Advices from seniors

Assalamualaikum and Happy Holiday...

Just skimming the FB the other day and I saw this, so i got the idea of asking few seniors for tips especially when i realized that we only have 8 weeks for each block, hope this could help us prepare for the Pro.

Aishah Masri

• salam, ader bbrp bende yang akak nak cadangkan. bolehla buat sbagai reference. insyaAllah
  
  - wajib ader stadi group. cthnyer. akak ni mmg jenis stadi sendiri sbab akak ader pace akak tp ntuk pro, mmg kene ader stadi group. mmg menolong sangat2. tp ader syarat2 dier, lantik seorang ketua yang tegas ntuk kawal schedule, distribute tugas2 n bahagi2 masa ntuk flexibility. then, jangan bincang topik2 yang kecik2. boleh je budget aper yg penting drs etiap system. kene aware la time lecture aper yg di highlight.
  
  - setiap systems ader penyakit2 yg common clinical. so, kene check aper yg common
  
  - kalu boleh, start la third block. dah kene gerak.

Su'aiDi Benyusof

• nasihat k. aishah mmg terbaik.. gane2 pn study grup rr byk mmbntu.. form study grup dgn geng2 hk nk saling membantu bkn membantut..
  
  ni nk share experiences hk majid, azmad, muiz n anas share thn lps..harap2 berguna la.. ---->>>
  
  My Year 2 Experience
  I would like to stress that this is just my opinion and experience. You are most welcome to question or disagree with anything.
  
  Well to be really honest, year 2 is where I felt more like a medical student. The reason is simply because we got to learn more about diseases. With that being said, a good command of year 1 background was paramount. So my first advice is NEVER chuck your notes unarranged. It will definitely come in handy in year 2 especially for professional exams.
  
  Let us start with the rule of thumb I used for year 2 (Again this may vary from individuals). Anatomy -> Physiology -> Pathology -> Pharmacology. I would make sure I understand the anatomy of something first before I start revising my physiology. And knowing the normal body functions before then understanding the problems and lastly where in the problems can the drugs play its part.
  
  The ultimate goal of year 2 is of course the Professional Examination. But trust me, as long as you are consistent for every block in year 2, it should not be a problem. The year 1 topics were the ones I had difficulties recalling in my professional exam. However, allow me to go block by block.
  
  Year 2 Block 1 was on Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Hematology systems. Honestly, this was the most difficult block for me. I was not used to the fact that in year 2 we have only 8 weeks and no time to really play. I remember year 1 where the first 3 weeks of the block was like ‘goyang kaki’ because the common rationale was ‘minitest lambat lagi’. But that can no longer be applied; consistency is very important in year 2. You have only 4 weeks before minitest as compared to 7 in year 1. If possible finish revising the notes of that week by Sunday. That was how I planned it. All daily notes I got in that week I made sure by Sunday 11pm I have gone through them. Sounds easy? Actually you may wonder then; when is the free time? Banyak jer! Nak keluar main semua boleh memang sempat. Sometimes I made sure I finish all the notes by Saturday so I can have the Sunday for other activities. Or if you are behind in studies for that week maybe because sibuk during weekdays night (program,activity,usrah etc) make sure that weekend you try to cover.
  
  But in terms of the content of Year 2 Block1, it was the most important for our professional exam. 2 Essays came from this block; Anatomy and Hematology. Use the hematology tutorial classes to the fullest as it will help you dearly for PBLs and OSPE! I remember every tutorial classes we had to interpret Full Blood Count, and as expected, 3-4 OSPE stations were on Full Blood Count interpretation. All we needed to do was be alert during the tutorial and Insya Allah we can answer it. Rajin2 la buat workbook tu nanti ye! Jangan la tiru kawan, memang rugi. By the end of the block, MCV MCH normal range semua mesti dah terer and it helps you a lot during PBLS in the subsequent blocks.
  
  
  
  
  Year 2 Block 2 was my favorite block as it had Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Systems. Our PBQ case for Professional Exam was regarding a patient with Jaundice and he had hepatitis eventually. This block has A LOT OF anatomy but mostly revising year 1. The bulk of parasitology lectures from year 1 will be in this block as well. So if you have mastered year 1 lectures InsyaAllah this block tak susah sangat. Tapi use the same principle like I said , cover every week by the end of the week.
  
  Year 2 Block 3 was on Endocrine and Genitourinary Systems. A bit more difficult but it helps if we correlate the biochemistry lecture with the physiology lecture. This block needs a lot of thought flow thinking. Contohnya, yang ni pergi sini pastu jadi pastu pergi situ and so on. Understanding is the key. In exams you can always write back in your own words kan…? This time prof Pakeer asked us to be serious for Professional Exam but honestly gear tak masuk lagi. However, it helps if you start revising the year 1 notes now.
  
  Finally, Year 2 Block 4 was on Nervous and Locomotor Systems. This was a challenging block in terms of studying because we actually learnt the physiology of most of the central nervous systems before learning the anatomy. Many students struggled during minitest because of it. I hope they change back to the older system for the next batch. This was the time when I started to revise my year 1 notes for professional exams. But since most of us struggled during Neuroanatomy lectures, my sincere advice is definitely not to rely on lecture notes soleoly. It makes more sense when we read from the books.
  
  Lastly for Professional examinations; try to cover everything once. If you cant do it yourself, try forming a study group and cover according to systems. Of course you should start this as early as Block 3 if possible. Do not study just what you think lecturer may have hinted ONLY. But be smart! Focus on it and cover the rest. I honestly believe there is no such thing as waste of time going through all the previous notes once AT LEAST. But In the 2 weeks study period before exam; have a timetable, goals and target to achieve. I set mine 3 days per block. But It varies according to different people. Teaching each other during makan-makan also helps.
  
  Second year has never halted anyone from joining activities, programmes, visiting families , usrahs and the occasional trip to water falls, but always try to have a goal for that week and Allah will help you. Never let the fear of failing keep you away from focusing to study. Studying should befun.But most of us are burdening our minds with that fear. Turn it into a positive stress and that can motivate us to study.
  
  Lastly, all the best for your professional examination!
  
  For tips on study group you may ask Ainie Sayutti or Ahmad Anas.
  
  Feel free to add or ask anything
  Abdul Majid Ghazali
  well said azmad...
  
  i would to add on pbl.. most of us macam amek leka tentang pbl ,but trust me pbl is really helpful if u understand the signs and symptoms.. most of signs and symptoms that will come out in pbq are based on pbl...
  in second year also,u will be exposed to wat is called as case discussion.basically like pbl, but u have all from trigger 1 to 4 with provisional diagnosis,try to stdy focus that also. One more thing that i would like to add is about clinical lectures. u guys will have alot of classes with clinician/peds/surgeon etc.. it will not come out in essay,sn. but trust me it will come out in mcq like 10 to 15 questions (10*5=50 marks dah).most of us tinggal menda ni, n gagal score mcq.. try to cover that also(if u cover pbl,u will cover this part )
  
  block 1 is killer btw..
  
  Azmad Kareem Anwardeen
  TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU majid.
  
  Please do take PBL seriously. It helps dearly!! It is not that always you can have a 2 hour session with lecturers of 30 years of experience. Use that time to ask them questions and get to know them as well. They are there to help us
  
  Please dont make PBL a burden, it is when you say it is. It is the platform for preparing us for year 3.
  
  Muizzuddin Shah Zulkiffli
  firstly, azmad, congratz buddy, the note was neat, insyaAllah,hope they would take your advice to their hearts, and betul kate majid and di emphasize by azmad, PBL is the way of getting ready for 3rd year and untuk PBQ paper gak, the flow would be the almost the same, accordingly and believe me, got hold of PBL, insyaAllah PBQ you wouldnt net to strive that much to score good marks, tp silapnye students kite ramai nak habeskan PBL cepat2, tu yg smp terkejar2 nak discuss, sampai kalu blh terus nak bg diagnosis je,( bukan kate semua, segelintir), ;P
  
  and friendly reminder to all, as mentioned by azmad, Y2B1 is indeed a challenging one, sebab the transition from the environment of Y1 to Y2, you may have to change your ways of approaching the subjects, but dont make this as a wall to stop you from passing, prioritize, fokus on your aim, kalu sibuk cam mane pun dgn seminar ke, societies ke, studies always comes first,and istiqamah and persevere, if ade yang try to keep u from the right path, tolong tolak tepi all those things,i learn that lesson the hard way, so i dont want it to happened to any of you, just my 2 cents though, have a great 2nd year ahead,
  
  Ahmad Anas Abdul Majid
  Thumbs up...Well said...
  
  Azmad and Majid was right. PBL is really important. You should prepare for it. I was in the same PBL grp with Majid in year 2. Honestly, I have to say that I really respect Majid in PBQ. He really prepared for it.
  
  Dont worry you spent a lot of time to prepare yourself for PBL. Let me tell you my story. Majid must have realize it. For block 3, I really3 prepared myself for PBL. Yes. My marks was extremely high. But, in block 4, I was too focus on the pro exam that i tend to neglect PBL. Buat endah tak endah jer. Tak snggp utk spent time for PBL. As a result, cumulative marks was not high. My marks for final exam was the best I ever had but because of my cumulative marks (PBL) was not so good, the total marks tak der beza dgn the previous block. That is my mistake!
  
  Oh one more. I can suggest that you do it like this. Starting in block 1, spent the weekday studying for the block and the weekends for pro exam. Not the entire weekend. That is what I did.