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A Personal FRCS Exam Experience
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A Personal FRCS Exam Experience
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Language: EN.
Segment:0 .
So good. Good evening, everyone, and welcome again to our FRCS mentor group. Today, we're lucky to have one Anwaar who's going to give us his who, who has recently passed the exams, and he's going to give us his insight into what it took to pass the exam, but also lessons he's learned along the way, which I think is quite valuable in the process because a lot of time each mentor has a different experience and insight into the exams, and it's worth listening and seeing what suits you as a person who's preparing and getting ready towards the exams, whether you start doing the exams very soon or planning to do it in a year or so today we have a good showing from our mentors.
We have Hany Elbardesy still around, we have Fouad Chaudry and one of our newest mentors is Siddharth Kamat, who's just recently passed, as well as always, when we are looking forward to fresh blood in the mentor group. So anyone, hopefully as you guys pass, you'll be all volunteering to provide your time for future mentorship without any more delay Anwaar Kiani.
Hi guys. Hi, I'm Anwaar, and thank you very much for being here. I'm going to talk to you about. I mean, I've been busy with the exam almost two years doing courses and everything and working at different places. So I want to share the top tips which I had during that time. You guys have, if you haven't previously, people have talked about exam experience about how to approach the short cases, long cases.
I have seen videos that he has done a good talk. I've seen that and hope to go to short cases, long cases and everything. But what I'm going to tell you is, is the things which I have learned the hard way or it was a luck factor, whatever you say. First of all, to start with regarding preparation, I mean, preparation. The best judge for your preparation is yourself.
People say when I pass part one in the first attempt, I did it. I worked hard. I had Farhan, one of the mentors. He was a close friend to me and he guided me to do, how to do it with the basic sciences, and I was weak till the very end. And what I say for part two, I'm not going to talk about part one today, part two. Everyone should assess yourself that you're really ready for the exam?
And if you are really ready with the knowledge and you can deliver the knowledge they didn't, this is not about you have read the book two times, three times or even four times. It's about, I mean, if somebody asks you something, can you actually nail that topic? Can you go into the discussion? Can you do the management? That's the first thing which I've learned that you need to have a control on your knowledge.
You have to have a grasp on your knowledge. And the second thing which I feel I mean, people might disagree with me. They say that it's day one consultant, this consultant's knowledge is required. I will elaborate on it. They even consult, and I personally feel that you need more knowledge than day one disease consultants like, for example, a foot and ankle consultant.
And he doesn't know more what I know about shoulders and a shoulder consultant. And yet he doesn't know much about the hips and knees, the amount of knowledge I need to have to pass the exam. So it's not like, exactly, yes, that's fine. Trauma management and both things. But it is. It is a tough exam. Don't take it easy.
Don't I mean, fool yourself or other people. I had a very nice group. I had a few friends on the first attempt. They keep pushing me and working me. No, no, you're good. I was trying to pull out because I thought being on a non training grade, I was good with operating. My interest was hips and knees and shoulders, which I have done personally.
But the problem was I never examined the patients, according to the exam in my clinics. Nurses weren't very happy that I see 20 odd fracture clinic patients. And if you're not examining the patients, according to exam pattern, which I did in my last attempt and last exam because it took me longer to examine the patient 5 minutes history, five minutes examination and five minutes, I talked to the patient and it might be a bit more, but we don't do that, and I was worried.
I was weak in basic sciences and I wanted to pull out of the exam because of these two reasons. But I eventually did the peer pressure. I said, OK, no, no, you'll be fine. And I regret it because I went to the exam and. Uh, doing the short cases and long cases all together, if you're going to the exam first time, it's a different experience. Every one of you, every single, a few the people that have gone to the exam or the people are going to go to the exam, your first clinical case, either a short or long case, your adrenaline adrenaline will be different.
You will find it different. I mean, if you're not well-prepared, you will struggle. And if your first case in a short case doesn't go well, I mean, that happened to me. I'm telling my personal experience. The next two cases, even I knew them. But if I couldn't do well on the first one, I couldn't get to the diagnosis.
People say, OK, no, you need to be systematic and methodical and this and that, all those things. I believe that the key to exam is your clinicals. And by this November, last November, I passed before six months before that exam, I met. A few of my friends are consultants. Now I've been registrar with them and they said, look, this exam is that's the key thing. I'm telling you that you need to make a list of the cases.
If you I mean, let's say tomorrow, if you make a list of the cases, it won't be hundred, 110 cases. And you can't have more than that, to be honest. I mean, if you think about it, there's no surprise in the exam. I mean, I failed my exam. I can tell you about after I posted, I didn't pick it up. I always thought I've seen the patients in pediatric clinics, but I thought these kids.
But I've seen a patient about 35 years old, lady with [inaudible] which I didn't get it. I examined it right. I did all the right things, everything. But examimer was not happy. He wanted to know the diagnosis. He wanted, he prompted me when I tried to go to the forearm wasting, he stopped me. He didn't let me examine the elbow.
I might have picked that up, but what I'm saying, which I did in this successful attempt, I focused my preparation. I mean, on clinicals and all the clinical which are coming to the exam I consolidated, I had a very consolidated knowledge about every short case or a long case. So the second thing which I did with this clinical case, this is friends of mine were I have two or three friends who were preparing with me.
We took we had pictures from Google and we practiced on each other. I mean, without telling them three short cases and there are three really rubbish kind of diagnoses and things like that. But during the practice, you talk about how to examine, you get it as a surprise. We prepared it before and we had a very difficult like left hands and things like that.
I mean, I was preparing with a trainee the week before the exam, and we had all kind of weird and wonderful stuff and that is the key to me. When I went to the clinicals, my training friends, they all say. Even were known to any friends, few of them who pass. I mean, they say the key is that in first 30 seconds or so you do get the diagnosis. I mean, you pick up the diagnosis and then it's all becomes a viva.
And that exactly happened to me in this exam. Honestly, this is a clinical exam. But what happened is I picked the diagnosis and then they sat the patient. They said, oh, you can sit down. Honestly, they didn't let me examine the patient. And first thing, when you go to the clinic, it is a short case, long case, which is another thing which I did different.
This time, my friends advised me, mentors and few of the examiners. They advised me that you need to be polite with the patient. It's your exam is not their exam. You need to read them. You need to relax. You can waste 10 seconds. It doesn't matter. You need to thank them.
I thank them. Thank you very much for coming today. How are you? Are you ok? So and I didn't talk rubbish long sentences. Keep your sentences short. I'm Mr Haat, I'm here to examine your hips. Is that OK with you?
So that's for you. Go ahead. Will consent and then you start. And the scheme is the same. We all see that look, feel, move like fr hips, for example. For example, if you get a hip arthrodesis, the body is hip. What would you see? You can't tell when a patient is lying, you stand them up. You see that leg is short, you just walk them.
They can walk a comment on the gaits and you lie down. And as soon as you bend the hip, it doesn't move. It doesn't flex completely. Then you have to tell. I think it's a big step. So then they will go onto to the viva and then they ask you, why is it happening? So the people who say some of my consultants were work, they said, oh, you need the breadth of the knowledge, not the depth.
Again, I don't agree with that because when it comes to the viva, if you score marks quickly and you get to the diagnosis, then it goes to the management. Why it happened. How what are you going to do? You can't tell every time I speak to my senior colleague or this and that, and I didn't do in this exam. I said, look, no, what it needs, what it needs, further treatment and also specialist treatment.
People say two of the examiners, I visited them, they were far away and they said what they are interested in is they're interested in that. You know, the treatment. They're not interested in all the rubbish things which we have to do. Eventually, we have to cover saying that assuming this isolated injury and stuff like that. And you say triple assessment, I use word triple assessment, which I picked up from, I did Rishi's cause who was probably to come on our forum at some point.
Triple assessment is just a one word which covers history, taking examination, examination and investigations. And according to the case, I say in my triple assessment, I would like to know this, this and this and history and this, this and this investigation. I want to do it on examination. I would like to find this, these things and within all my viva tables and 1 and 1/2 minutes, I got to a point where they asked me about further specialist management and they went to the complications and then when they went to.
That other aspect of the topic in my first two attempts, I was worried I was having a deficient knowledge and I was scared to go risk to get to that end because I was thinking, OK, I'll score six. I'm not aiming for six if any one of you or any candidate is aiming that. I'm happy with the six I can tell you. They'll fail. There's no doubt about it that an exam you'll get some tough situations, some tough survivor tables.
I always aim for 7 and some of the topics which I have got. My strengths and weaknesses of success is still my weakness, but my arthroplasty hips, knees and shoulders topics. They were really good. And I knew some like literatures and stuff like that, and I targeted that. OK, if 10 of the topics in table viva let's say I'm getting eight.
That will compensate for everything. I mean, if I target 8 then I get 7 two examiner's giving me seven. That means I still got two extra marks and in exams, they're huge. So the clinicals, I'll finish with the clinicals. I told you that I made a list of the cases. I prepared them. I prepared theory around them.
I prepared examination. I practiced with my friends. I just randomly we prepared pictures from the Google. We have some folders. I shared a few of my friends who are taking exam and that's that. So I went through and I didn't have a single short or long case mishap or I didn't pick the diagnosis or and that mindset, if even the topic, you're not going to perform well.
So don't think that examiner can fail you. And going into the exam, whoever the examiner is, you need to stick your hand out and shake can look into their eyes, give them a nice, friendly smile. It doesn't matter whoever the examiner is, Indian examiners, Asian examiner, examiner. It doesn't matter that that's the way they are judging you as a consultant today. and I, I was never shy. I never had any problem with my confidence.
But as I, I think I wanted to convey you this message that if you are weak in one area of the exam that damages your confidence and then you go with kind of a little bit of lacking the confidence and trying to go with a bit more speed up and that you want to reach to seven, you want to reach to 8 because they are going to ask you difficult questions when you finish, when you tell them management, they are going to ask you about complications.
And if you don't know the complications and how to deal with the complications you can get in your specialist colleague. With that, you won't say I was sent to my senior hip surgeon. No, it's nothing senior. You are a consultant. They are a consultant. You say, I'll send to us, let's say, adult hip reconstruction person for a hip replacement.
What are the issues? For example, I'm talking about an adult and it needs a hip replacement. You guys need to know what they're going to do. They are going to have a custom made implant. You need to know that. What are the issues? Let you know you probably sciatic nerve problems, bone fractures and all those things you are aware of that.
It's not that you say, oh, no, I don't need to know that this is a specialist area, and I don't need to know that was my kind of false perception about the exam. No, you need to know that. And that's what I examiner told me that they want to know the management. He says that yes, they are interested in this, this and this, but we are here to assess you that are you also very consultant?
Have you are you able to work as a consultant? If you assess your consultants in your departments, wherever you work in the UK, whenever you can in sending to a specialist area, he knows. He knows what are the options, what he wants them to, what he thinks that patients need to a treatment. So those things, we need to know that. And essentially, if you know them, it's nothing.
It's not a superficial knowledge. So that's the one thing. And now I'll talk a few points about why, why, why it's most important thing. And it's your body language. I didn't read or revise anything from my viva day. I had a very good clinicals I was in Wrightington - Then I had few friends. They called me.
They finished their training and things. They actually insisted that I shouldn't read anything. I just go and eat some food and relax and sleep. Take a lot of sleep. That's what I did on the first night as well. 8 o'clock. I didn't discuss anything with one of my friends who was with me. I said, you go to your room, I need to sleep.
You pray for yourself and just sleep. And I didn't read anything, and he said, you're going to the viva table. And previously, whenever somebody asks me a question, I used to think about what I read about it, where was it and things in my last attempt, I practiced a lot. I didn't have any deficiency in my knowledge, and I took it as they said, you need to take it as a discussion.
It's not about your just going there and they're asking you whatever questions. And if you are trying to remember something, you can't do a discussion. So if you are strong in your life, say hip replacement and for example, I mean, if somebody comes to the problem with the hip replacement, you know what to do, and that's how you talk about it. If they have an infection or you going to investigate the infection, what are the things, what are your options and all those procedures?
These are the things. And I just it looked like that I'm having a discussion like we always say that in a trauma meeting, trauma meetings. Still, we are treated. I mean, one of my mentor was very fine two years before my exam started, especially at teaching in the morning, once in a week for the Viva. But he helped us a lot. It improved our presentation and knowledge and also confidence.
But that knowledge was still, I think, was not sufficient because you need a depth of the knowledge as well with the brand that you can convey this message that you are. You can work as a consultant and it is not even it is much higher than day one disease consultant because as I give the example, when I was preparing, I was going to different consultants. But then I can't discuss hip width them, with a shoulder guy, and I can't discuss a foot and ankle with the knee guy.
That's that's OK. And the last thing about was, so I did that. I mean, this time it was best, I don't know. I was a bit more lucky as well that they asked my why they were all in my stance. But I essentially, to be honest with you, I didn't find that I'm deficient in something that I, foot and ankle I prepared so well. I went to write off the British Birmingham.
I had a friend who was a consultant there. I did a lot of practice within viva and clinicals, and they didn't ask a single question foot and ankle. I didn't have any case of foot and ankle in my short cases as well. So that's luck. But still, I was not worried about it. I thought, whatever they ask me, I will discuss. I'll go to the management.
I'll ask and go for the complications and the last thing which I won't recommend. But that's the other thing which one of our colleagues, I think some of the guys know, sit down, sit down. Before he told me that he had a small book with the references, he made a book and last month or so he because for four, five weeks he gave me this book and I was spending an hour and 1/2 just reading those references. Just name paper.
And let's say, for example, AC joint disruption. I mean, you guys need to know about even classifications, the action. And they asked me that classification. I told them. And that's their favorite because one of my exam, a colleague, had this case in the past and they asked it. So classifications, then at the end, you can I mean, I spend I don't know, I don't recommend that, because I feel that I didn't talk a lot of about these evidences and things.
Most of the things have been the major things I talk about NICE guidelines. I talk about those guidelines. They don't ask me about those big like ProFHER or M trials or those draft trials when obviously you're going to talk, if they ask you those topics. This is the key. And this confidence and conviction conviction like you're teaching them, it's not that you're sitting back, you're holding back your information.
Like my first attempt, I was holding the information. So I get to round 4 and 1/2 minutes and then I deliver, OK, I'm going to do this and this and I finish and that if I do that, I'm playing for six. Some examiners might give me six. Some examiners might not like that approach and give me five. And the thing is, wasting time is not confident. So this time it was not like that. This was a minute and 1/2.
I was on to the management. Every topic, just a minute and a half, and then I was talking about management, and then they were keen to know the management, and I don't remember resting this patient, the upper limb, because I do have a limb and don't remember going to hip guy or this and that, and they didn't mind it that. But if there's a complex case, I start.
I mean, like the other day, I think we had a while here. When you have a high energy trauma, tibia or femur or a long bone fracture, I mean, if the fracture comminuted fracture, this is a high energy trauma. This is a complex injury that was my opening sentence. Your opening sentence is very important. That tells them that you're inside your lateral thinking, oh, what? Where are you going to take it?
And those are a couple of lines at Yale's principles and triple assessment and integral assessment. Not just saying triple assessment. You need to know in history. In every case, it's different things you need to know, like upper limb, hand dominance, occupation and things like that, and making sure it's close neurologically intact injury. It doesn't take much more than even you.
It's through the investigations and and you tell them the diagnosis and you direct your driver what you're going to do, what are you going to offer to the patient? The other thing I mentioned a group as well people are practicing rivals. You use your buzzwords here because in stress, in exam, you're not going to use it. I'm telling you honestly, if you don't use shared decision making, multi-disciplinary team approach, I'll speak to this I mean, like a member of the teams and all those things.
So these are the things you practiced now, even with your colleagues last two months before the exam, you talk like you're in the exam. People ask, I mean, in trauma meetings, consultants, they knew that we were taking exam and they ask, you talk like you're talking an exam. So that's what helped me and confidence and conviction and all those things and the clinicals I work in leads as. Look, your exam.
Part two exam is one hour exam. If you're prepared, value clinicals. Your short cases, your long cases, your score high, your pass. There's no doubt about it. What? you can't do that without having a good background knowledge next day. I mean, if you can do very high in first day and table hours, you can't fail it because you need a lot of knowledge to do the first day right?
And the day two, as I told you, is the key is how you present yourself or you take yourself forward or you discuss who you talk to them, your body language, look into their eyes, give them a kind of friendly smile. It's difficult. And to me, it's only first case. It's difficult. First question in the table viva was difficult. Again, I had two Indian examiners and I knew that I gave them smile.
I was inside. I thought again, I'm getting them. But no, that's not. Not the case. So I shake shook hand history. I said, look, he had a problem with the hip. I said, what's? I mean, the other thing which previously I didn't know that you can ask questions which like you ask in the clinic, what's the problem with your hip?
Oh, it's painful and things. And then for the last two or three years, let him talk. I had a hip replacement. When did you have the hip replacement 10 years back? Three years back, it started. Then I put all those questions wound healing antibiotics and oozy wound and stuff like that. No antibiotics, any injury, any trauma. You go down there quickly.
I was rushing to be honest because I didn't give them. I didn't want them the impression that I'm wasting time here because I need to talk to the management. To three months back, it started causing problems, and I said, what did you have? Then he said, oh, I was admitted, they did some, some operation, and then I said to the recount.
I mean, that's the thing. What operation did they did? I mean, he was saying that they took me theatre they open me up my hip, the washer. I said to the chamber, some prostheses, some lining of the joints and things on, you know, they didn't send the sample and things. So I went, I ask all those questions. And when I was going to those like tick mark things like any smoking, alcohol or drugs, allergies, any anticoagulation and stuff like that.
And I was looking at them as well. They were also thinking that, OK, he is doing well and he is trying to go through it quickly and examination wise, be clever. If the patient has intelligent gait, don't walk it. It's turned. He stood up. And he was just grimacing with pain. He's having a lot of pain.
I'm not going to walk him. He has no [inaudible] at this point, lying down. He was lying down. I said, can you bend your hip? I said, no. He just grimacing. It is painful. Then it went on to the what else are you going to? He started asking me.
He asked me about the cane and stuff like that. He asked me difficult questions. I must say he's a difficult examiner. He asked me difficult questions, if any Trendelenburg gait. If you guys know the Trendelenburg test, you need to interpretation as well, because in exam, it's not. Whenever you say standard books positive and then there's going to be discussion, why it's positive, what's happening, what's happening, why the patient is lurching on the other side is trying to move the center of gravity and stuff like that.
Let them discrepancies, for example. And my first attempt, I was thinking, I'm clever enough, I can pick up like discrepancies and this and that. But when you have a discrepancy as you can, then they'll go for further. I mean, I know in examination books, you do that galeazzi and you can do other further testing with a super dependent or shortening. But the key is.
You need to be slick, you need to be confident on your feet, you shouldn't lose your confidence. This example I'm giving you just to make you aware that in exam things can go wrong, but you need to stand on your ground. You need to be really composed and and confident, and that can only come with a good knowledge and good practice, right? All I said, what's wrong with that?
You said exam is, is a dress code. Although we say there is a no dress code, but there is a dress code. You need to dress smart, but you need to be dull. You don't want to be noticeable. You don't want to be noticeable in the exam. In my first attempt, I had a charcoal gray kind of a suit, which I used, which is, he said, that's good. And I said, can I use it was friendly.
I said, blue shirt should be OK. I said, no white shirt. Simple, plain white shirt. And he even didn't let me wear that tie. He said, no, no bright colors. Just a dull kind of stripy ties, which I actually on my way. I borrowed it from Simon and his tie he used in the past. He passed the exam with the same tie. So that was the whole picture of my exam, guys.
So there are three or four important aspects which I stressed clinicals, right? Your confidence, you are the judge. We why were you? We really you, but I can't. Why were you on, let's say, 300 topics of orthopedics? But you know, where are you weak? How strong your preparation is? If somebody randomly starts talking about actually athletic periprosthetic fractures of the knee, you need to know the classification.
If you don't know how to manage a periprosthetic fracture around the knee and what things are, you're going to see there's a classification of a type one, two and three if you don't know the name. Even you know what type one, type Ii and type three, what treatment you're going to offer them, or how are you going to investigate loosening or are going to see is a stable or unstable implant? And what are your options?
You would like to lose the infection out and the blood samples things? And what if is infection? What are you going to do and what if it's loose? What are you going to do? So that was I mean, the thing is, even I ask, you know, I mean, if you're taking examinations, let's say for six weeks time, we should be able to answer that question.
Please feel free because that's the whole my experience it it was a tough time for me for two years. I this is the reality. That's how you should be. You should need to improve your knowledge to get to a certain level better than the day one business consultant and be confident. Behave like a consultant to like a consultant. Don't leave your weaknesses and practice for the exam.
So that's all if anybody wants to ask something. Umm, thank you. Just just a reminder to everybody. The exams are. Generally fair, I think, and I would like to point out, I have a lot of gray hair, and I didn't dye my gray hair, for the exam. But again, the it's not necessarily one or the other. For example, I consider basic science vital for the exam, and I'm.
I'm not telling you I'm amazing, but I'm telling you focus on basic science from my side, I always started with bail you out in every table. I felt that when all my when you have the knowledge for basic science, I think you, you are more confident in other tables as well. I know what you're saying, but I also know you are far better than you think. Basic science as well?
No, but I was not weak this time. I didn't have other strong behaviors. I remember I definitely your basic science was on top of things. I just want to make sure that everyone understands that. That's what I was trying to say is, even though he kept saying he wasn't good at basic science. He was really not compared to the other things. Yeah thank you for clarifying that probably my take it that is to pass the exam without knowing basic science to reinforce what you said.
Aim for it. There's no point in trying to get a 6 because you will get fives. You don't want for us and to make up a five, it takes a lot of effort to get it past the five. The other thing point you made is very important, I think the breadth of curriculum. You if you look at the curriculum for trauma, orthopedics, it is really broad.
We are the one speciality in surgery where we've maintained the broadness of our speciality. And exactly as you said, as a consultant, you are expected to understand how everything is treated. Yes, we do suggest that you say things like, I will discuss this with my senior colleague, but we also remind you that must explain what you're seeing your college colleague is going to tell you to do or say. So I will discuss this with my senior colleague or I will discuss this with a specialist because it's a complex case.
But the principles of management include x, y and z. And finally, a couple of things. Confidence I can't. I agree with you. It's a game of confidence. It's like you're doing a driving test. If you hesitate in your driving test, there's already the driving test examiner is going to fail you. It's the same in the exam.
If you speak with confidence and clarity, it's an easier path than someone who feels sounds not confident, not making eye contact, looking nervous and sweating and being prompted with questions, though they might the knowledge. We import that. And that's again, something that this is what our mentor group keeps trying to teach you with the hot seats in the Viva sessions.
We're trying to get you to operate at the level of stress, which would be close to the exam so that when you do the exam, it should be a breeze. That's the aim. Any feedback from the other mentors? We have quite a few today we have as well as Anwaar who's presented today. We have Amgad Medani, Hany Elbardesy, Fouad Chaudhry, [inaudible] and Siddharth Kamat have all joined us.
Any mentors would like to add, do you put across everything? I couldn't reiterate what you guys said. I think practice, I'm going to clinics and stuff. It is useful. So how did you think your pediatrics? Was there any specialty where you thought you were weak? Well, as I said to you, Shwan, I was only worried for the basic sciences table Viva, but honest to God and I, I'm going to send them an email to see my scores, but that went very well as you were right?
I feel that it's weak, but only weakness in basic sciences for me was statistics, which I prepared from our YouTube videos. I didn't read much in the books and stuff. And the other thing was genetics. Again, we had a lecture on mental health. After I prepared them, I can talk about them. I could have covered to get, let's say, a respectable five. And I was, I mean, a few things you can't learn in life, especially at my age.
I can't get to the statistics and stuff. So I thought I have basic knowledge. I have prepared it, but I didn't have any problem with any of the survivors. Pediatrics was not my weakness because a Bristol guy, a Bristol pediatric examiner. He helped me a lot. I went to these clinics. I had discussions with him and all those things.
So I didn't have a problem with paeds. Hence it's interesting that you said you went to somebody who had paed who taught you pediatrics because this is something I'm noticing. I noticed when I was sitting in the exam, and I'm sure a lot of the areas where we have a weakness or a. Let's say less experience because of the jobs that we're doing, so a lot of us would be mostly an adult only hospitals and wouldn't see many pediatric cases or complex pediatric cases.
You may be lucky in managing pediatric trauma, but you wouldn't be doing elective work. The so the same in hands, for example, the hands are very hard specialties to work in because there is such a shortage of posts for the trainees. But you went to somebody and you say it's time and you said I spent extra. I mean, I did extra effort. I spoke to them, went to the clinics in my spare time and they were kind to me.
I mean, in this country, I've noticed if you go to the people and say, look, I want to learn, I need help. They help. They will help you. And I think pediatrics is one thing which we don't have enough exposure. And I think I was lucky in the sense that when I applied for the exam, one of my supervisors said, I would like you to do pediatrics before you take the exam.
And I did pediatrics six months before I took the exam. That was really helpful because it helps in not only in the MCQs, but in the clinical and the vivas, because we have to do it anyway. If you want to go through the scissor route, so why not do it before the exam? It helps you like in preparing for your why wasn't clinical there as well?
Well, just that. We're not just focusing on pediatrics, any speciality you are working, you haven't had that much experience. We do recommend you do try and compensate for that, either by spending time with consultants as extra time in their clinics, going to their theaters or even trying to meet them and talk to them about practicing survivors.
Some I know some of our mentors have done supernumerary posts in their specialties, just as in just so that they can learn. And for me, what I had done was I literally picked up every course I could find in the specialties. I knew I didn't have enough experience or my experience is, shall we phrase it outdated or not? Recent so the I went to every course I could find. I tried to attend and read, as well as listen to anybody who was talking about those specialties.
And often I find try to find somebody who had the specialty and go through vivas with them, as well as clinical examination regarding courses. Sorry, I missed this last point was, of course, is very important. I mean, I in my previous exam, I thought, no, I know everything and I can reproduce it and things like that. But courses before the exam, two or three weeks going to the exam, they will polish your everything.
To be honest. You're sure you're into that exam. Will you talk like you're in the exam and all those things? And that was I must say that. I mean, I know they're very expensive, but for learning courses or for practice before the two or three weeks before the exam, if any of you is that you're going to learn and that will help you to pass the exam.
No, that's wrong. Those courses are there to polish your knowledge and your talking skill, your survival skills, your clinical skills and in technicals, I would say, OK, you still see them. You learn a bit. But why was if you're going there and you're thinking that now you're going to learn something new and things that I think one shouldn't take in and delay the exam?
So that was my opinion. OK, thank you, everybody. We'll move on to the viva part of this session tonight. We've had a total of 33 participants in the lecture. Anwaar, thank you so much for your presentation and your insights.
Segment:0 .
So good. Good evening, everyone, and welcome again to our FRCS mentor group. Today, we're lucky to have one Anwaar who's going to give us his who, who has recently passed the exams, and he's going to give us his insight into what it took to pass the exam, but also lessons he's learned along the way, which I think is quite valuable in the process because a lot of time each mentor has a different experience and insight into the exams, and it's worth listening and seeing what suits you as a person who's preparing and getting ready towards the exams, whether you start doing the exams very soon or planning to do it in a year or so today we have a good showing from our mentors.
We have Hany Elbardesy still around, we have Fouad Chaudry and one of our newest mentors is Siddharth Kamat, who's just recently passed, as well as always, when we are looking forward to fresh blood in the mentor group. So anyone, hopefully as you guys pass, you'll be all volunteering to provide your time for future mentorship without any more delay Anwaar Kiani.
Hi guys. Hi, I'm Anwaar, and thank you very much for being here. I'm going to talk to you about. I mean, I've been busy with the exam almost two years doing courses and everything and working at different places. So I want to share the top tips which I had during that time. You guys have, if you haven't previously, people have talked about exam experience about how to approach the short cases, long cases.
I have seen videos that he has done a good talk. I've seen that and hope to go to short cases, long cases and everything. But what I'm going to tell you is, is the things which I have learned the hard way or it was a luck factor, whatever you say. First of all, to start with regarding preparation, I mean, preparation. The best judge for your preparation is yourself.
People say when I pass part one in the first attempt, I did it. I worked hard. I had Farhan, one of the mentors. He was a close friend to me and he guided me to do, how to do it with the basic sciences, and I was weak till the very end. And what I say for part two, I'm not going to talk about part one today, part two. Everyone should assess yourself that you're really ready for the exam?
And if you are really ready with the knowledge and you can deliver the knowledge they didn't, this is not about you have read the book two times, three times or even four times. It's about, I mean, if somebody asks you something, can you actually nail that topic? Can you go into the discussion? Can you do the management? That's the first thing which I've learned that you need to have a control on your knowledge.
You have to have a grasp on your knowledge. And the second thing which I feel I mean, people might disagree with me. They say that it's day one consultant, this consultant's knowledge is required. I will elaborate on it. They even consult, and I personally feel that you need more knowledge than day one disease consultants like, for example, a foot and ankle consultant.
And he doesn't know more what I know about shoulders and a shoulder consultant. And yet he doesn't know much about the hips and knees, the amount of knowledge I need to have to pass the exam. So it's not like, exactly, yes, that's fine. Trauma management and both things. But it is. It is a tough exam. Don't take it easy.
Don't I mean, fool yourself or other people. I had a very nice group. I had a few friends on the first attempt. They keep pushing me and working me. No, no, you're good. I was trying to pull out because I thought being on a non training grade, I was good with operating. My interest was hips and knees and shoulders, which I have done personally.
But the problem was I never examined the patients, according to the exam in my clinics. Nurses weren't very happy that I see 20 odd fracture clinic patients. And if you're not examining the patients, according to exam pattern, which I did in my last attempt and last exam because it took me longer to examine the patient 5 minutes history, five minutes examination and five minutes, I talked to the patient and it might be a bit more, but we don't do that, and I was worried.
I was weak in basic sciences and I wanted to pull out of the exam because of these two reasons. But I eventually did the peer pressure. I said, OK, no, no, you'll be fine. And I regret it because I went to the exam and. Uh, doing the short cases and long cases all together, if you're going to the exam first time, it's a different experience. Every one of you, every single, a few the people that have gone to the exam or the people are going to go to the exam, your first clinical case, either a short or long case, your adrenaline adrenaline will be different.
You will find it different. I mean, if you're not well-prepared, you will struggle. And if your first case in a short case doesn't go well, I mean, that happened to me. I'm telling my personal experience. The next two cases, even I knew them. But if I couldn't do well on the first one, I couldn't get to the diagnosis.
People say, OK, no, you need to be systematic and methodical and this and that, all those things. I believe that the key to exam is your clinicals. And by this November, last November, I passed before six months before that exam, I met. A few of my friends are consultants. Now I've been registrar with them and they said, look, this exam is that's the key thing. I'm telling you that you need to make a list of the cases.
If you I mean, let's say tomorrow, if you make a list of the cases, it won't be hundred, 110 cases. And you can't have more than that, to be honest. I mean, if you think about it, there's no surprise in the exam. I mean, I failed my exam. I can tell you about after I posted, I didn't pick it up. I always thought I've seen the patients in pediatric clinics, but I thought these kids.
But I've seen a patient about 35 years old, lady with [inaudible] which I didn't get it. I examined it right. I did all the right things, everything. But examimer was not happy. He wanted to know the diagnosis. He wanted, he prompted me when I tried to go to the forearm wasting, he stopped me. He didn't let me examine the elbow.
I might have picked that up, but what I'm saying, which I did in this successful attempt, I focused my preparation. I mean, on clinicals and all the clinical which are coming to the exam I consolidated, I had a very consolidated knowledge about every short case or a long case. So the second thing which I did with this clinical case, this is friends of mine were I have two or three friends who were preparing with me.
We took we had pictures from Google and we practiced on each other. I mean, without telling them three short cases and there are three really rubbish kind of diagnoses and things like that. But during the practice, you talk about how to examine, you get it as a surprise. We prepared it before and we had a very difficult like left hands and things like that.
I mean, I was preparing with a trainee the week before the exam, and we had all kind of weird and wonderful stuff and that is the key to me. When I went to the clinicals, my training friends, they all say. Even were known to any friends, few of them who pass. I mean, they say the key is that in first 30 seconds or so you do get the diagnosis. I mean, you pick up the diagnosis and then it's all becomes a viva.
And that exactly happened to me in this exam. Honestly, this is a clinical exam. But what happened is I picked the diagnosis and then they sat the patient. They said, oh, you can sit down. Honestly, they didn't let me examine the patient. And first thing, when you go to the clinic, it is a short case, long case, which is another thing which I did different.
This time, my friends advised me, mentors and few of the examiners. They advised me that you need to be polite with the patient. It's your exam is not their exam. You need to read them. You need to relax. You can waste 10 seconds. It doesn't matter. You need to thank them.
I thank them. Thank you very much for coming today. How are you? Are you ok? So and I didn't talk rubbish long sentences. Keep your sentences short. I'm Mr Haat, I'm here to examine your hips. Is that OK with you?
So that's for you. Go ahead. Will consent and then you start. And the scheme is the same. We all see that look, feel, move like fr hips, for example. For example, if you get a hip arthrodesis, the body is hip. What would you see? You can't tell when a patient is lying, you stand them up. You see that leg is short, you just walk them.
They can walk a comment on the gaits and you lie down. And as soon as you bend the hip, it doesn't move. It doesn't flex completely. Then you have to tell. I think it's a big step. So then they will go onto to the viva and then they ask you, why is it happening? So the people who say some of my consultants were work, they said, oh, you need the breadth of the knowledge, not the depth.
Again, I don't agree with that because when it comes to the viva, if you score marks quickly and you get to the diagnosis, then it goes to the management. Why it happened. How what are you going to do? You can't tell every time I speak to my senior colleague or this and that, and I didn't do in this exam. I said, look, no, what it needs, what it needs, further treatment and also specialist treatment.
People say two of the examiners, I visited them, they were far away and they said what they are interested in is they're interested in that. You know, the treatment. They're not interested in all the rubbish things which we have to do. Eventually, we have to cover saying that assuming this isolated injury and stuff like that. And you say triple assessment, I use word triple assessment, which I picked up from, I did Rishi's cause who was probably to come on our forum at some point.
Triple assessment is just a one word which covers history, taking examination, examination and investigations. And according to the case, I say in my triple assessment, I would like to know this, this and this and history and this, this and this investigation. I want to do it on examination. I would like to find this, these things and within all my viva tables and 1 and 1/2 minutes, I got to a point where they asked me about further specialist management and they went to the complications and then when they went to.
That other aspect of the topic in my first two attempts, I was worried I was having a deficient knowledge and I was scared to go risk to get to that end because I was thinking, OK, I'll score six. I'm not aiming for six if any one of you or any candidate is aiming that. I'm happy with the six I can tell you. They'll fail. There's no doubt about it that an exam you'll get some tough situations, some tough survivor tables.
I always aim for 7 and some of the topics which I have got. My strengths and weaknesses of success is still my weakness, but my arthroplasty hips, knees and shoulders topics. They were really good. And I knew some like literatures and stuff like that, and I targeted that. OK, if 10 of the topics in table viva let's say I'm getting eight.
That will compensate for everything. I mean, if I target 8 then I get 7 two examiner's giving me seven. That means I still got two extra marks and in exams, they're huge. So the clinicals, I'll finish with the clinicals. I told you that I made a list of the cases. I prepared them. I prepared theory around them.
I prepared examination. I practiced with my friends. I just randomly we prepared pictures from the Google. We have some folders. I shared a few of my friends who are taking exam and that's that. So I went through and I didn't have a single short or long case mishap or I didn't pick the diagnosis or and that mindset, if even the topic, you're not going to perform well.
So don't think that examiner can fail you. And going into the exam, whoever the examiner is, you need to stick your hand out and shake can look into their eyes, give them a nice, friendly smile. It doesn't matter whoever the examiner is, Indian examiners, Asian examiner, examiner. It doesn't matter that that's the way they are judging you as a consultant today. and I, I was never shy. I never had any problem with my confidence.
But as I, I think I wanted to convey you this message that if you are weak in one area of the exam that damages your confidence and then you go with kind of a little bit of lacking the confidence and trying to go with a bit more speed up and that you want to reach to seven, you want to reach to 8 because they are going to ask you difficult questions when you finish, when you tell them management, they are going to ask you about complications.
And if you don't know the complications and how to deal with the complications you can get in your specialist colleague. With that, you won't say I was sent to my senior hip surgeon. No, it's nothing senior. You are a consultant. They are a consultant. You say, I'll send to us, let's say, adult hip reconstruction person for a hip replacement.
What are the issues? For example, I'm talking about an adult and it needs a hip replacement. You guys need to know what they're going to do. They are going to have a custom made implant. You need to know that. What are the issues? Let you know you probably sciatic nerve problems, bone fractures and all those things you are aware of that.
It's not that you say, oh, no, I don't need to know that this is a specialist area, and I don't need to know that was my kind of false perception about the exam. No, you need to know that. And that's what I examiner told me that they want to know the management. He says that yes, they are interested in this, this and this, but we are here to assess you that are you also very consultant?
Have you are you able to work as a consultant? If you assess your consultants in your departments, wherever you work in the UK, whenever you can in sending to a specialist area, he knows. He knows what are the options, what he wants them to, what he thinks that patients need to a treatment. So those things, we need to know that. And essentially, if you know them, it's nothing.
It's not a superficial knowledge. So that's the one thing. And now I'll talk a few points about why, why, why it's most important thing. And it's your body language. I didn't read or revise anything from my viva day. I had a very good clinicals I was in Wrightington - Then I had few friends. They called me.
They finished their training and things. They actually insisted that I shouldn't read anything. I just go and eat some food and relax and sleep. Take a lot of sleep. That's what I did on the first night as well. 8 o'clock. I didn't discuss anything with one of my friends who was with me. I said, you go to your room, I need to sleep.
You pray for yourself and just sleep. And I didn't read anything, and he said, you're going to the viva table. And previously, whenever somebody asks me a question, I used to think about what I read about it, where was it and things in my last attempt, I practiced a lot. I didn't have any deficiency in my knowledge, and I took it as they said, you need to take it as a discussion.
It's not about your just going there and they're asking you whatever questions. And if you are trying to remember something, you can't do a discussion. So if you are strong in your life, say hip replacement and for example, I mean, if somebody comes to the problem with the hip replacement, you know what to do, and that's how you talk about it. If they have an infection or you going to investigate the infection, what are the things, what are your options and all those procedures?
These are the things. And I just it looked like that I'm having a discussion like we always say that in a trauma meeting, trauma meetings. Still, we are treated. I mean, one of my mentor was very fine two years before my exam started, especially at teaching in the morning, once in a week for the Viva. But he helped us a lot. It improved our presentation and knowledge and also confidence.
But that knowledge was still, I think, was not sufficient because you need a depth of the knowledge as well with the brand that you can convey this message that you are. You can work as a consultant and it is not even it is much higher than day one disease consultant because as I give the example, when I was preparing, I was going to different consultants. But then I can't discuss hip width them, with a shoulder guy, and I can't discuss a foot and ankle with the knee guy.
That's that's OK. And the last thing about was, so I did that. I mean, this time it was best, I don't know. I was a bit more lucky as well that they asked my why they were all in my stance. But I essentially, to be honest with you, I didn't find that I'm deficient in something that I, foot and ankle I prepared so well. I went to write off the British Birmingham.
I had a friend who was a consultant there. I did a lot of practice within viva and clinicals, and they didn't ask a single question foot and ankle. I didn't have any case of foot and ankle in my short cases as well. So that's luck. But still, I was not worried about it. I thought, whatever they ask me, I will discuss. I'll go to the management.
I'll ask and go for the complications and the last thing which I won't recommend. But that's the other thing which one of our colleagues, I think some of the guys know, sit down, sit down. Before he told me that he had a small book with the references, he made a book and last month or so he because for four, five weeks he gave me this book and I was spending an hour and 1/2 just reading those references. Just name paper.
And let's say, for example, AC joint disruption. I mean, you guys need to know about even classifications, the action. And they asked me that classification. I told them. And that's their favorite because one of my exam, a colleague, had this case in the past and they asked it. So classifications, then at the end, you can I mean, I spend I don't know, I don't recommend that, because I feel that I didn't talk a lot of about these evidences and things.
Most of the things have been the major things I talk about NICE guidelines. I talk about those guidelines. They don't ask me about those big like ProFHER or M trials or those draft trials when obviously you're going to talk, if they ask you those topics. This is the key. And this confidence and conviction conviction like you're teaching them, it's not that you're sitting back, you're holding back your information.
Like my first attempt, I was holding the information. So I get to round 4 and 1/2 minutes and then I deliver, OK, I'm going to do this and this and I finish and that if I do that, I'm playing for six. Some examiners might give me six. Some examiners might not like that approach and give me five. And the thing is, wasting time is not confident. So this time it was not like that. This was a minute and 1/2.
I was on to the management. Every topic, just a minute and a half, and then I was talking about management, and then they were keen to know the management, and I don't remember resting this patient, the upper limb, because I do have a limb and don't remember going to hip guy or this and that, and they didn't mind it that. But if there's a complex case, I start.
I mean, like the other day, I think we had a while here. When you have a high energy trauma, tibia or femur or a long bone fracture, I mean, if the fracture comminuted fracture, this is a high energy trauma. This is a complex injury that was my opening sentence. Your opening sentence is very important. That tells them that you're inside your lateral thinking, oh, what? Where are you going to take it?
And those are a couple of lines at Yale's principles and triple assessment and integral assessment. Not just saying triple assessment. You need to know in history. In every case, it's different things you need to know, like upper limb, hand dominance, occupation and things like that, and making sure it's close neurologically intact injury. It doesn't take much more than even you.
It's through the investigations and and you tell them the diagnosis and you direct your driver what you're going to do, what are you going to offer to the patient? The other thing I mentioned a group as well people are practicing rivals. You use your buzzwords here because in stress, in exam, you're not going to use it. I'm telling you honestly, if you don't use shared decision making, multi-disciplinary team approach, I'll speak to this I mean, like a member of the teams and all those things.
So these are the things you practiced now, even with your colleagues last two months before the exam, you talk like you're in the exam. People ask, I mean, in trauma meetings, consultants, they knew that we were taking exam and they ask, you talk like you're talking an exam. So that's what helped me and confidence and conviction and all those things and the clinicals I work in leads as. Look, your exam.
Part two exam is one hour exam. If you're prepared, value clinicals. Your short cases, your long cases, your score high, your pass. There's no doubt about it. What? you can't do that without having a good background knowledge next day. I mean, if you can do very high in first day and table hours, you can't fail it because you need a lot of knowledge to do the first day right?
And the day two, as I told you, is the key is how you present yourself or you take yourself forward or you discuss who you talk to them, your body language, look into their eyes, give them a kind of friendly smile. It's difficult. And to me, it's only first case. It's difficult. First question in the table viva was difficult. Again, I had two Indian examiners and I knew that I gave them smile.
I was inside. I thought again, I'm getting them. But no, that's not. Not the case. So I shake shook hand history. I said, look, he had a problem with the hip. I said, what's? I mean, the other thing which previously I didn't know that you can ask questions which like you ask in the clinic, what's the problem with your hip?
Oh, it's painful and things. And then for the last two or three years, let him talk. I had a hip replacement. When did you have the hip replacement 10 years back? Three years back, it started. Then I put all those questions wound healing antibiotics and oozy wound and stuff like that. No antibiotics, any injury, any trauma. You go down there quickly.
I was rushing to be honest because I didn't give them. I didn't want them the impression that I'm wasting time here because I need to talk to the management. To three months back, it started causing problems, and I said, what did you have? Then he said, oh, I was admitted, they did some, some operation, and then I said to the recount.
I mean, that's the thing. What operation did they did? I mean, he was saying that they took me theatre they open me up my hip, the washer. I said to the chamber, some prostheses, some lining of the joints and things on, you know, they didn't send the sample and things. So I went, I ask all those questions. And when I was going to those like tick mark things like any smoking, alcohol or drugs, allergies, any anticoagulation and stuff like that.
And I was looking at them as well. They were also thinking that, OK, he is doing well and he is trying to go through it quickly and examination wise, be clever. If the patient has intelligent gait, don't walk it. It's turned. He stood up. And he was just grimacing with pain. He's having a lot of pain.
I'm not going to walk him. He has no [inaudible] at this point, lying down. He was lying down. I said, can you bend your hip? I said, no. He just grimacing. It is painful. Then it went on to the what else are you going to? He started asking me.
He asked me about the cane and stuff like that. He asked me difficult questions. I must say he's a difficult examiner. He asked me difficult questions, if any Trendelenburg gait. If you guys know the Trendelenburg test, you need to interpretation as well, because in exam, it's not. Whenever you say standard books positive and then there's going to be discussion, why it's positive, what's happening, what's happening, why the patient is lurching on the other side is trying to move the center of gravity and stuff like that.
Let them discrepancies, for example. And my first attempt, I was thinking, I'm clever enough, I can pick up like discrepancies and this and that. But when you have a discrepancy as you can, then they'll go for further. I mean, I know in examination books, you do that galeazzi and you can do other further testing with a super dependent or shortening. But the key is.
You need to be slick, you need to be confident on your feet, you shouldn't lose your confidence. This example I'm giving you just to make you aware that in exam things can go wrong, but you need to stand on your ground. You need to be really composed and and confident, and that can only come with a good knowledge and good practice, right? All I said, what's wrong with that?
You said exam is, is a dress code. Although we say there is a no dress code, but there is a dress code. You need to dress smart, but you need to be dull. You don't want to be noticeable. You don't want to be noticeable in the exam. In my first attempt, I had a charcoal gray kind of a suit, which I used, which is, he said, that's good. And I said, can I use it was friendly.
I said, blue shirt should be OK. I said, no white shirt. Simple, plain white shirt. And he even didn't let me wear that tie. He said, no, no bright colors. Just a dull kind of stripy ties, which I actually on my way. I borrowed it from Simon and his tie he used in the past. He passed the exam with the same tie. So that was the whole picture of my exam, guys.
So there are three or four important aspects which I stressed clinicals, right? Your confidence, you are the judge. We why were you? We really you, but I can't. Why were you on, let's say, 300 topics of orthopedics? But you know, where are you weak? How strong your preparation is? If somebody randomly starts talking about actually athletic periprosthetic fractures of the knee, you need to know the classification.
If you don't know how to manage a periprosthetic fracture around the knee and what things are, you're going to see there's a classification of a type one, two and three if you don't know the name. Even you know what type one, type Ii and type three, what treatment you're going to offer them, or how are you going to investigate loosening or are going to see is a stable or unstable implant? And what are your options?
You would like to lose the infection out and the blood samples things? And what if is infection? What are you going to do and what if it's loose? What are you going to do? So that was I mean, the thing is, even I ask, you know, I mean, if you're taking examinations, let's say for six weeks time, we should be able to answer that question.
Please feel free because that's the whole my experience it it was a tough time for me for two years. I this is the reality. That's how you should be. You should need to improve your knowledge to get to a certain level better than the day one business consultant and be confident. Behave like a consultant to like a consultant. Don't leave your weaknesses and practice for the exam.
So that's all if anybody wants to ask something. Umm, thank you. Just just a reminder to everybody. The exams are. Generally fair, I think, and I would like to point out, I have a lot of gray hair, and I didn't dye my gray hair, for the exam. But again, the it's not necessarily one or the other. For example, I consider basic science vital for the exam, and I'm.
I'm not telling you I'm amazing, but I'm telling you focus on basic science from my side, I always started with bail you out in every table. I felt that when all my when you have the knowledge for basic science, I think you, you are more confident in other tables as well. I know what you're saying, but I also know you are far better than you think. Basic science as well?
No, but I was not weak this time. I didn't have other strong behaviors. I remember I definitely your basic science was on top of things. I just want to make sure that everyone understands that. That's what I was trying to say is, even though he kept saying he wasn't good at basic science. He was really not compared to the other things. Yeah thank you for clarifying that probably my take it that is to pass the exam without knowing basic science to reinforce what you said.
Aim for it. There's no point in trying to get a 6 because you will get fives. You don't want for us and to make up a five, it takes a lot of effort to get it past the five. The other thing point you made is very important, I think the breadth of curriculum. You if you look at the curriculum for trauma, orthopedics, it is really broad.
We are the one speciality in surgery where we've maintained the broadness of our speciality. And exactly as you said, as a consultant, you are expected to understand how everything is treated. Yes, we do suggest that you say things like, I will discuss this with my senior colleague, but we also remind you that must explain what you're seeing your college colleague is going to tell you to do or say. So I will discuss this with my senior colleague or I will discuss this with a specialist because it's a complex case.
But the principles of management include x, y and z. And finally, a couple of things. Confidence I can't. I agree with you. It's a game of confidence. It's like you're doing a driving test. If you hesitate in your driving test, there's already the driving test examiner is going to fail you. It's the same in the exam.
If you speak with confidence and clarity, it's an easier path than someone who feels sounds not confident, not making eye contact, looking nervous and sweating and being prompted with questions, though they might the knowledge. We import that. And that's again, something that this is what our mentor group keeps trying to teach you with the hot seats in the Viva sessions.
We're trying to get you to operate at the level of stress, which would be close to the exam so that when you do the exam, it should be a breeze. That's the aim. Any feedback from the other mentors? We have quite a few today we have as well as Anwaar who's presented today. We have Amgad Medani, Hany Elbardesy, Fouad Chaudhry, [inaudible] and Siddharth Kamat have all joined us.
Any mentors would like to add, do you put across everything? I couldn't reiterate what you guys said. I think practice, I'm going to clinics and stuff. It is useful. So how did you think your pediatrics? Was there any specialty where you thought you were weak? Well, as I said to you, Shwan, I was only worried for the basic sciences table Viva, but honest to God and I, I'm going to send them an email to see my scores, but that went very well as you were right?
I feel that it's weak, but only weakness in basic sciences for me was statistics, which I prepared from our YouTube videos. I didn't read much in the books and stuff. And the other thing was genetics. Again, we had a lecture on mental health. After I prepared them, I can talk about them. I could have covered to get, let's say, a respectable five. And I was, I mean, a few things you can't learn in life, especially at my age.
I can't get to the statistics and stuff. So I thought I have basic knowledge. I have prepared it, but I didn't have any problem with any of the survivors. Pediatrics was not my weakness because a Bristol guy, a Bristol pediatric examiner. He helped me a lot. I went to these clinics. I had discussions with him and all those things.
So I didn't have a problem with paeds. Hence it's interesting that you said you went to somebody who had paed who taught you pediatrics because this is something I'm noticing. I noticed when I was sitting in the exam, and I'm sure a lot of the areas where we have a weakness or a. Let's say less experience because of the jobs that we're doing, so a lot of us would be mostly an adult only hospitals and wouldn't see many pediatric cases or complex pediatric cases.
You may be lucky in managing pediatric trauma, but you wouldn't be doing elective work. The so the same in hands, for example, the hands are very hard specialties to work in because there is such a shortage of posts for the trainees. But you went to somebody and you say it's time and you said I spent extra. I mean, I did extra effort. I spoke to them, went to the clinics in my spare time and they were kind to me.
I mean, in this country, I've noticed if you go to the people and say, look, I want to learn, I need help. They help. They will help you. And I think pediatrics is one thing which we don't have enough exposure. And I think I was lucky in the sense that when I applied for the exam, one of my supervisors said, I would like you to do pediatrics before you take the exam.
And I did pediatrics six months before I took the exam. That was really helpful because it helps in not only in the MCQs, but in the clinical and the vivas, because we have to do it anyway. If you want to go through the scissor route, so why not do it before the exam? It helps you like in preparing for your why wasn't clinical there as well?
Well, just that. We're not just focusing on pediatrics, any speciality you are working, you haven't had that much experience. We do recommend you do try and compensate for that, either by spending time with consultants as extra time in their clinics, going to their theaters or even trying to meet them and talk to them about practicing survivors.
Some I know some of our mentors have done supernumerary posts in their specialties, just as in just so that they can learn. And for me, what I had done was I literally picked up every course I could find in the specialties. I knew I didn't have enough experience or my experience is, shall we phrase it outdated or not? Recent so the I went to every course I could find. I tried to attend and read, as well as listen to anybody who was talking about those specialties.
And often I find try to find somebody who had the specialty and go through vivas with them, as well as clinical examination regarding courses. Sorry, I missed this last point was, of course, is very important. I mean, I in my previous exam, I thought, no, I know everything and I can reproduce it and things like that. But courses before the exam, two or three weeks going to the exam, they will polish your everything.
To be honest. You're sure you're into that exam. Will you talk like you're in the exam and all those things? And that was I must say that. I mean, I know they're very expensive, but for learning courses or for practice before the two or three weeks before the exam, if any of you is that you're going to learn and that will help you to pass the exam.
No, that's wrong. Those courses are there to polish your knowledge and your talking skill, your survival skills, your clinical skills and in technicals, I would say, OK, you still see them. You learn a bit. But why was if you're going there and you're thinking that now you're going to learn something new and things that I think one shouldn't take in and delay the exam?
So that was my opinion. OK, thank you, everybody. We'll move on to the viva part of this session tonight. We've had a total of 33 participants in the lecture. Anwaar, thank you so much for your presentation and your insights.
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