DAMS to all the aspirants.

All the teachers as well as the supporting staff of DAMS are excellent. There is a friendly atmosphere when you enter their building. Special mention should be made of Sumer sir(he will make sure that the subject which you never understood in MBBS i.e. radiology seem like a child play and you can answer not even radio but medicine/surgery/paediatrics questions ), physio mam, Micro sir, ENT sir, PSM sir, surgery sir, Paeds sir, ortho sir.