Dr Pavan Gabra, AIIMS PG Nov Rank 5 & PGI Rank 2, Marrow Plan C student, talks about his preparation strategy

Hi Dr Pavan! Congrats on your awesome AIIMS PG & PGI ranks! Could you tell us a few things about yourself?

Thank you! I am a student at AIIMS Delhi, currently doing my internship. I am originally from Gujarat. I’m interested in Medicine, Radiology or Neurosurgery as specialities.

When did you start preparing for the PG entrance exams?

I started preapring for PG entrance exams from 2nd year itself, but serious preparation from 3rd year onwards.

How did you use Marrow videos for your preparation?

As my intership was pretty hectic, I did not have time to cover all the Marrow videos. Hence I focussed only on the topics that I needed more clarification on. I watched them whenever I had time and made notes. Notes from Marrow videos were very very high yield. Sometimes I only watched a particular sub-topic in a video.

For which subjects did you find Marrow videos most useful?

Psychiatry. Dr. Mohan had taught it very well. Microbiology, Pathology and Surgery videos also were very helpful. I do recommend that if you have more time, do watch the Medicine videos as well because the explanation of concepts by Rakesh sir was brilliant.

When would you recommend your juniors to watch Marrow videos?

I do regret not starting Marrow videos sooner. I would advice my juniors to start watching Marrow videos as early as final year. And when you watch, be consistent – as in, make it a point to watch at least one video every day. And very importantly, do make notes from the video classes.

What was your Rank in the Marrow AIIMS Mock?

I had a Live rank of 10, which boosted my confidence.

When did you start solving the Qbank?

In my internship, I think that is late and one should start even earlier, like as soon as you have read all the subjects once at least.

How did you solve the Qbank?

Random modules, due to the hectic internship. I found the asynchronous method better for revision. I think the synchronous method is for machines and not humans.

Did you make notes while solving the QBank?

My aim was to make notes for all. But I managed to make notes of half and the rest I bookmarked. The bookmark feature is very helpful.

What according to you is the best feature of Marrow?

QBank. Has lots of extra points which you do not get anywhere. I solved it extensively. I have solved 950+ Marrow modules including videos.

How did you revise the modules?

I bookmarked the questions I did not know, and revised by giving myself a test on those questions that I bookmarked, using the Custom Modules feature. I also used Pearls for last minute revision.

When do you recommend your juniors to start preparing with Marrow?

As early as possible. Qbank, and notes from QBank is a must. Personally, I had DAMS and Bhatia notes too. I watched a lot of videos and made notes from those as well. Notes from Marrow videos were very high yield.

Do you recommend any guides specifically for preparation?

I have used absolutely no guides. Marrow notes and my coaching class notes were sufficient.

What was your take on Controversial Questions?

I found it easier and more convenient to clear doubts on Marrow due to the prompt response and also because it ensures anonymity. Factual questions, I trusted Marrow. Conceptual questions, I directly enquired with faculty.

How often do you recommend giving a GT?

I gave Grand Tests regularly till June, then later on selectively as I was writing other Tests also. Give Grand Tests twice a month and Subject wise tests weekly.

What was your strategy in the last few days?

Give tests, find your weakest subjects and revise those. When you focus on your weakest subject, you also have to consider the total weightage of questions from that subject. For example, if I scored 10 out of 20 in Surgery and got 6/6 questions wrong in Opthalmology, I studied Surgery, because towards the end it matters if you improve your overall score.

How many questions did you attempt in the exam?

197

How was the AIIMS PG exam different this time?

Animations and videos were new. A lot of direct repeats were there. It is important to solve few previous year papers and to revise all your notes.

Thank you, Dr. Pavan! All the best for your future!

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