On Choosing your Field
So, I figured since I’ve got my Stream and College of choice (MD Pediatrics, King Edward Memorial, Mumbai) I wanted to write down on how I went about choosing what choices to put and in what order (on the MCC counselling website).
I expect most people who read this are, and SHOULD be, aiming for around <1000 rank, and hence will come across the same issue:
What college do I want and How do I choose a stream?
To begin with, with all honesty, through ALL of my NEET PG prep., I’ve always aimed to get MD Pulm. Medicine in my State. Fortunately for me, I got a rank that now made available to me a bundle load of more “fruitful” streams.
Which is honestly stressful to choose from:
MD Medicine in State? Or MD Peds in a better hospital?
It’s pretty much like choosing where to study from for NEET PG- just as bad, because if you make a wrong choice and land in the wrong field for the next 60+ yrs. of your life, your rank becomes pretty useless.
So, here’s how I went about it (POST NEET PG results):
To begin with I could see myself taking 2 fields: Nuclear Medicine, or MD Pediatrics.
Now honestly, I don’t know much about the colleges for these in detail, neither do I know very much of what scope both have after PG- which for me is important.
So Step 1: What are your future plans?
Figure out what work you want to be doing, and where you want to go- Chill life? Or some other plans?
Imagine yourself in each stream and roughly decide which one’s you could live with.
Step 2: Find out a few preliminary details
So, to begin with, I went through last year’s AIQ Rounds lists (available online on MCC website) and found out what the Cut Off scores were, and which colleges were preferred in what order.
Pretty Straightforward stuff.
Step 3: Talk to actual people working in those fields
Now starts the hard part.
NEVER EVER EVER LOSE the NEET PG discipline you’ve learnt.
Which meant, I had to KNOW exactly what each field had, before going for it.
And it’s as difficult and stressful as NEET PG studies.
Why?
Because now you have to actually talk to REAL RANDOM PEOPLE, like from a field called “Nuclear Medicine”.
This is like LEVELING UP from asking your friends which books to study: Pretty much how I’d started out for NEET PG.
So I messaged random doctors (JRs, SRs) who were pursuing N. Medicine.
6 days past post NEET PG Results- 7 people have been messaged.
0 replies.
That feeling sucks bad!
WHY?
Because you feel like, even though you’ve politely asked someone to give you a few details about their field, no one seems to bother to engage and reply. (Maybe they don’t have the time, but it is frustrating, since I honestly want details before taking a decision I’ll not regret). It’s that same feeling of uncertainty during NEET PG.
So What do you do?
Exactly what you did during NEET PG- Suck it up and Keep moving.
This meant messaging a few more random people.
FaceBook was useless; Let’s try something more professional- LinkedIn.
Day 9- A Doctor pursuing DM in AIIMS, New Delhi in N. Medicine accepts my LinkedIn request.
JACKPOT! A reply from a SUPERSPECIALIST!
So, I take his number, ask a few questions on WhatsApp.
He replies.
I go further and give him a call and Now I know how the field is and where it’s heading.
Nuclear Medicine is an interesting field
EVER Heard about PET Scans? (Well you should- there’s a few MCQs on these too)
PET falls under N. Medicine- Used to detect cancer spread and activity.
MCQ: What does PET Stand for?
Thyroid Studies also come under N. Medicine.
It’s not just diagnostic, but also has therapeutic role. A few robotic biopsies involved too.
DAY 10: A reply on FB.
This is a very interesting story:
So I had come across this Doctor RT who was answering questions on N. Med. on Quora.
I’d tracked him down on FaceBook (since Quora’s messaging was disabled for him) and sent a message.
Post no reply for those 6 days, I’d then learnt he ran a company, and messaged his businness partner.
THIS was the reply I got now. But it was his friend, who informed me that Dr. RT was in the US.
The friend was kind enough to give me Dr. RT’s phone number when I’d asked that I could always WhatsApp him, even though I’d not be able to call him (since International Call charges are a bomb!)
So I managed to WhatsApp this Doctor RT, and got more details about the field of Nuclear Medicine.
From Quora to FaceBook to a third person to negotiating a personal number to WhatsApp — JUST for ONE PERSON.
The moral is simple: The same things you’ve learnt during NEET PG prep.- That drive to keep moving, and restrategising, and figuring out some way or the other to reach your goal- THEY WORK in general too!
It’s scary to message random people, just as it’s scary to study in uncertain times during NEET PG- But you HAVE to- to reach towards certainty.
And if you’ve managed to survive 1 year of uncertainty, a few days becomes much easier.
Secondly, you’ve learnt to stick to and revise just one thing- THIS is the same as tracking down just ONE person till you get to him. Frustrating, but that’s the secret to a good rank. Sticking to one thing- a.k.a REVISION.
More replies started coming onto FaceBook eventually.
And eventually I ruled out that N. Medicine wasn’t my kind of field (even though ALL these folk were positive about it and suggested opting for it).
{Oh did I mention the time I even messaged the founder of N. Medicine in India, a PADMABHUSAN Awardee? But that’s another story altogether.}
Step 4:
Don’t just listen to what people say, LOOK at it yourself.
I talked to my friends who were JRs in MD Pediatrics in Delhi/Mumbai and arranged to meet them in person.
It’s much different once you see the college in person.
I managed to drop down my college preference choice from 9 colleges down to just 4.
If I had NOT personally gone to see these places, and talk to the people working there, I’d have definitely got one of those 5 colleges (two of which were in Delhi, btw) and I’d DEFINITELY regretted choosing them as options.
YOU’RE GOING to learn and study in the college for the next 3 years.
I can ASSURE YOU your EXPECTATIONs about the life and studies there are WRONG.
Go see the college personally, and talk to as many people as you can till you’re certain.
You’ve got a good rank, don’t risk it now by choosing based on how other’s have.
A lot of factors are involved: From Bond, to Stipend, to language issues, to Patient (over)load, to Academics, to cutting opportunities.
If you’re uncertain what to choose, it’s because you really have been too lazy to get out and put effort, and find resources to bring you certainty.
So that’s about it.
That’s how I went from MD Pulm. Medicine to MD Nuclear Medicine to MD Paediatrics finally.
All those fields have NOTHING in common:
Does that make me indecisive? Yes, in a way.
But, at the same time, it’s only because I needed more data to take a decision.
Which I made effort to get over these weeks post NEET PG, and took a certain decision about my future.
Is it easy?
No! It’s tiring and frustrating.
But it’s better than sleeping and doing nothing at home, and then feeling uncomfortable that last minute.
Peace is worth the effort.
The same I’ve learnt through NEET PG Prep.
Make your NEET PG study time worth it for life.
Oh, thanks for reading, and before leaving:
Here is my LinkedIn Profile:
www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-d-costa-6b20b947/
And here is my Quora Profile, where I write in a few more specific details about my NEET PG Prep.:
Feel free to connect.
{This article is a part of the CostaPG publication.}
