Let's delve into a journey with Deepanshu Mamgai, B. Pharm, KUDOPS Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, India (2019-2023). He scored 75th rank in the NIPER JEE (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) & 132nd in the GPAT (Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test). He also got 8th rank in the NIPER Integrated Ph.D. exam. He's currently pursuing Integrated PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology. Here, Himani Negi & Priya Bairagi engage in an enlightening conversation with Deepanshu Mamgai.
Himani Negi: Hello Deepanshu! Can you please introduce yourself to our community?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I'm Deepanshu. I’m from Uttarakhand. Currently, I have completed a B. Pharm. I have taken the GPAT (Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test) exam and received a rank of 132. I also took the NIPER (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) exam and received a rank of 8. I have also taken the NIPER JEE and received a rank of 75. I am currently pursuing Integrated PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology.
Himani Negi: One question that I would like to ask is in our batch, there were about 30 students, but none of their first choice was pharmacy. All 28 of us couldn’t clear NEET and a few others were those who wanted to do engineering but couldn’t do it so we all got into pharmacy. Even when we entered college, we didn’t know what pharmacy was. So was pharmacy your first choice or was it your second option?
Deepanshu Mamgai: No. I didn’t even think about pharmacy. I thought whatever I get is fine and I got pharmacy.
Himani Negi: Does it mean after 12th you were going to pursue any degree you thought you might get into?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yeah. I didn’t give NEET so I thought whatever I get, I’ll go into that. No problem.
Himani Negi: You chose pharmacy. How did you get interested in pharmacy? You got such a nice rank then definitely worked hard or is it because you are a genius? At what point did you decide to take the GPAT exam or choose your career path? When did you realize it?
Deepanshu Mamgai: All the M. Pharm people whom I used to talk to were GPAT qualified, so I was motivated by looking at them. If their account gets credited with 12,400 then even in my account it will get credited.
Himani Negi: You know, if you get pocket money on your own, it feels nice. So you got motivation from earning?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes. It was the primary reason. Otherwise, if it's a good institute, eventually a good job should be out there somewhere. And all that was secondary, first I should get money.
Himani Negi: Sounds interesting. I’m having a great time interacting with you. So in M.Pharm, did you just meet your seniors or did you interact with anyone else too?
Deepanshu Mamgai: No. Just the seniors.
Himani Negi: Did you start your preparation in the first year or later?
Deepanshu Mamgai: No. In the first year, I took a book from Priyank Sir who was from M. Pharm final year but I didn’t understand anything. In the second year, I thought let's see again but I didn’t understand anything. Then in the third year, I decided that I should go for it now. Even now I have these subjects. Then I started looking for preparation and I qualified for the GPAT in my 3rd year.
Himani Negi: So you are from a batch during the COVID era, did anything from 1st or 2nd year help you in the GPAT exam?
Deepanshu Mamgai: No, I didn't study anything for the GPAT at that time. I just used to play PUBG the whole time.
Himani Negi: Your mind is very sharp. So, in the third year, you started studying. Did you take any coaching or did you do self-study?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I took coaching in 4th year. In 3rd year, I did self-study.
Himani Negi: How did you start with self-studying? Do you have a schedule to study daily? If the college ends at 4-5 pm so after that, do you still have the energy to study separately? Are college and GPAT syllabi the same or do you need to study for them separately?
Deepanshu Mamgai: For me the scenario was different. During the COVID period, we got a lot of free time. Then after going to college, in the second half, there were just one or two lectures and I didn’t go to college. So in between, I used to get 1 or 2 hours and after that, I used to go to the gym. Then again I used to study.
Himani Negi: So during the third year, you started preparing seriously?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Just normal preparations.
Himani Negi: Did the college teachers not say anything about missing their classes?
Deepanshu Mamgai: They used to. But then again I used to go for one or two days after they scolded me, then again I wouldn’t go. So, I didn’t get any problem.
Himani Negi: So now that you are qualified in GPAT I hope all the teachers are happy. So during the third year and fourth year, i.e preparations without and with coaching? What was the difference? And what was the scenario for coaching? Was it regular coaching?
Deepanshu Mamgai: In my third year while self-studying, I focused on clearing basic concepts. In the fourth year, I mainly focused on topics and most frequent questions and question papers. The benefit of coaching was that they focused on the main topics that were asked in exams and explained them so it would get stuck in our minds. Self-studies were like we didn’t focus on anything specifically. We used to give equal time to everything. So the benefit of coaching was that they focused on the main topics that are frequently asked in exams and then rest all if we just go through it once then it was enough.
Himani Negi: Tell me about your coaching. You must have taken it online because I don’t think there were any coaching centres in Bhimtal.
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes, it was online coaching.
Himani Negi: Yes, so what online coaching did you take? Were there daily classes or there were recorded lectures? And what about the mock tests?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I took coaching at the start of September. There were regular classes from 4 pm to 8 pm and then online. There were recorded sessions of the lectures too. And after the class was over we have to solved questions too. So I did that and then revised it. Nothing else.
Himani Negi: So what about doubt clearing sessions?
Deepanshu Mamgai: If we had any doubts, we texted on WhatsApp or made a call.
Himani Negi: You started the coaching in between August & September, so when was the GPAT exam?
Deepanshu Mamgai: In May.
Himani Negi: So you gave it a year right?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Almost a year.
Himani Negi: Would you like to tell us the name of your coaching centre?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I took coaching from GDC.
Himani Negi: You did coaching also and self-study and college also. Did college study add any advantage to coaching?
Deepanshu Mamgai: We didn't pay attention to what was taught in college. Whatever we understood, a little bit of it was useful in coaching.
Himani Negi: So did you understand everything that was taught by GDC teachers? Was everyone teaching nicely?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes. Almost everyone taught nicely. For some subjects, if we were not interested then we didn't study that part.
Himani Negi: What thing did you struggle the most with while studying in coaching? What was your strategy? Because you don’t have to do the entire paper. Right? To be a topper, you will have to just attempt a certain number of questions. So what was your strategy? What was your mindset? Which areas did you score more? Because I think marks are released or just ranks are known?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Marks have not been released yet but we do know it as we matched the answer sheet. In my third year, I found organic tough, and I left the organic part completely. So in my third year, my main focus was pharmacology and pharmaceutics and then pharmacognosy. Minor subjects can be managed. Because there are very few questions from that and are easy also so that is manageable. After coming in my fourth year, I started chemistry, it was difficult but then eventually it became easy. And I faced more difficulty with organic. And pharmaceutics and pharmacology. I focused mainly on major subjects. Pharmacognosy was always kept at last, 10 questions are from that and are easy so you just go through it at last then it's okay. And for minor subjects you can just go through roughly. It's fine.
Himani Negi: Basically, whatever is strong was strong and whatever is weak, you made it strong as time passed. So how many questions did you attempt in GPAT?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I attempted around 104 questions.
Himani Negi: How many total questions are there?
Deepanshu Mamgai: 125 questions.
Himani Negi: Then you have attempted a good number of questions and that’s why you have got a good rank also. So we have our intern, Snayini. She has a question for you. - "Is coaching necessary?" Because you have both the experiences, with and without coaching you have studied. Without coaching you qualified and with coaching you got a very nice rank. If a person is studying, then is coaching necessary to crack this exam? Or coaching give you an edge? What do you think? Can they qualify if they don’t take coaching?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes, if you don’t want to take coaching then you can qualify. But if you take coaching, then if you can’t make it in weak subjects, even weak subjects can be managed through coaching. Since my organic was weak, I managed it with the help of coaching. Then it benefits your rank. Otherwise, without coaching you can qualify. No problem.
Himani Negi: Okay so it's about hard work. So there are 2 things here. One is consistency and the other is motivation. We use these 2 things. So motivation is there that the stipend will get credited to our account. That is a very proud feeling, we can understand. But sometimes what happens is that we feel burnt out when we do a lot. So what do you think? Motivation is necessary or consistency or I say discipline? How did you motivate yourself throughout the journey? Did you ever feel that no, I can’t do it, it’s too much? Or do you feel like people who love studying that I can ask these questions and that’s why I’m loving it? What was your way?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I’ll say that the first GPAT exam was conducted in February, so I had prepared that way that until January I’ll finish the course, and then after that, I’ll relax and in February exams will be completed. But exams didn’t happen in February, so I was completely saturated. I didn’t understand whether to study or not and what to do. People will beat me in studies. Even if I leave it for a day, then 2,4 people will be ahead of me in rank. So thinking like that I kept studying. And due to that fear, I kept studying.
Himani Negi: Sometimes fear is good, so here also fear is good. Tell me about your study sources. Which source did you use for studying which subject? People who are about to take this exam for their preparation, what should they do? Because what if a person doesn’t know, he is just motivated due to a stipend? Because, we don’t have many colleges, even if we have they are not state-level or central-level. So in these colleges, there is a lot of difference, even in education, facilities, and everything. So if a person starts preparing, what books should they study? What strategy should they use? And from which year should they start preparing?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I would say have fun in the first and second year, in the third year go through books, and look at some standard books, not any and every book, go for standard books as they have examples so you will understand some things and you will be interested also.
In the fourth year, go for modules or old books, that is only asked. I would say solve as many questions as you can.
Himani Negi: Yes, solve questions. That is very important. So when you studied in the fourth year, should I think that in the third year, you cleared concepts from standard books, because I don’t think that you by hearted it line by line or did you do it?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes. By-hearting, it is very difficult.
Himani Negi: What message would you like to give to students who are preparing for the GPAT? Specifically, what would you like to suggest?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I would say pay attention to concepts. And solve as many questions as you can because I solved many questions during both years so I got to see it in exams. If you don’t ask questions then you can answer very less. Maximums are taken from some or the other papers. I recognized many questions in the exam which I had previously solved.
Himani Negi: Explain a bit about NIPER. Duration of exam, and in how much time you solve and how many questions did you solve?
Deepanshu Mamgai: In NIPER, we have to maintain speed because the duration is 2 hours, and we have to do 200 questions. Most of them are one-liners but some of them are big so we have to maintain speed and sometimes questions are left out due to speed. I solved my 200 questions 4 min before the time. So I revised and looked at them once.
Himani Negi: Did you attempt all 200 questions in NIPER?
Deepanshu Mamgai: No I didn’t attempt all but I reached 200th one when only 4 minutes was left.
Himani Negi: Do you remember the number of questions you attempted in NIPER?
Deepanshu Mamgai: In NIPER, I attempted around 172 or 169.
Himani Negi: Did you have any target in mind?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I thought that whatever questions I know, I’ll attempt. Because sometimes it happens that we prepare but the paper is tough. So I didn’t think anything like that. Whatever is there, I’ll answer. There was no minimum concept.
Priya Bairagi: Did you ever want to get into the field of research?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I thought about going into research when I was in 7th or 8th grade.
Himani Negi: Interesting. So in fourth year, did you do any project or research? Or did you just review a literature paper?
Deepanshu Mamgai: I just reviewed. My basic focus was on GPAT & NIPER.
Priya Bairagi: What advice would you like to give to budding pharmacists and students who are preparing for GPAT & NIPER and all the competitive exams?
Deepanshu Mamgai: First and foremost I would like to say that if you are in your first or second year, then just have fun, don’t fall into these things. Don’t think about these things. Later you won’t get time. If you are in the third year, then clear your basic concepts be focused on yourself, and ignore all other things. Then only you will start building. This is the stage which will take you further.
Himani Negi: When we are talking about MD, and MS pharmacology, Here some of the interns have asked questions that we even used to discuss in our college life. We study drugs for 4 years, and we study side effects, mechanisms, and everything. Outside there’s a concept that doctors can’t prescribe medications. And when we study hospital pharmacy, then we don’t study about India’s hospital pharmacy. So, Snayini has asked this question, what is there in India basically, diagnosis, and prescription, are given by a doctor or a registered medical practitioner but our scenario is that there are now there are exit exams, I think they are making it for B. Pharm students too, it’s increasing. But the thing is that we will study but after studying we are not able to apply it anywhere if we don’t want to go into research. So what do you think? Something should be done about it. Legally we should give prescriptions? What are your views? What is our role as a pharmacist after studying all these things? I am secured. I am converted.
Deepanshu Mamgai: Even I was thinking that we cannot apply these things. But one way the government is right is because people from our B. Pharm hardly go to clinical practice, they don’t go only. They go in an industrial setting, then how can we apply, so if we prescribe, then there will be errors in our prescription. If there is some modification in our course like we can do this for prescription or we get placed more into hospitals, after B. Pharm, M. Pharm also they make us do it for clinical practice, then we can prescribe, I find that better. Because of that, we can do more practice. Without practice, we will make errors. So playing with a human life simply is...
Himani Negi: Yes, I can understand that. This means we can modify the course, after B. Pharm they should make them do hospital practice for a year. I have one more question, Deepanshu. You might have talked to your seniors, about one motivation that the GPAT qualifying environment is not that good in the industry. Even though the pay scale is very bad, I have talked to my seniors. You are to sign a 2-year contract then they pay you just 12k or 18k per month, and I think in the first year 12k and that too after studying for 4 years, if a person is studying seriously, that is a very bad scenario for the industry. Does it feel that the Industrial training that is given after course completion, should be included in the course? Because 3-4 years if they are struggling, then what’s the scope left after B. Pharm? Either you will switch careers or you'll join the industry. So is there any motivation that can work for cracking GPAT, NIPER?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes that’s also one reason, there is no pay scale.
Himani Negi: Is this your reason?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes this is also there because I don’t like hospitals. And industry I don’t like to go to so that's why.
Himani Negi: But it should be included in the course , right?
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes, in our course it includes pharmacy practice.
Himani Negi: But it’s only for 1-1 ½ months right?
Deepanshu Mamgai: For 1 ½ months like our pharmacy there is something called elective so if we change that one elective in industrial and one in hospital. Then it will be better. That will help us in the future.
Himani Negi: Yes it's important to get out of textbooks because one thing is that we do things by heart, pass exams, and clear everything.
Deepanshu Mamgai: Because our course is application-based. If we keep fighting, then it’s of no use. These things will help us to some extent, otherwise we should have practical knowledge. Practical knowledge should be there that is more important.
Himani Negi: Yes, I even agree. Motivation should be there to study because you know after studying for 4 years, it is not useful at all. That is a serious thing to discuss. Because if we look outside, In Canada the second highest earning is of pharmacists, after lawyers. So they are earning even more than doctors. It's not about earning but at least our practice is applicable somewhere. So all academic questions are done.
Himani Negi: Okay tell me what’s your scene about rapping? I think you’ll come and do it in college. I mean you rap so nicely. I think you have stopped it due to GPAT and NIPER which is a good thing because now you cracked the exam, so it’s a good thing.
Deepanshu Mamgai: I’ll see if some motivation comes from inside or some thoughts then I’ll make it.
Himani Negi: What are your hobbies other than rap? I think you have started painting also.
Deepanshu Mamgai: Yes, I do sometimes .
Himani Negi: The conclusion of this interview is that motivation can be anything. It can be money, a good pay scale, a good college, and that thing I liked. And the second thing is consistency. That is very important. Even I feel motivated that I should start studying.
MedBound Times expresses sincere gratitude to Deepanshu Mamgai for sharing his valuable insights on our platform.
