JIPMER PG entrance topper interview: Dr.Rohan Kamat, 1st Rank, Nov 2014

JIPMER entrance topper – Dr. Rohan Kamat

PG Blazer: Congratulations on securing a top rank in the JIPMER PG entrance exam! What is the secret of your success?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: The secret behind my success is regularity. I studied with 2 of my friends with whom I studied for the prof exams also during MBBS. Group study helped me a lot.

PG Blazer: Could you tell us something about yourself?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I am basically from Hubli, Karnataka. Did my schooling in Chinmaya Vidyalaya Hubli, PUC in Chetan PU college Hubli. I secured 99th rank in KCET and took admission in Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubli. Apart from the studies, I was the lead singer of the band in my college.

PG Blazer: Who or what influenced you to take up Medicine as a career?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I was always interested in biology, I decided to take up medicine as a profession in my 2nd PUC as I didn’t find interest in any subject as much as in biology.

PG Blazer: What were your aggregate percentage marks for MBBS?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: 72.4%

Dr. Rohan did his MBBS from Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubli.

PG Blazer: How did you prepare during your internship period?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: The internship in my college was pretty hectic. Whatever time I got post duty hours, I enjoyed with my friends. Didn’t study much during internship.

PG Blazer: What ranks did you obtain in your previous attempts? What changes did you make to your preparation after your last attempt?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: This was my first attempt for PGI entrance. I had a rank of 3055 in my attempt in all india entrance during internship. I was almost sure of taking a seat last year but then my seniors advised me to study 6 months and give AIIMS and PGI.They saw something in me which I wasn’t able to see then. I followed their advise and dropped that seat. I gave AIIMS in May but didn’t qualify. I then realized what mistake I had made.I had to attempt at least 185-190 questions to at least stay in the competition, but I had attempted only 160.

PG Blazer: Which were the various entrance exams you wrote in this session? What were the ranks you obtained?
Dr. Rohan Kamat:  JIPMER – 1st Rank, AIIMS – Got 73rd rank and PGI 10th rank.

PG Blazer: When did you start serious preparation for this year’s entrance exam?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I started serious preparation only in April 2014 when my coaching classes started in bangalore.

PG Blazer: What was your study strategy?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: First I used to read the notes of a particular subject taught in my coaching classes, then read the mcqs of that subject. I used to have a test every Saturday on the subject taught in the previous week, so I would fix my time table such that I could finis that subject in that week itself, completely.

PG Blazer: Did you make any notes for helping with your revision? Were they useful?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: Yes I did. I made a notebook for all subjects together and wrote points whichever I couldn’t remember during my revision.they were definitely useful.

PG Blazer: How many hours did you study each day?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I studied around 8-10 hours till September, then around 10-12 hours daily till PGI.

PG Blazer: Did you have a timetable for preparation? Were you able to stick to it?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: Yes. I had a made a timetable for my revision and I strictly followed it.

PG Blazer: What role did the internet play in your preparation?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: Internet played a great role in my preparation. I had the DAMS exclusive club on facebook which was extremely essential as our staff gave us all the tips and answers on that page, and of course Google helped us a lot.

PG Blazer: Did you ever doubt your ability to get selected in this entrance exam? If so, how did you overcome your fears?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I was confident that I will do well in all India entrance.I knew I had good chances in AIIMS PGI too but was never too confident about it.I just did the best I could and God helped me get what I deserved.

PG Blazer: Did you attend any classroom coaching? Was it useful? Do you think classroom coaching is essential for getting a good rank?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: Yes I attended DAMS BANGALORE. I owe my success to DAMS. Classroom coaching helped me a lot. Their faculty was excellent and we had regular tests to assess ourselves.

PG Blazer: Did you attend any test series? If so, did you find it useful?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I hadn’t taken any test series.

PG Blazer: What were the subjects you focused upon?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: Pharmac, path and short subjects majorly.

PG Blazer: Which books did you read for theory?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: For theory I read my class notes majorly and just referred these books
Anatomy – BDC and Netters
Physiology – Guyton
Biochemistry – Satyanarayan
Pathology – Robbins
Microbiology – Ananthanarayan and Paniker
Pharmacology – KDT
Forensic Medicine – Only class notes
ENT – Dhingra
Ophthalmology – Khurana
SPM – Park
Medicine – Class notes
Surgery – SRB and Bailey.
Orthopaedics – Maheshwari
Paediatrics – Ghai
OBG – Dutta and Shaws
Anaesthesia – Notes
Radiology – Notes
Dermatology – Notes
Psychiatry –Notes

PG Blazer: What was your approach to Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I had read a few topics during my UG days. Didn’t read Harrison’s during these 8 months.

PG Blazer: Which books did you read for MCQ’s? Which ones were the most useful?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: Most useful were amit Ashish and Sparsh Gupta for pharmac.

Subject wise books:

Anatomy – Across
Physiology – Across
Biochemistry – Across
Pathology – Arvind Arora
Microbiology – Apurba Shastry
Pharmacology –Sparsh Gupta
Forensic Medicine – Across
ENT – Sakshi Arora
Ophthalmology – Across
SPM – Arvind Arora
Medicine – Amit Ashish
Surgery – Amit Ashish
Orthopaedics – Across
Paediatrics – Arvind Arora
OBG – Sakshi Arora
Anaesthesia – Across
Radiology – Across
Dermatology – Across
Psychiatry – Across

PG Blazer: Is there anything specific to keep in mind while preparing for AIIMS?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I didn’t prepare specifically for AIIMS. Read all my notes and then did last 5 year papers.

PG Blazer: How did you tackle the PGIMER entrance exam?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I just marked whatever I was sure of. That’s how one can be successful in PGI.

PG Blazer: How did you prepare for the JIPMER PG entrance exam?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I studied my notes thoroughly and the last 3 years papers of JIPMER.

PG Blazer: How did you prepare for the image based questions?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: From my DAMS class notes.

PG Blazer: What was your strategy for taking the exam?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I always start from the beginning and do almost all questions.For the Second round I hardly keep around 20 questions

PG Blazer: How many questions did you attempt?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: AIIMS – 195
PGI – around 470-480 options

PG Blazer: How many do you think you got correct?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: AIIMS – around 140
PGI – I don’t know.I marked whatever I was sure of.

PG Blazer: Which speciality are you interested in choosing and why?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: I will take general medicine in PGI as its the best in the country and Its my favourite subject.

PG Blazer: What is your advice to future aspirants?
Dr. Rohan Kamat: Work hard & give your best. Follow the timetable and be regular. Regularity pays for sure. All the best.

PG Blazer: That brings us to the conclusion of the interview. Best of luck for your future endeavours!

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