My journey into the world of medicine, my dream life has been anything but easy. Like many aspiring doctors in India, I always dreamt of securing a medical seat in my home country. However, through some research and suggestions from friends and family, I decided to take a different path to fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor. I commenced my journey to the Philippines. This decision led me through a meticulous 5.5-year medical course, filled with many challenges from the pandemic to the cultural shock, and triumphs in my academic life.
This year I returned to India, very eager and anxious to take the FMGE.
FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Exam) is a crucial step in validating medical education from countries outside of India, to test their knowledge and skills in medicine for the protection of patients in India. Every medical student pursuing medicine abroad has to clear this examination to ensure they meet the standards required to practice medicine in India.
In this blog, I want to share my experience of preparing and writing the FMGE, from the intense adapting to the changes to the punch of anxiety on the day of the exam. I hope my experience provides some insight and encouragement to fellow medical graduates navigating this path.
The day of the exam had arrived soon, and it was time to write the exam with everything I had and somehow prevail with success.
On the night before the exam, I was feeling a mixed sense of anxiety, scared, stress, and thoughts wondering if I was forgetting anything important that I was supposed to have one last look at. I was going through my last-minute revision notes, going through all the important images that have a very high chance of appearing in the examination. I was unable to sleep because of this continuous worry as this will be the first exam that could decide my future after 6 years. I didn't want to fall behind in any aspect of the examination. At last, I have gone through all the important notes that my best friend had sent me for final revision, But all that was running in my were; I trusted my hard work and nothing I going to be in vain and it would show its result when the time comes with that self-motivated thought I ended my day with a sound sleep after packing all the things necessary for the examination.
Arriving at the exam centre the atmosphere there was filled with silence and a heavy sense of fear. I could see many students arrived early and going through their notes, discussing with their friends, I was alone and I had no known friends same exam center as me, so I was waiting for the exam center gates to open to let us in and wondering how the changed exam pattern is going to affect the difficulty of the question. As the change in the pattern of the exam was a recent update none of us knew if it was going to affect the difficulty in the exam or if it going to help us in any way possible.
Talking about the newly implemented exam pattern of 150 questions of each section being distributed into 3 more sections comprising 50 questions each. Once a section time is up one cannot go back into the section to make any changes in it.
These changes had me wondering, what kind of impact is it going to have on my exam performance. Am I going to be chased by the timer to complete the whole section in a rush? ; Is the exam question's difficulty going to be changed in any way? Making it harder for me to pass the examination.
The reality of this changed pattern, when I came across the exam, made me rethink all my thoughts. My personal opinion on this new pattern of sections being divided into 50 each: had a good impact on my exam performance. It had me not worrying about the previously attempted questions when the time was done and made me put my concentration into the present sections.
The time after the exam, when I had to spend a couple of minutes trying to reflect on the exam and my performance on it, was very crucial, As it would help me find some calmness from my overthinking thoughts and have an expectation of the result I can anticipate at the end.
My immediate reaction and my analysis of the question paper that I have just faced was that the blueprint of weightage of each subject that was given by the board was not followed in the examination. Even though certain subjects had a major part of the exam and could be attempted with a clinical analysis of the question with the knowledge of the subject. However not being able to find questions on the rest of the subjects that were not found at the end had me feeling a sense of demotivation for a moment after the exam. My rating on the exam paper's difficulty would be a moderate level of difficulty.
I was very anxious and a lot was going on in my mind, especially because this was my first time and the pressure to prove myself was heavy. The change in the weightage of the subjects had a very strong impact on my exam performance. but at the end of the exam, I was relieved because my job was done.
Dr.Ruchika Brahmmadandi MD, FMGE Aspirant
My thoughts waiting for the result are that I have worked hard pushing myself through a lot of hardships just to take one more step forward towards achieving my goal of being a good doctor and helping humanity is not going to be wasted in vain. The anticipation and anxiety of how the result is going to be high at the present moment, I have decided to wind down through all the hard stressful days and relax but certainly work on building and developing my knowledge and skill in the meantime.
For my fellow medics, future doctors pursuing the same path as mine and are in the pathway of preparation for your FMGE
Plan everything; planning the study schedule and working based on it would save a lot of time worrying if you are studying the right subject at the right time. Only you can understand the limits of studying your knowledge on each subject and how long it is going to take to complete certain subjects or topics.
Do not rely on multiple sources. Find one that works for you and stick to it till the very end
Try to do as many mock tests or grand tests and keep track of your performance and improvement, as many study platforms conducting the mock tests provide your strengths and weaknesses in subjects, analyze the feedback, and work on polishing your knowledge.
Personal suggestions on when to start preparation would be 1 - 1.5 years before the examination day. It's okay being in academics but having a plan for such an important event of your life and being one or two steps ahead of everyone around would help immensely towards your success in the examination.
Make a 20th subject book - as a lot of medical students preparing for exams would suggest, make a notebook with your notes based on your understanding during the preparation and that certain highlights of bullet points would help a lot during the final revision of the examination when the deadline comes near.
Mental and physical health plays a crucial role in your performance during your preparation. One can only concentrate on studying and understanding academics when personal health is well. Take small breaks after each study session. Take weekly breaks to have a change of surroundings. Keep an eye on your sleep cycles as sleep plays a major role in your intensity of concentration you need to have an adequate amount of sleep.
● Planning and preparation: start planning your study schedule early and choosing the resources you want to use.
● Time management: balance your academics, work, and study schedule to avoid burnout
● Having a support system that can understand you and push you to success can make a significant difference
● Adaptability: be prepared for changes that can happen in our lives and also the exam conditions and succeed in the end
● Self-care: maintain good mental and physical health to optimize your performance to the best
● Persistence: trust in your hard work and stay motivated throughout the journey to your success
Hope these insights about my journey till the experience of my first attempt to FMGE help future aspirants to succeed.
