About CMC Vellore - for and by a PG Aspirant

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A “PseudoPG” after and about CMC Vellore on 4th Feb 2003

(Note: PseudoPG is the name given to those hapless, (some times hopeless) candidates whose target is a PG seat after they have finished their MBBS. For this they have to read about 20 subjects and a total of at least 50 books and about 12,000 pages of A4 size matter. Well the agony does not end there. After reading all these you come across questions in the exam that even a Assistant Professor in that specialty finds difficult to answer. But in few centers you may find few “persons” who have not even completed their school education take these exams!!!

Often thePseudoPGs are also known as “Entrance Employees”)

See here for the Official notifications for Exam 2005

About the Entrance Exam for CMC Vellore.........

The selection process and the exam are in fact What is Special about CMC Vellore............. and The Different 2003 Exam turned out be quite different form the ones usually held in CMC Vellore

About what is different in and about CMC ?

Unlike the majority of Post graduation Entrance Exams being conducted nowadays, Here in CMC there is a two stage selection process, They conduct an entrance exam on Tuesday morning and post the results (they select the candidates equal to twice the number of seats for an interview) on Wednesday 7 PM…….. On Thursday there is an interview for the Final Selection

And the Initial Entrance Exam also is a little different………..

You can write a General paper or a Paper that’s for your specialty…however for MD General Medicine and MS General Surgery there is no special paper

The special paper will contain questions in that specialty only… in total one can apply for 4 courses and two papers… For example one can write General Paper and apply for MS General Surgery and MD General Medicine and He can write a Pediatrics special paper and apply for DCH and MD Pediatrics or he can write a general paper and ortho paper and apply for MD Pharmacology and DLO and MS Ortho and D Ortho. The possibilities are endless. The only thing is those 2 papers and 4 courses

Please note that for every course you apply, you have to pay separate exam fees. This time it was Rs 400

Initially there is a MCQ Exam

About the general paper, we had 240 questions......................... and we have to choose one among five (A, B, C, D, E)

There are no negative marks

And out of 240 questions we have 170 direct questions

Which may be like

1. The ratio of Chest compression to Respiration in CPR is (5:1)

2. The normal standard dose of Anti D Ig is for …. ml of Feto Maternal Hemorrhage ………. ????

3. Rhabdo Virus is a RNA virus

Or may be even like

1. The commonest site of Kaposi Sarcoma in Larynx is ……. ???

10 questions (171 to 180) where a clinical scenario / drug toxicity was given and we were asked to diagnose...

1. A lady after taking procainamide developed malar rashes...

The next 30 (181 to 210) questions were a little different................ We were given a question and 4 choices 1, 2, 3, 4............... We have to mark the answer as

A if 1, 2, 3 are correct and

B if 2, 4 are correct and

C if 1, 3 are correct and

D if 4 only is correct and

E if all are correct........

The easy way was that in a particular case if 1 is correct 3 is correct and vice versa....When you find it soon in your exam hall, it will be lot easy............ those who don’t understood this trick have a comparatively tough time !!!!!!

And questions 211 to 240 were of different type........... Here a clinical scenario was given and 2 to 3 questions followed

What could be the other clinical feature?

What is the investigation?

What is the treatment etc?

The question what was the diagnosis was rare !!

And we had none of the above in almost all the choices....!!!!!!!!! Which was the answer for a few

Again here there is a trick... When you are not sure of the diagnosis (which usually happens in MCQ ExamsJ) you can mark the Investigation for one diagnosis and treatment for the other!! At least you will get one right and there are no negative marks!!! (But if you are not sure, like me, the chances for your selection decreases!!! - Remember that you have to face an interview the next day)

There are a few points worth mentioning

1. The seats are very limited.
2. Few seats are reserved for candidates who are sponsored (They have to work in a mission hospital for a total period of 5 years - 2 before and 3 after the post graduation) The sponsored candidates can take the seats in open competition.
3. The questions are set by the professors of the institution and they usually ask their favorite points!!! Which they repeat for umpteen numbers of times in their ward rounds and classes and questions which seem very tough to outsiders are reflex questions to CMC students............... This I feel happens in almost every Institute!
4. There is an interview following this MCQ exam ............... again the same professors are there and their favorite questions come out........ (Why go to that level …….. The same things happen in Final Year exams where when a Unit chief of one exam comes as the Internal, that unit students get a cake walk where as others have a difficult time………)
5. They give special consideration for a best outgoing student. As far as I know…. All the best outgoing students (from whatever college he or she may be) who appear get selected for interview……… but getting the seat is another thing.
6. So if you are an undergraduate reading this…… get pumped up!! Grab a medal or two in your Final year and you have bright chances
   
   

There are a few more points worth noticing

1. Even though the seats are very limited, seats are more than what is there in JIPMER(which has reservations for Institute candidates as well as community reservations and just 18 seats this year for Open competition),
2. If you think that you can qualify for JIPMER you can do in CMC……..This point is stressed because I know a lot of people who write JIPMER entrance but not CMC Vellore Entrance, saying that the chance of qualifying here in CMC is less. That’s not the case… CMC Vellore has more seats than JIPMER and no community reservations. Please check the prospectus and you will see this for yourself !!!!!
3. Unlike what is being thought widely, the selection is NOT restricted to Christian students
4. And They don't restrict their selection to CMC Students.... If any one meets their standard he/she is selected ... I know few of our seniors (not from CMC Vellore and all Non Christian) who got through........ after extensive preparation !!! (I didn’t get through because I didn’t prepare well !!!)
5. This exam gives us an ideal platform to assess yourselves before JIPMER and the state PG Exams and like Kerala and TamilNadu PG Exams

About what was different in CMC in 2003?

Usually, when there are 240 question in a PG Entrance exam paper there will be some 7 to 12(usually 10) questions on Acid Base Electrolyte and Water Balance……… There will be something on Respiratory and Metabolic Acidosis and Alkalosis and Hypokalemaia and hyperkalemia etc………..Those doubting check any paper and you can verify for yourself.

But in CMC Vellore there will be more than 30 questions ( > 10 % of the total questions) in this topic and there will be questions asking us to calculate the amount of bicarbonate of Sodium you have to give to a patient

And needless to say, this year every one (including yours truly) was ready with all the armour from Harrison and Washington Manual and High Yield Acid Base & Electrolyte Balance and there was no question on those topics…… It was very obvious that those topics were scrupulously omitted…. Cause, as I have already told, it is natural that we get 5 to 12 questions on this topic

The reason for highlighting this issue is for the benefit of aspirants. In the course of your preparation you will hear that this exam they use this book… and in this they don’t use this book. My request is that if someone tells you to study some book, well and good…….. but if you are told that questions will not be asked form this book (or this topic), please ignore………..You can get question from anywhere……. And you will be at loss if you are ill prepared……….. because, the examiners have 100 % right to change the books !!

Please note that :

This little article is written for the benefit of the PG Aspirants by someone who is in no way directly or indirectly related to CMC Vellore or JIPMER (except that he writes the entrance exams!)

The author has, however, been following the trends of various PG Entrance exams for quite sometime. The one and only aim of this is to enlighten the PG Aspirants about this ‘not so common’, unique pattern of selection to one of the most prestigious and world wide accredited institutions.

The views expressed are not those of the institutions

For Official and detailed information one may refer the official websites of CMC Vellore and JIPMER or contact in person or through mail.

Mail in your suggestion, corrections, clarifications, contributions, criticisms to suggest@targetpg.com

See here for the Official notifications for Exam 2005