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Passed CS with Higher Performance!

943 views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Brainiac 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I am a more or less silent member of this forum. and all the experience threads here helped me a lot. So I thought I'd share mine.
I am an IMG. and my challenge was a lack of exposure for which I took an observership a month before my exam. I studied for 45 days in total.
I went through first aid and made my own mnemonics for all the possible differentials for every complaint like headache, hematuria, lower abdominal pain etc. It took me about 15days to memorise these.
Then I started practicing with multiple partners. I found it difficult in the beginning. I would keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. But you have to be patient because you improve gradually.
But by my 70th or 80th cases I was doing quite well. I practiced about 30 patient notes but for the slow typers I would recommend at least 60 or 80. At least one patient note for every complaint.
I gave a read to kaplan and Uworld towards the end. The challenging questions are really important and do not ignore them.
I made my own sequences for all the complaints. For example,

For the closure I used this sequence

1. Thank you for your patience and cooperation
2. According to my evaluation...( I would mention my differentials in non-medical terms)
3. But I cannot be sure right now. For that Id like to run some tests (I would mention the tests)
4. Once the test results are back I would like to meet up with you to discuss your diagnosis and treatment options.
5. Meanwhile..( I would explain and instruct the patient about what he/she should do)
6. Do you have any questions or concerns? (Usually they'd ask one)
7. Thank you very much. It was nice meeting you.

I incorporated this fixed closure early into my practice and I also made my own opening and greeting. and by the end I was so automated that even if i freaked out I would know what to do next in the exam.

I would suggest that you make your own history and examination sequences for every complaint separately and practice them from the beginning so that you become a pro at those by the end. Because in the exam you don't get time to think. The more automated you are, the more confident you'll appear.

My spoken english is good. So my main focus was on the other two. I wish I had practiced more patient notes though. But ultimately I ended up getting higher performance in all three components. SEP>CIS>ICE

I hope this helped!
Good luck everyone.
 
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