To all those who really want the truth,
I don't know what part of the SRMC College Mr.Souvik Sen attends, but it’s not a true description of SRMC & RI in my opinion. For those students who have interest in medicine from the USA, this is not the college for you if you ask me. I joined SRMC straight out of high school under impression how different can college in India be. I was certainly in for a shock.
In this message I plan on setting the truth straight on many topics for those who need to know the truth, so they don't make the same mistake that I have

1. grading system
 - The biggest difference between the academic world of the USA and India is that in India all grading is subjective. This means that regardless how correct an individual may be, it does not matter because it is left to the subjectivity of the professor grading your paper.
- ex. - in my first year of college the first examination I had was call an internal examination ( the portions being a whole system within the body) the exam has 10 questions(2 essays(15 pts each) and 8 short notes(5 pts each) and 30 multiple choice questions(MCQ's, 1 pt each). After receiving my score I felt I had been wronged in terms of the grading. I was then informed of the most outrageous information. the professor told me that even though I had written the right answer, the most points a student could get was 4 pts out of 5 pts short noteand with an essay the most being 13 pts out of 15 pts. When I asked why I was told that there is no way that I could have written a perfect answer (or that matter any student). I was very confused by this method of grading. So if you look at the whole out of a possible 100 pts one is being graded out of, the highest you could get is 88 pts. in order to pass any exam in India one must get 50% or higher. If you are confused by this, don’t worry I still am as well

2. Quality of education
 -For students from the USA, all of you (as did I) will realize how spoiled you were to have the teachers you did in high school. I can not comment on the quality of education in an American college as I have not attended one. NONE of the professors in SRMC have degrees in teaching at all. Don’t get me wrong now, the professors are all very smart and knowledgeable but outside of a select few none of them have a clue on how to teach a class. A majority of them don’t even teach, they just copy the text book on to an overhead projection and read it out loud. I don’t know about you but I could do same thing and I don’t consider myself a professor( to think I paid all that money for this caliber of teaching)
 -In my personal opinion I have not learned a damn thing from my professors in SRMC. All the studying & learning done was by me on my own in my room. The people who helped me the most would have to be the students that were senior to me. Without them I have no clue how I would made out med school in India
 -Now I know all of the students from the USA are a bit pampered in the sense they have not had to deal with extreme weather conditions. I struggled the first couple of years with the heat in India. And NO the classrooms were not air conditioned. All a fan does is rotate hot stale air. But for those who choose not to heed this warning you are in luck as SRMC has just recently air conditioned a majority of its classrooms. But when you hit your clinical years, touch luck, the hospital is not air conditioned.
 -oh yeah, on a odd note, all the guys sit on one side of the class room and girls sit on the other (just weird)
3. student rights
 -As this may not seem to be an important topic while thinking about what college you are going to attend. When it comes to SRMC it REALLY matters.
 -Since the college is a ‘deemed’ university, they have total autonomy over everything and I mean everything.
-Examples
-The college looks down upon students who relationships with the opposite sex and it has long been felt that students have been failed for this reason (remember grading system is subjective)
-There is a curfew for all students regardless of age (doesn’t matter if you have an undergraduate degree, they don’t care). This is if you stay on campus
-If a professor decides to pick on you in class or on rounds, you will have to swallow your pride, because if you respond back you can guarantee that you will be failed on purpose (this is a fact). And when I say picked on, I mean I been dogged just for the fact I am from USA , nothing else (words cannot do justice to my displeasure)
-By the end of your tenure in SRMC you will learn, in order to get through college in India, you better leave your pride at home and work on your brown nosing skills
 -Just to make things clear – ‘YOU AS A STUDENT IN SRMC HAVE NO RIGHTS’
4. occupancy
 -there are no co-ed dorms for any you that had other plans
 -If you are a male student that stays in the hostel (the Indian terminology for dorms) there are no TV’s. there are TV rooms which are not air conditioned and are very uncomfortable for one to watch TV
 -Female students have TV’s in their own rooms, but their room size is considerably smaller
 -Each NRI has their own room, with its own bathroom and air conditioning facilities
-This means you must buy your own A/C and have it installed
-You are given a desk, a cot, and metal closet
 -If you live in the hostel that usually means the majority of the food you will be eating is on campus.
-In order to eat at the NRI mess, one must walk about a half a mile each way (this is if you don’t have bike or a car)
-The food served at NRI mess if not even fit for a animal to eat, let alone it be a human
 -In order to get to college from the hostel you must walk about three quarters of a mile (no transport will provided for you regardless of weather conditions(try walking to class during monsoon season))
5. outlets
 -beside basketball and weight lifting there are no real outlets for NRI students on campus available on daily basis, so get ready to bored out of your mind(literally); and for females there are really no outlets period.
-In end the reason I write this as a message of good will. I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through just because they didn’t know. Going to college in SRMC is not cheap, it cost me $100,000 dollars up front cash. The only saving grace of SRMC is that I have met a lot good people that I expect to be my friends for life, but truth be told if I had a chance to do it again there is no way in hell would I go to SRMC knowing what I know now. Once again this is not to discredit what Mr.Souvik Sen has said his messages, that is if you don’t mind all the things that I have just explained above. Any questions email me at truth_betold_235@hotmail.com

WOW...I know I wouldn't have survived. It probably takes a lot of compromising and determination to get through due to some of the obvious cultural and educational differences between US and India. Are you doing your residency in US now?

WOW...I know I wouldn't have survived. It probably takes a lot of compromising and determination to get through due to some of the obvious cultural and educational differences between US and India. Are you doing your residency in US now?

in response to your question i am currently in the process of taking my board exams

It is just not SRMC! that is how every school in India works.

It is just not SRMC! that is how every school in India works.

well maybe except for Manipal...

Yeah...Manipal is a great place to go to !!!!!

Yeah...Manipal is a great place to go to !!!!!

im applying there this year....still gotta decide if i can be away from da city and relatives.

well maybe except for Manipal...

May be Manipal is an exception. I haven't been to Manipal, but some of my cousins and friends went to Manipal( some of them came back as drug addicts :eek: (not medical school though) ). But 99% of the Indian schools work exactly the same way as OP mentioned.

To caliAtenza,
I hope Manipal works best for you. But if you have never been to India before and you don't know much about the social conditions and cultural restrictions, you are going to have hard time. It doesn't matter if it is SRMC or Manipal.

Good Luck

May be Manipal is an exception. I haven't been to Manipal, but some of my cousins and friends went to Manipal( some of them came back as drug addicts :eek: (not medical school though) ). But 99% of the Indian schools work exactly the same way as OP mentioned.

To caliAtenza,
I hope Manipal works best for you. But if you have never been to India before and you don't know much about the social conditions and cultural restrictions, you are going to have hard time. It doesn't matter if it is SRMC or Manipal.

Good Luck

thanx mang..yeah ive been to india like a gazillion times..just went this past december... :D ...and SRMC is preety much out for me..its eitehr schools in Bangalore or Manipal

thanx mang..
ravi's not a guy (that's her son's name) :p

Goodluck with med school. I heard Bangalore has some really good schools :thumbup:

ravi's not a guy (that's her son's name) :p

Goodluck with med school. I heard Bangalore has some really good schools :thumbup:

oops..sorry...yep, Bangalore does have some really good schools..and great nightlife :D

oops..sorry...yep, Bangalore does have some really good schools..and great nightlife :D
For med schools...maybe banglore is better but as far as fun n masti is concerned I think Bombay is the best n Goa too!!!! :cool: :cool:

For med schools...maybe banglore is better but as far as fun n masti is concerned I think Bombay is the best n Goa too!!!! :cool: :cool:

ahh u got me there though...yeah Goa and Bombay are the best...with i guess Blore being 3rd. :)

ahh u got me there though...yeah Goa and Bombay are the best...with i guess Blore being 3rd. :)
yes but one thing that I hate about bombay is the humidity...thats there all the time.I have never been to banglore but i think its must be pleasant there!!! :p

ravi's not a guy (that's her son's name) :p

Goodluck with med school. I heard Bangalore has some really good schools :thumbup:

Hey hey hey............somebody is revealing my identity. j/k

yes but one thing that I hate about bombay is the humidity...thats there all the time.I have never been to banglore but i think its must be pleasant there!!! :p

oh it is..gets a bit hot sometimes..but very pleasant...great weather year round :)

HOT.....The whole of India gets baked every summer!!!!

why are you guys going to India for Med school? Are you sure you have exhausted all the opportunities to attend med school here in the states first?

why are you guys going to India for Med school? Are you sure you have exhausted all the opportunities to attend med school here in the states first?


its not so much that we have exhausted every oppurtunity in the states, rather it takes to long in the states. you have do an undergraduate, then MCAT, then medschool along with boards. all these steps cause massive amounts of cash in total and close to 8-10 yrs of time. in india, u can skip undergraduate, the MCAT and go straight to med school. also it is much easier on the pocket in the long run.

its not so much that we have exhausted every oppurtunity in the states, rather it takes to long in the states. you have do an undergraduate, then MCAT, then medschool along with boards. all these steps cause massive amounts of cash in total and close to 8-10 yrs of time. in india, u can skip undergraduate, the MCAT and go straight to med school. also it is much easier on the pocket in the long run.

^yeah..preety much what i was gonna say. Also, at least for me..college here is WAY TOO competitive...and everyone is preety much looking to screw everyone else over... :( .

^ And in India, there isn't a lot of backstabbing amongst classmates?

^ And in India, there isn't a lot of backstabbing amongst classmates?

no there is a lot of backstabbing in India... this includes NRI's and local students

Truth Betold!!! THANK U SO MUCH FOR THE INFO!!! :cool: But I'm probably still gonna end up going there though, because I just have to. I just have a few questions about SRMC.

The Grading System thing is astonishing, not in a good way obviously!! So if the prof doesn't like u for some reason, then he could just fail u, and u have to deal with it??? :eek:

Are the seniors willing to help u out when u ask for help? Or is some brown-nosing involved in the process? :)

/////-If a professor decides to pick on you in class or on rounds, you will have to swallow your pride, because if you respond back you can guarantee that you will be failed on purpose (this is a fact)./////
How do they ridicule a student. Like throwing things at them, or just insulting them by calling them stupid etc.

/////there are TV rooms which are not air conditioned and are very uncomfortable for one to watch TV//// I hear that u don't have time to watch TV's or do anything when ur doing medicine in India though. Isn't it always just study, study study? :scared:


/////-there are no co-ed dorms for any you that had other plans/////
awww... ;) just kidding. That's a given considering Indian Culture. :)

/////beside basketball and weight lifting there are no real outlets for NRI students on campus available on daily basis, so get ready to bored out of your mind(literally);/////

I hear that one doesn't have time to get bored, because they are bombarded with work though. Is that true? :scared:

What do u mean backstabbing? :scared:

Please answer these questions, I'm dying to know, it would help me a great deal when I do go. :)

Regards. :cool:

^ When Truth Betold says that you'll be picked on by the profs and ridiculed, he/she means that the prof will bring out his lathi and ask you to hold out your hand, and then the prof will proceed to call you a gadha, as you stand on one leg while holding your ears. It's nothing terrible at all.

^ When Truth Betold says that you'll be picked on by the profs and ridiculed, he/she means that the prof will bring out his lathi and ask you to hold out your hand, and then the prof will proceed to call you a gadha, as you stand on one leg while holding your ears. It's nothing terrible at all.
http://xs19.xs.to/pics/05104/Smurf_laughs.gif :laugh: :laugh:

:laugh: The comedy doesn't stop does it?

"the prof will bring out his lathi and ask you to hold out your hand, and then the prof will proceed to call you a gadha"

:eek: I don't think they do that at univ. level...even in india...all that stops around 7th grade...coz then the guys are big enough to hit back...NOT KIDDING...it happens....
this stupid physics professor hit a guy and ridiculed him in 11th...the guy hit him back. ...and so hard that the prof. lost his head...!!..um...I mean his turban...That was bad...really bad...but we didn't like him much,,,

I think what one needs to be more careful of...rather than prof.'s is the student gangs...that's true for guys ofcourse...haven;t heard abt gal-gangs hanging out in colleges yet....But yeah...guy-gangs with a vengeance...for even small..stupid reasons(these could include parking at thier spot)...are extremely injurious to health!!
Seriously...see a few bollywood movies...its pretty similar...so you might want to brush up on ur singing/dancing skills...coz you'll be expected to break out into songs and dance around trees there... :laugh:

:laugh: :laugh: I can't imagine a college prof doing that! :laugh:

ok harvard of India??? I think there are brokers for SRMC on this website. Please take their praise with a grain of salt. I had never heard of this med school before seeing this thread (but I am not from TN either). Best school in Chennai is Stanley isn't it? Anyway ...

as far as the "negative and subjective treatment" of students is concerned, this is a fact of life in the Indian medical system. But, do not stress too much about it. People who say they are failed just for looking funny at the prof usually are not the best of students. If you do what you are supposed to do, know what you are supposed to know, you will be fine. Just use common sense. Indian exams are wrote memorization ... if you can regurgitate the points the examiner asks, you will get good marks. Memorization at this level is different (most likely) from what you have done before. You can't spend the night before the exam memorizing and expect to do well. To memorize at this level require time. If you spend the time studying, you will do fine. I would also recommend reading Indian text books. US/British texts are great, but they will not point out what points you need to know for an Indian exam. Do well on your internal (sessional) exams. These are easier than your finals, and will give you a good reputation come exam time.

Don't talk back to Indian teachers. Be polite, say yes sir, no sir, thank you madame, etc. Stand up when you see them. It is much more regimental than in the US. Here, profs are your buddies, in India, remember teachers and parents earn the same level of respect ... even if they don't deserve it. Dress appropriately for class/clinics. I mean, these are little things that shouldn't matter, but do. But again, if you know your stuff cold, you will be fine. I found many americans who come to India end up enjoying life way too much. I mean, just keep in mind that this is medical school, and you will be fine. There is a negative stigma to NRIs studying in India from Indian faculty (probably not so much at this school which seems to cater to NRIs), so you overcome that by being as good a student as you can be (try to be above avg.) It's the same thing when you come back to the US. There is a stigma against foreign docs. You have to work a bit harder to overcome it, but it can be overcome.

Enjoy India!

ok harvard of India??? I think there are brokers for SRMC on this website. Please take their praise with a grain of salt. I had never heard of this med school before seeing this thread (but I am not from TN either). Best school in Chennai is Stanley isn't it? Anyway ...

as far as the "negative and subjective treatment" of students is concerned, this is a fact of life in the Indian medical system. But, do not stress too much about it. People who say they are failed just for looking funny at the prof usually are not the best of students. If you do what you are supposed to do, know what you are supposed to know, you will be fine. Just use common sense. Indian exams are wrote memorization ... if you can regurgitate the points the examiner asks, you will get good marks. Memorization at this level is different (most likely) from what you have done before. You can't spend the night before the exam memorizing and expect to do well. To memorize at this level require time. If you spend the time studying, you will do fine. I would also recommend reading Indian text books. US/British texts are great, but they will not point out what points you need to know for an Indian exam. Do well on your internal (sessional) exams. These are easier than your finals, and will give you a good reputation come exam time.

Don't talk back to Indian teachers. Be polite, say yes sir, no sir, thank you madame, etc. Stand up when you see them. It is much more regimental than in the US. Here, profs are your buddies, in India, remember teachers and parents earn the same level of respect ... even if they don't deserve it. Dress appropriately for class/clinics. I mean, these are little things that shouldn't matter, but do. But again, if you know your stuff cold, you will be fine. I found many americans who come to India end up enjoying life way too much. I mean, just keep in mind that this is medical school, and you will be fine. There is a negative stigma to NRIs studying in India from Indian faculty (probably not so much at this school which seems to cater to NRIs), so you overcome that by being as good a student as you can be (try to be above avg.) It's the same thing when you come back to the US. There is a stigma against foreign docs. You have to work a bit harder to overcome it, but it can be overcome.

Enjoy India!



for the most part retroviridae is right in terms about how things work in med school in india. i dont totally agree to of the things retroviridae says but it can be different slightly from college to college as my experiences are limited to SRMC. as for the quote ''Be polite, say yes sir, no sir, thank you madame, etc. Stand up when you see them. It is much more regimental than in the US. Here, profs are your buddies, in India, remember teachers and parents earn the same level of respect ... even if they don't deserve it." , it is the truth, but doesn't it strike anyone a bit over the top. my whole life i've been told respect is a 2 way street. the professors act like we owe them respect because they are tryin' to teach us medicine. F@$k that! all private colleges make you pay a lot of money for that education. if you paid for your education, you dont anyone anymore respect than u receive. every student who has attended med school in india from a foriegn nation realizes this. but why hasn't anybody done anything about this. simple, no one is willing to risk getting failed for speaking their mind(and by this, i dont mean throwing a temper tantrum, i mean voicing their perspective in a calm and proper way at the right time in private). if one fears to speak his/her mind due fear of consequence, then it fair to say that one has no rights.

as for the Harvard and SRMC connection, here's the real deal. SRMC is affliated with Harvard. to what extent this affliation is only god knows. i do know is Harvard and SRMC are trying to set up an exchange program for medical students. and during my stay at SRMC i did get to meet the principal of Harvard medical college as he and some of his affliates from boston came and visited SRMC

Truth Betold!!! THANK U SO MUCH FOR THE INFO!!! cool But I'm probably still gonna end up going there though, because I just have to. I just have a few questions about SRMC.

The Grading System thing is astonishing, not in a good way obviously!! So if the prof doesn't like u for some reason, then he could just fail u, and u have to deal with it???

Are the seniors willing to help u out when u ask for help? Or is some brown-nosing involved in the process?

/////-If a professor decides to pick on you in class or on rounds, you will have to swallow your pride, because if you respond back you can guarantee that you will be failed on purpose (this is a fact)./////
How do they ridicule a student. Like throwing things at them, or just insulting them by calling them stupid etc.

/////there are TV rooms which are not air conditioned and are very uncomfortable for one to watch TV//// I hear that u don't have time to watch TV's or do anything when ur doing medicine in India though. Isn't it always just study, study study?


/////-there are no co-ed dorms for any you that had other plans/////
awww... just kidding. That's a given considering Indian Culture.

/////beside basketball and weight lifting there are no real outlets for NRI students on campus available on daily basis, so get ready to bored out of your mind(literally)/////

I hear that one doesn't have time to get bored, because they are bombarded with work though. Is that true?

What do u mean backstabbing?

Please answer these questions, I'm dying to know, it would help me a great deal when I do go.

Regards. cool



glad to be of help.
in regards to your questions
1. The Grading System thing is astonishing, not in a good way obviously!! So if the prof doesn't like u for some reason, then he could just fail u, and u have to deal with it??? :eek:
-yes this is true and in SRMC you can not do anything about it because it is a 'deemed college' meaning that it sets its own exams and grades them. as professor not liking u for some reason, your stay in SRMC will test your ability to kiss ***** and stay low key & in good regards

2. Are the seniors willing to help u out when u ask for help? Or is some brown-nosing involved in the process? :)
- seniors are usually very nice and willing almost always to help out. if u are NRI, the NRI seniors will help u with no need of brown nosing. if u are a local student, the local seniors will help u as well, but u will need to call your seniors sir and maam accordingly

3. How do professors ridicule a student? Like throwing things at them, or just insulting them by calling them stupid etc.
- just insults basically.

4. I hear that one doesn't have time to get bored, because they are bombarded with work though. Is that true? :scared:
- this basically depends what kind of student you are. if you are the type of student that needs to study everyday for 'x' amount hours to complete your material in order to be ready for exam, then u wont have a lot of time. but if you are like me who tends cram the last couple of nights and that works better for u, then you will have more time. but regardless, first year of med school in india - some time off here and there in the first six months, the second six months there is no time off. second year and third year are cruise control- too much time off. final year there is no time off period.

5. What do u mean backstabbing? :scared:
- funny that u would ask this question. when i first got to med school in india i had heard stories of backstabbing but didn't believe them. i was like who does that kind of stuff. was i in for a surprise. when i say 'backstabbing' i mean following:
example - i went and asked another student for the portions i had to study for the upcoming internal exam. the student told study part A and part B in the book. i then proceeded to ask the student if we needed to study part C for the exam. the student told me not to waste my time because it wasn't on the exam. come exam day, i find exam loaded with questions about part C. the day results are posted i find that the student i had asked about what material to study had done well and i had failed. this is the type of backstabbing that goes on.

hope all of this information helps.

I dont know what other physicians would answer for this following question.


Change your life

If you are given a choice or power in your life abt anything you want to change your past? what would you do? Will you go to medschool again?

Ofcourse, i have alternative life choices like becoming a movie director or movie star. Will i consider going to medschool all over again? It is not a bad choice at all.
I would definately prefer to go to medschool all over again. and i will be a better medical student. I do regret for not being a greatest medical student in the past. Whenever, i think abt my medical student life i always regret for not using my time effectively and not acquiring my knowledge in full.

How would i be a better medical student which will make me a better doctor?

Pleasure or Pain in the ass

Folks, being a medstudent is a greatest gift and it is a great honor. Not all human beings become doctors. only the fortunate folks enter into medical school. Medical studies is one of the most interesting subject of all subjects.
Why do you guys have to memorize it or talking abt specific time period to read it? Do you think acquiring medical knowledge is a burden or some kinda duty?

Reading medicine is a pleasure. It is always a joy to read. Medical books can bring more pleasure than watching a good movie. or thriller.or a TV show. I did not have this attitude when i was a medical student. I deeply regret for not having this kinda attitude. That is the reason i am telling you guys who are just starting medschool.Please take this recommendation from me.

Human Anatomy
For example, take anatomy subject. How many people in the world have the oppurtunity to know abt their own body? More than 99% of the world population do not about their own body internal organs. Is it not fun to read about our body and how it works? Dont you think it is more fun to read about body than knowing abt inanimate objects like computers, astronomy, geology etc?

How would i read anatomy if i go to medschool again?
Cardivascular anatomy.
Even lay people talk about hearts. Heart is such an interesting organ. I will imagine like becoming an open heart surgeon and will read everything about heart with passion. When i am reading osteology will imagine like becoming an orthopedic surgeon and would like to know all about fractures and how bones break. what happens in the bone histology when femur breaks? It is just application of facts.

If you just think abt reading anatomy it is plain bore. Just add some imagination it would be great fun. at the same time read about some comparitive anatomy. If a human anatomy is like this what would be the elephant anatomy? just think!. I am not asking you to read vet anatomy. just be curious. It could help you in research.

The same priciple stands for other subjects too. Man! Physiology is more interesting than sex. Is there any subject in the world more interesting than neurophysiology and cardiovascular physiology?

Other clinical subjects are more interesting than basic subjects.
Name any subjects which is not interesting. I agree biochemistry is boring.You need some memorizing. other than that every damn medical subject is interesting. you name it.
Paediatrics.
Rheumatology.
Vasular surgery.
even virology.
your life time is not adequate to read all subjects. That is the reason we specialize and sub-specialize.

Let me tell you how i motivated myself during my medschool. I was always a loner. You guys know how things work in india. Right?
I never had girl friends during medschool. Instead, i made my medical text books as my girl friends.

Girl friends

I gave imaginary names to my books like 'rekha' to pathology, 'anjali' to pharmacology, 'anu' to surgey book etc.I imagined like spending each day with each girl friend with given appointments. I always romanced with each of them all night long. I always loved buying virgin text books and deflowering them. I abused my medical text books.I enjoyed them. i always burnt midnight oil with my girlfriends.
Everyone had styles in reading. that was my style.
different strokes for different folks.

Knowledge is Power

Never read a medical book for just passing the test and then forgetting it. It is a waste of time. I would instead fail in a test.
Read it for knowledge. Read it with passion. Who told medical students are not respected.? Not only in india. Not only in Australia. Anywhere in the world. Knowledge command respect.

It does not matter who authored a text book. Medicine is universal. Can an american change the facts of human anatomy? Some brit books are extremely good. for ex. davidson text book of medicine. If you want to pass USMLE with good scores stick with american books from the beginining.

Foriegn Medical Graduates

Dont believe if someone says FMGs cannot go anywhere. They are always treated like second class citizens. It is true. You can achieve whatever you want if you are extraordinary.
I know a FMG from madras (not even an american citizen) who got into general surgical resideny in cleveland clinic who followed CT surgery and has become a director of CV surgery. This may be an exceptional case. The point is nothing is impossible.

Back Stabbing

Back stabbing is a rule in all fiercely competitive field like film industry, business and also medical field. you will realize this later in your life. Your best friend in medschool becomes your competitor in your profession if you enter the same field like surgery. You can see this in any country.

Your best friend and partner in anatomy class will compete with you for postgrad seat in india or residency in america. He will compete with you for job. He will compete with you for fellowship spot.He will start his practice next to you in the same street or town. He will be luring away your patients.
When you are above to become the chairman you will see your best friend in medschool is the sole competitor for you for that one coveted job you always wanted. it happens.

I have seen best friends in medschool who have turned into worst enemies. It is all part of the game. Some smart people start to play the game very early.


Good luck guys. :)

Very inspirational and motivating, NYer :)
(finals week is coming up)

what NYer said is wonderful and all, but for those of us that live in real world think again. the guy gave his med books names of girls. who does that sh-t? maybe he made love to them too and now the pages stuck together. for the most part in my opinion its bunch of flowery b.s.

no there is a lot of backstabbing in India... this includes NRI's and local students
???????

???????

means exactly what it says

means exactly what it says
Thanks for the explanation.....

Thanks truth!! :thumbup: :) If u don't mind me asking, how did u apply? Some ppl are telling my that they fax'ed their info to someone in SRMC, but other are telling me that they went there and paid the sum to get in. Also, the warnings were very helpful! Isn't the final year the year u get some expierence etc? Again, thank you so mcuh taht really helped a lot!! :)

what NYer said is wonderful and all, but for those of us that live in real world think again. the guy gave his med books names of girls. who does that sh-t? maybe he made love to them too and now the pages stuck together. for the most part in my opinion its bunch of flowery b.s.

:laugh: :laugh:

Some Truth Nottobetold.

Very inspirational and motivating, NYer :)
(finals week is coming up)

Thanks rxgal.
Do you want any BF name suggestions for your Goodman & Gillman? ;)

Thanks rxgal.
Do you want any BF name suggestions for your Goodman & Gillman? ;)
hahahaha... :laugh:
I think I will continue to call Goodman & Gilman by their real names, same goes with Dipiro, etc. Thanks for the offer though :D

hahahaha... :laugh:
I think I will continue to call Goodman & Gilman by their real names, same goes with Dipiro, etc. Thanks for the offer though :D

just a quick question..do u by any chacne drive a RX8??..cause ur username would sorta give it away if ya did :D

:laugh: :laugh:

Some Truth Nottobetold.


real original....find it hard to believe that was the best u could do, considering all the names u must handed out for your text books

just a quick question..do u by any chacne drive a RX8??..cause ur username would sorta give it away if ya did :D
lol..no i dont. is that an acura :confused:
rx stands for pharmacy and #8 is just random (no reason behind that) :p
hey do u go to UCI? i graduated 2004 in bio.

lol..no i dont. is that an acura :confused:
rx stands for pharmacy and #8 is just random (no reason behind that) :p
hey do u go to UCI? i graduated 2004 in bio.

oh ok..yeah i go to UCI..and no its not an acura, its a Mazda :)

oh ok..yeah i go to UCI..and no its not an acura, its a Mazda :)
My guess was pretty close...actually maybe not :laugh:
Have you developed science-library-phobia yet?

My guess was pretty close...actually maybe not :laugh:
Have you developed science-library-phobia yet?

hahah..yeah somewhat..actually im leaving UCI this year, to go to school in india...so i wont be around for much longer around these parts, lol

hahah..yeah somewhat..actually im leaving UCI this year, to go to school in india...so i wont be around for much longer around these parts, lol
oh k...well, all the best :luck:

oh k...well, all the best :luck:

thanx, same to u as well :)

I wanted to address some issues that Truth BeTold has brought up to our attention. I am actually a first year MBBS student here at SRMC -- soo i wanted to give my insight on what life is really like here...

OK first off

1. Backstabbing ?
Truthbetold... are you a f*ckin idiot.. dude lets be honest -- would you really rely on one person to get the portions for an internal.... no you must be a f*ckin idiot cause you didnt go to class and find out what the hell you were studying for the past month. MAN - its no surprise what will be coming on the internals because its the material that is covered in class -- moreso departments usually post up possible questions before the exam SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON.... and of course lets be fair there are those bastards that will give you wrong info just to mess with you-- and in all honesty.. they expect you to figure it out that their just messin with you.. but dude.. backstabbing.. welcome to life man.. it happens all the time.. its not only india --- and seniors are more then there for you to help you pass - the last thing they want to see is you failing

2. Mean grouch professors?
haha you swear all the profs here are senile-- sure of course you got the hard asses who want to shape you up and YES they will pick on you.. but lets be more specific..everytime a prof would pick on a student -- everytime in my class at least -- that kid would be doign soemthing stupid like texting or talking... and guess what the teacher wouldnt even start on the hard questions.. he would tell that student to stand up and simply say "what did I JUST say" -- if you want to talk back to that -- you dont have the respect and discipline to be in medical college...
And sure there are a few profs who are out to get you... but the majority of your time is spent with post graduates (classroom assistants) and they are always there to help you.. shoot i even was able to copy class notes from one of them no questions asked. By far you will find more support then criticisms if you are humble and approach appropriately.

3. Grading system
Personally when i first found out about the grading system ... shoot i was ecstatic... 50 percent no sweat. Then i heard how they grade and i became skeptical. But here is the truth -- of course in theory the highest score you can achieve is about 83 percent on an exam.... but what you have to understand is that SRMC like most med schools is pass/fail based.. so your goal is to cross 50. And of course -- no matter how beautiful or perfect you "thought" you wrote your paper they will never give you full marks that is they will give 4 or 4.5 out of 5 for a question.. and here is the logic if YOU regergitated the book... you didnt do anything great.. f*ck even a parrot can do that.. very few maybe one or two in a batch of 150 will actually take the time to open up Guyton or some heavy duty medical book and really try to understand a concept and write more then what is required
Furthermore.. these internals at the end of the day mean ****.... of course you should pass your share and the marks you get are negligble.... BUT what TRUTHbetold is not telling you is the hard grading for the internals is there to toughin you up for the universities (finals - end year exams)... and what he fails to mention is that grading for the finals is much more lax and lenient. Soo if we consider these internal exams to be practice exams.. of course the college wont give you excessive confidence and make you think you are perfect --- you can always strive to be better.. and thats what that 4.5 out of 5 means --- because you can get 5 on 5 on a question in the finals.

4. Lets Get Crunk.....
Social life? hmm there is a city.... there are people ready to mingle... there are beach parties.. or were you too cooped up in your room with no friends to realize all this? hmm intersting... There are quite a few places to hang out -- and there are damn chill people in the city -- and truly it comes down to the person you are.. If you are outgoing and frank, you will meet great people and always find something to do... if your an introvert .. then i hope you enjoy physiology cause thats the only damn book you will be reading.
Hostel life gets a lil boring -- of course... your in india... the comparison cant be met by a typical United States college -- because there the social scene is much more intense.. from frats, the clubs etc. So if you are expecting that.. defintely... thats not going to happen here.. but that is not to say you cannot make do-- there are plenty of opportunities to chill and hang out.. but remember the reason you decided to come to india first? to study and be a damn good doctor... the resources here... u sure as hell didnt come here to party.. cause if you did.. you would suck it up - go to a 4 year college - find a way to ace the MCATs and get into a damn good medical college....
One last thing-- i went to a university back in the states and i have to say.. i am quite happy that i dont have the distractions i did back then.. haha as any engineering student in the states will tell you -- Counterstrike over the university LAN is f*ckin crack cocaine... and god knows how many students dont attend class let alone drop out cause of having broadband internet.... ahh and the frat parties ah tho enjoyable can truly put a drain as well.... as what i am sayin here is you got positives and negatives and AGAIN as anything in life you make what you have and you make do with your resources - you dont bitch, you suck it up.

-----------
Again - for those interested in SRMC - i recommend people to talk to more people who currently go the college.. and for students and parents interested in SRMC please respond and address yoru concerns....

i am out... pEACE

how competitive is it to get into SRMC?

Most seats for NRIs in india are donation based -- though you have to meet qualifiications of having taken certain subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) which is almost certain if you went to a US high school

If you want to come to SRMC your best bet is to get a hold of the admissions dept or visit srmc.edu for further contact info. But to my knowledge this year is pretty much filled up. You have to realize medical schools in india are limited to the number of foreign seats they can give. Typically its about 15 percent which comes out to be around 20 or so NRI spots out of the 150 batch the college takes per year. The college operates on a first come first serve basis so if you show enough interest early on, moreso if you place a downpayment on tuition early on, your essentially guaranteed a spot.

well vick...everyone has a different experience in college....as in life...
yeah your disposition and attitude makes a big difference in what that experience is...i for one am glad i had the indian education that i did...it really prepares you..because i guess you learn that no matter what you do...as a student you can't be perfect. hence, the 4.5 out of 5 being max one can get. it was annoying then..but getting 100's in the US makes you complacent...I find myself studying only what's required.."what's going to be on the test"...thats it....no extra effort at all... is that good or bad???

my sis had the pleasure of attending college (biophysics) in india as well...and u r right...from what i hear..the pass/ fail thing stands ..... some students spend years taking Re's for exams thay failed.... so it seems like...u know...what are you learning there? but somehow..indian education is the best...prepares you to cram and spill really well :laugh: nah...seriously...its tough there...
anyways..do you go.../ did you go there?-SRMC?

I am a first year at SRMC..... and here is my take on the whole studyin what you need to...

If you notice the "class toppers" -- in the united states and even abroad here in india -- they got one common thread -- they do study more then what is required and by this i mean....

here are some examples
Like in engineering -- the kids who memorize code and complete assignments and sure.. they get an A -- but its the kid who codes something for fun... goes into a lil more depth.. that person comes out ahead... especially in job placement...

And at the end of the day it comes down to passion -- I know alot of kids who want to come to india and be a doc -- but they lack the passion and moreso the intensity to do so -- and this is not to say I am all passionate about medicine but i am gettin there... Unlike other fields -- the content in medicine is vast and diverse.... u have to take time with everything and make sure your on the ball

And finally.. haha of course.. i know soo many docs who just got by.. and damn... and they put to rest the phrase "you get what you give" -- cuase there gettin alot of $$ for something they dont like... but i like to think philosophical and think about the overall journy in life -- its what you really want to get out of it.. and thats self-satisfaction... soo if you study what is necessary and your content with it... then there it is... achieve self satisfaction... **haha just dont be self satisfied being a bum**

well guys ..i`m from mangalore , india , KMC under MAHE. for those preferring banfgalore over manipal just inquire abt manipal before u take final decisonj . Manipal is one of the best when it comes to facilities & infrastructure . sometime i feel this plce is just not right for us , the indian middle class . NRIs come here from all over the world . one more fact ..98 % of the ppl in manipal hacve cellphones ! good luck

Just to add to Thisisvick's great post, when it comes to pass or fail in SRMC, and when you get your credentials evaluated by the US credential evaluation services, a 60% is an A. In India, 75 % is distinction (which is equivalent to an A in the US).

I think, whenver someone gives opinions (high or low) on schools, you take it with a grain of salt. You are the one who is going to attend that school. Go to the school and ask the students, I am sure they are pretty willing to help. Look around the place, you will be living there!!! Dont complain that there was nothing after you get the admission!!! I am sure there is quite a bit in Chennai, from beaches to night clubs to almost everything.

Atleast thats what I did and found it great in SRDC (dental school), though I did find a few faults (students always complain about their school, the grass is always greener on the other side)!!! Every school has its pros and cons. I went to school in the US, just for a few prerequisites. A couple of things that I found weird here, were students couldnt do basic calculation. All the questions posted in the 'sample' exam was in the exam :eek: !!! Then whats the point in an exam???? If the OP found girls and guys sitting separately (which I think is a bad attitude on the schools part), I found the girls wearing micro miniskirts seated in the second row and with their feet on the seat in front row weird. That is cultural difference. And you should expect that when you are going to a different country. I have done my schooling in several countries and each country is different. Dont ever expect two countries to be the same.

And to the OP, of course you do have internet services to the room. You just have to pay extra .. 10000 rupees that is an equivalent of about 200 US dollars per year .. thats not bad. And NO, the girls dont have TVs in their own rooms!!! As for the sports in SRMC, there is cricket ... which if you dont know how to play or if you are not interested, no one can help it!! There is table tennis and soccer too. Obviously you cant expect baseball or American football in India!!!

To sum up ... TAKE OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT!!

Like in engineering -- the kids who memorize code and complete assignments and sure.. they get an A -- but its the kid who codes something for fun... goes into a lil more depth.. that person comes out ahead... especially in job placement...
And at the end of the day it comes down to passion --

so true...passion and innovation is the key to accomplishment...but its also something that can't be forced.

but i like to think philosophical and think about the overall journy in life -- its what you really want to get out of it.. and thats self-satisfaction... soo if you study what is necessary and your content with it... then there it is... achieve self satisfaction...

naah...i am not content with learning only whats necessary...it really bothers me sometimes...i feel like i am cheating...myself...out of a complete education...out of what i can potentially be by making the extra effort...

**haha just dont be self satisfied being a bum**

but hey! if a bum is self satisfied being a bum...and really happy with being a bum :cool: ...then Go! bum! :laugh: ..coz he/she has achieved what everyone is looking for... ;)

Just to add to Thisisvick's great post, when it comes to pass or fail in SRMC, and when you get your credentials evaluated by the US credential evaluation services, a 60% is an A. In India, 75 % is distinction (which is equivalent to an A in the US).

I think, whenver someone gives opinions (high or low) on schools, you take it with a grain of salt. You are the one who is going to attend that school. Go to the school and ask the students, I am sure they are pretty willing to help. Look around the place, you will be living there!!! Dont complain that there was nothing after you get the admission!!! I am sure there is quite a bit in Chennai, from beaches to night clubs to almost everything.

Atleast thats what I did and found it great in SRDC (dental school), though I did find a few faults (students always complain about their school, the grass is always greener on the other side)!!! Every school has its pros and cons. I went to school in the US, just for a few prerequisites. A couple of things that I found weird here, were students couldnt do basic calculation. All the questions posted in the 'sample' exam was in the exam :eek: !!! Then whats the point in an exam???? If the OP found girls and guys sitting separately (which I think is a bad attitude on the schools part), I found the girls wearing micro miniskirts seated in the second row and with their feet on the seat in front row weird. That is cultural difference. And you should expect that when you are going to a different country. I have done my schooling in several countries and each country is different. Dont ever expect two countries to be the same.

And to the OP, of course you do have internet services to the room. You just have to pay extra .. 10000 rupees that is an equivalent of about 200 US dollars per year .. thats not bad. And NO, the girls dont have TVs in their own rooms!!! As for the sports in SRMC, there is cricket ... which if you dont know how to play or if you are not interested, no one can help it!! There is table tennis and soccer too. Obviously you cant expect baseball or American football in India!!!

To sum up ... TAKE OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT!!

good advice mang....actually there is Baseball in india...one of my uncles during his college days was on a team that won the reigionals of his state. He said there are about 200 teams in india. He played shortstop and i think 3rd base. They had to get all their equipment from the US embassy up in Delhi and stuff. Imma try to organize american football games or somethin..on weekends possibly, when im going to school over in india...lol.

good advice mang....actually there is Baseball in india...one of my uncles during his college days was on a team that won the reigionals of his state. He said there are about 200 teams in india. He played shortstop and i think 3rd base. They had to get all their equipment from the US embassy up in Delhi and stuff. Imma try to organize american football games or somethin..on weekends possibly, when im going to school over in india...lol.

Truthfully, I did try to play, unsuccessfully, a little baseball during my high school in Chennai ... but there was no good instructor!!! Good luck on your mission ... :D

1. Backstabbing ?
Truthbetold... are you a f*ckin idiot.. dude lets be honest -- would you really rely on one person to get the portions for an internal.... no you must be a f*ckin idiot cause you didnt go to class and find out what the hell you were studying for the past month. MAN - its no surprise what will be coming on the internals because its the material that is covered in class -- moreso departments usually post up possible questions before the exam SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON.... and of course lets be fair there are those bastards that will give you wrong info just to mess with you-- and in all honesty.. they expect you to figure it out that their just messin with you.. but dude.. backstabbing.. welcome to life man.. it happens all the time.. its not only india --- and seniors are more then there for you to help you pass - the last thing they want to see is you failing


ASK NO QUESTION AND U WILL BE TOLD NO LIES :D :D

Do u people still have Prof Sembulingam? I remember one of my friends using his "A Textbook of Physiology".

No he left awhile ago actually.. tho he has a new edition of his book sells pretty well considering its not endoresed by the physio department

lol..no i dont. is that an acura :confused:
rx stands for pharmacy and #8 is just random (no reason behind that) :p
hey do u go to UCI? i graduated 2004 in bio.


Wait, I thought Rx stood for prescription?

Wait, I thought Rx stood for prescription?

prescription=what pharmacists and doctors write. I thin Rx just stands for medicine...

Truth be told, nothing but the truth, so here we go....
Dude nobody invited u to go 2 India 2 Study.U went there on yr own.Question is WHY?
Because U did not have it in u to make it in the USA-right?Guess what, even after your dad paid cash for you to bypass the Merit based system, u r still having problems-right?
Now lets do a review of how your case looks to others:
Some dude was a loser at home[in your case USA], so he bought a medical seat with his dad's money bypassing the merit system, and he still could not make it!

Pls blame India each time you have a failure, do not worry ,it will work like a charm,no body will know you r a loser.And all those doctors who graduate out of Indian med schools also did not learn much,though they are every where and have a good reputation......but do not worry just stick 2 your story that Indian med schools-all of them-have lousy teachers, not good enough to teach a loser from the US whose dad bought him a med school seat ,to begin with!!


P.S-U did not go to a US school because u wanted to save money?Or is it because U can't even get a cumulative 21 at MCAT and have a GPA below 3.5 your whole f*cking life?U can never make it here in the US coz u r stupid.The only way is thru India for u,but in all probablity u will sc*ew that up too.

ASK NO QUESTION AND U WILL BE TOLD NO LIES :D :D

Do u people still have Prof Sembulingam? I remember one of my friends using his "A Textbook of Physiology".

He left a couple of years back, to Singapore .. I think. In the beginning, he made hand written notes and handed it to a couple of us students for the exam and it was sooo helpful .. he turned it into a book in a couple of month's time :D !!!

May be Manipal is an exception. I haven't been to Manipal, but some of my cousins and friends went to Manipal( some of them came back as drug addicts :eek: (not medical school though) ). But 99% of the Indian schools work exactly the same way as OP mentioned.

To caliAtenza,
I hope Manipal works best for you. But if you have never been to India before and you don't know much about the social conditions and cultural restrictions, you are going to have hard time. It doesn't matter if it is SRMC or Manipal.

Good Luck

Ravi,
Sorry to hear about your friends and cousins, but, unfortunately they made wrong choices and decisions. I am sure you did not intend to mean it but wrong decisions of a few individuals does not reflect an institution's image :) . The positive note is that most (99%) of the individuals who came out of Manipal are top notch professionals/executives accross the globe. Having done a long stint at Boeing in Seattle I can vouch for that (having said that, the next time you sit in a Boeing Aircraft you can remember that a Manipal computer engineer had a significant hand in making that aircraft). But, yes, I agree with your feedback to caliAtenza. I would like to apologize to you if you did not like my posting but I wanted to dispel any misconceptions about Manipal in general as I went through this phase (of drug addicts) and almost ended up not going there(I would have lost out a lot if that happened).

Drug addicts come out of the IITs too and of course Harvard, Stanford etc. :laugh:

How is the work and the time off u get in the different courses? For ex: Is there more time off in the Detist batch as opposed to the MBBS batch??

How is the work and the time off u get in the different courses? For ex: Is there more time off in the Detist batch as opposed to the MBBS batch??
:eek: :p :eek: eeks !!! I just cant believe that this topic is still continuing !!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

d

I wanted to address some issues that Truth BeTold has brought up to our attention. I OK first off

1. Backstabbing ?
Truthbetold... are you a f*ckin idiot.. dude lets be honest -- would you really rely on one person to get the portions for an internal....
Man, I was thinking the same thing.

2. Mean grouch professors?
haha you swear all the profs here are senile-- sure of course you got the hard asses who want to shape you up and YES they will pick on you..
Most of the professors are really good, and I've gotten to know them well since graduating. They are all well meaning, and lots of great teachers.
3. Grading system
BUT what TRUTHbetold is not telling you is the hard grading for the internals is there to toughin you up for the universities (finals - end year exams)...
Agree with you. Gotta be good to get through finals...
4. Lets Get Crunk.....
There are quite a few places to hang out -- and there are damn chill people in the city -- and truly it comes down to the person you are.. If you are outgoing and frank, you will meet great people and always find something to do... if your an introvert .. then i hope you enjoy physiology cause thats the only damn book you will be reading.
Madras is a great city...I had some of the best times of my life there...I think about 20% of the class whined and moaned and hung out on campus all day, and then the rest of us really enjoyed it there...
Hostel life gets a lil boring --
Truthbetold said the hostels suck, but the guys NRI dorm is AC, everyone has TVs and fridges,,girls dorm is in a hotel. If you're smart you live off campus like I did.


-----------
Again - for those interested in SRMC - i recommend people to talk to more people who currently go the college.. and for students and parents interested in SRMC please respond and address yoru concerns....

i am out... pEACE I absolutely agree


TruthBeTold, I think you are jaded by SRMC and are probably one of those 20% who never adapted socially.

Well, TruthBeTold it was a great thread...its just that a lot of the stuff you posted is pretty exxagerated and wrong. It decribes the college in an unfair light, and I as an alumni, don't really feel like listening someone's bullsh*t about my alma mater.

You paint such broad strokes about how much life sucks there. Im pretty curious as to what exactly your beef was....did you fail a lot? Were you forced by your parents to go there or something? Did you not fit in?

Grow up and get over it !

Times get rough...especially the summer, and study holidays...but overall, the education was great, and I had a blast....good luck w/ USMLEs TRUTHBETOLD, Ill bet this is why you are stressing out about stuff. Dont worry...just do a lot of MCQs, and youll be fine.

Maybe once you get through and become a full-grown doctor you'll mellow out and see what a blessing the place really was.

Every graduating alumni I know who has passed the boards is now in a residency program. The guys I graduated with are all either in residency, or practicing succesfully (like me).

Truthbetold, suck it up and face life's challenges.
This isnt a cake walk.

SEE THE POSITIVES!

TruthBeTold, I think you are jaded by SRMC and are probably one of those 20% who never adapted socially.

Well, TruthBeTold it was a great thread...its just that a lot of the stuff you posted is pretty exxagerated and wrong. It decribes the college in an unfair light, and I as an alumni, don't really feel like listening someone's bullsh*t about my alma mater.

You paint such broad strokes about how much life sucks there. Im pretty curious as to what exactly your beef was....did you fail a lot? Were you forced by your parents to go there or something? Did you not fit in?

Grow up and get over it !

Times get rough...especially the summer, and study holidays...but overall, the education was great, and I had a blast....good luck w/ USMLEs TRUTHBETOLD, Ill bet this is why you are stressing out about stuff. Dont worry...just do a lot of MCQs, and youll be fine.

Maybe once you get through and become a full-grown doctor you'll mellow out and see what a blessing the place really was.

Every graduating alumni I know who has passed the boards is now in a residency program. The guys I graduated with are all either in residency, or practicing succesfully (like me).

Truthbetold, suck it up and face life's challenges.
This isnt a cake walk.

SEE THE POSITIVES!


aaaaaaaaaaaaah mustafamond!

Grow up and get over it !

Times get rough...especially the summer, and study holidays...but overall, the education was great, and I had a blast....

Maybe once you get through and become a full-grown doctor you'll mellow out and see what a blessing the place really was.

Every graduating alumni I know who has passed the boards is now in a residency program. The guys I graduated with are all either in residency, or practicing succesfully (like me).

Truthbetold, suck it up and face life's challenges.
This isnt a cake walk.

SEE THE POSITIVES!

Come on musta! Life isnt easy in madras even now. I am just back from Madras visit nearly after a decade . Yep. I went to your almamater to meet my classmate who is a faculty in neurology. SRMC buildings and infrastructure cannot be compared to american standards. My friend was trying to impress me with his 'new' botox techniques for stroke patients. I did not want to disappoint him by saying that botox is in existence and practice here for several years. Hmmm..hospital cafeteria was good with warm parathas and chicken curry. I also enjoyed the Vanilla milkshake.yummy!.

On my way back from SRMC to the city....i was thinking about the misfortune of Desi-american NRIs coming for medical education to India. It was so difficult even for NYer to survive that short visit to madras after living in the US for few years. Damn! i could imagine how hard it would be for a wealthy and sophisticated american raised/born young adult to come here, survive and complete nearly five years of stressful medical education and training. There are so many barriers in India to overcome and successfully attain your goal. Language and Weather are the worse. It is not easy without speaking local language for example tamil in Madras.

I have to congratulate you and your fellow NRIs who have successfully completed your task of going to india for MBBS, passing USMLEs and getting into Residency. It is much difficult THAN a FOB coming to US after medical school in India, passing USMLEs and getting into residency. Both are different ball games though.
Madras has changed so much in the past decade. It was so difficult for me to digest the upgraded version of madras city. Toyotos, Fords, Hyundais, designer outlets, International hotels, spas, fast foods. Everything was there. Still the 'sea of humanbeings', humidity, dust, noise and pollution was dominating. I tried very hard to find a beautiful woman in traditional indian sari with bunch of jasmine flowers in her head. No success. I stayed at resideny towers and to checked out the night club scene. Man! indian chicks dancing in the club was like seeing patients have tonic-clonic seizures in the epilepsy clinic.
BTW....How do the locals call you? Like FOBs here....are you called FFAs? Fresh from America? Man! FOBs hardly get any chicks in America...(xclude NYer here :cool: ) i guess FFAs get all the chicks in India..right?

I stayed at resideny towers and to checked out the night club scene. Man! indian chicks dancing in the club was like seeing patients have tonic-clonic seizures in the epilepsy clinic.
BTW....How do the locals call you? Like FOBs here....are you called FFAs? Fresh from America? Man! FOBs hardly get any chicks in America...(xclude NYer here ) i guess FFAs get all the chicks in India..right?
?
NYer You are, and will always an FOB.

And btw, the club-scene at residency towers is not the best place to party.
U think its dirty there?
Hey..to each his own... I dont think it was that dusty and dirty. Had a great time too.

 -For students from the USA, all of you (as did I) will realize how spoiled you were to have the teachers you did in high school. I can not comment on the quality of education in an American college as I have not attended one. NONE of the professors in SRMC have degrees in teaching at all.

I have a 4 year undergraduate degree, and I don't think that a single one of my professors had a degree in teaching.

Furthermore, many of them were from other countries, several of which came from eastern countries, like India for example. Same things apply; subjectivity, and unspoken rules like don't talk back to the teacher. In fact, I even see some of this from American professors. I wouldn't expect this to be different in Medical school in any part of the world.

I wish i could be the Minister of Medical Education for Government of India. ( Interestingly Indian Central Health Minister is a doctor who graduated from Madras Medical College). I would revamp the existing whole medical education in india to new level which will then produce worlds finest physicans. Imagine india churning out best physicians and exporting them all over the world and also propogating medical tourism at home. That means world class physicians and surgeons practicing all over india which brings patients from all over the world.
This situation will compete with information technology. India can beat China in progress hands down.

Hmmmm..what can we do? It is very simple. Convert all existing medical schools into 'medical concentration camps'. Torture medical students with mandatory knowledge perfusion. Medical students must eat, breathe and kiss medical text books. Grays anatomy, Davidson, Bailey & Love should become their bibles. Surgical training should mimick like military training. All medical instituitions should be in par with AIIMS in quality. Government of India should convert the indian medical schools administration like IIT. There should be no political interference.
If that happens, india can produce worlds finest quality surgeons and physicans. Indian MDs would have a market like an american pop star, Italian designer or a French Chef at that point.

^ somebody is sounding like he has downed a couple of beers

^ somebody is sounding like he has downed a couple of beers

:laugh: :laugh:

I was accepted to SRMC and will be attending this summer. Anybody else heading to Chennai?

Any advice from current students/alumni?

thisisvick (vivek)...have a few questions....and hi jumpman23!

Come on musta! Life isnt easy in madras even now. I am just back from Madras visit nearly after a decade . Yep. I went to your almamater to meet my classmate who is a faculty in neurology. SRMC buildings and infrastructure cannot be compared to american standards. My friend was trying to impress me with his 'new' botox techniques for stroke patients. I did not want to disappoint him by saying that botox is in existence and practice here for several years. Hmmm..hospital cafeteria was good with warm parathas and chicken curry. I also enjoyed the Vanilla milkshake.yummy!.

On my way back from SRMC to the city....i was thinking about the misfortune of Desi-american NRIs coming for medical education to India. It was so difficult even for NYer to survive that short visit to madras after living in the US for few years. Damn! i could imagine how hard it would be for a wealthy and sophisticated american raised/born young adult to come here, survive and complete nearly five years of stressful medical education and training. There are so many barriers in India to overcome and successfully attain your goal. Language and Weather are the worse. It is not easy without speaking local language for example tamil in Madras.

I have to congratulate you and your fellow NRIs who have successfully completed your task of going to india for MBBS, passing USMLEs and getting into Residency. It is much difficult THAN a FOB coming to US after medical school in India, passing USMLEs and getting into residency. Both are different ball games though.
Madras has changed so much in the past decade. It was so difficult for me to digest the upgraded version of madras city. Toyotos, Fords, Hyundais, designer outlets, International hotels, spas, fast foods. Everything was there. Still the 'sea of humanbeings', humidity, dust, noise and pollution was dominating. I tried very hard to find a beautiful woman in traditional indian sari with bunch of jasmine flowers in her head. No success. I stayed at resideny towers and to checked out the night club scene. Man! indian chicks dancing in the club was like seeing patients have tonic-clonic seizures in the epilepsy clinic.
BTW....How do the locals call you? Like FOBs here....are you called FFAs? Fresh from America? Man! FOBs hardly get any chicks in America...(xclude NYer here :cool: ) i guess FFAs get all the chicks in India..right?
I'm visiting this summer. Will pay a visit to my Alma Mater and possibly MMC and SRMC - I don't know if any of my friends are there now - need to find out. I'll probably give some seminars in my medschool if my plans work out, let's see. Btw, it's good to see you around here.

Come on musta! Life isnt easy in madras even now. I am just back from Madras visit nearly after a decade . Yep. I went to your almamater to meet my classmate who is a faculty in neurology. SRMC buildings and infrastructure cannot be compared to american standards. My friend was trying to impress me with his 'new' botox techniques for stroke patients. I did not want to disappoint him by saying that botox is in existence and practice here for several years. Hmmm..hospital cafeteria was good with warm parathas and chicken curry. I also enjoyed the Vanilla milkshake.yummy!.

On my way back from SRMC to the city....i was thinking about the misfortune of Desi-american NRIs coming for medical education to India. It was so difficult even for NYer to survive that short visit to madras after living in the US for few years. Damn! i could imagine how hard it would be for a wealthy and sophisticated american raised/born young adult to come here, survive and complete nearly five years of stressful medical education and training. There are so many barriers in India to overcome and successfully attain your goal. Language and Weather are the worse. It is not easy without speaking local language for example tamil in Madras.

I have to congratulate you and your fellow NRIs who have successfully completed your task of going to india for MBBS, passing USMLEs and getting into Residency. It is much difficult THAN a FOB coming to US after medical school in India, passing USMLEs and getting into residency. Both are different ball games though.
Madras has changed so much in the past decade. It was so difficult for me to digest the upgraded version of madras city. Toyotos, Fords, Hyundais, designer outlets, International hotels, spas, fast foods. Everything was there. Still the 'sea of humanbeings', humidity, dust, noise and pollution was dominating. I tried very hard to find a beautiful woman in traditional indian sari with bunch of jasmine flowers in her head. No success. I stayed at resideny towers and to checked out the night club scene. Man! indian chicks dancing in the club was like seeing patients have tonic-clonic seizures in the epilepsy clinic.
BTW....How do the locals call you? Like FOBs here....are you called FFAs? Fresh from America? Man! FOBs hardly get any chicks in America...(xclude NYer here :cool: ) i guess FFAs get all the chicks in India..right?



Actually, all the American Desi girls in my class at SRMC are hooked up with FOBs

Actually, all the American Desi girls in my class at SRMC are hooked up with FOBs

Nah! they are not FOBs. Those folks are called Hardcore Desis :eek: . You cant call them FOBs. Hardcore desis have not got on boats and crossed the pond yet. BTW....do not underestimate hardcore desis. There are several silver spoon fed kids at SRMC like sons of police chiefs,cabinet ministers, top of the line surgeons, industrialists, movie stars excetras. They are chick magnets. Two of my family friends hooked up with American desi chicks and married them.

FYI: MM was a chick magnet.

I'm visiting this summer.

I hope you dont get burnt in madras summer. :scared:

I was accepted to SRMC and will be attending this summer. Anybody else heading to Chennai?

Any advice from current students/alumni?

jumpman-

Congratulations man for getting into one of the top medschool in india. I always think thrice before giving any advice to someone. Take this only as my suggestions. advice is a big word. I am writing this here only because of your personal request. I am not very sure what you really need academic advice? or social advice? WOW..it is so cool FOB living in america giving advice to FFA going to india. Things are changing topsy turvy. Is this gonna be like survival tips for FFA?

Whatever man, i have seen both ends. I have experienced the medical eduation on both sides of the ocean. so, i can offer some help. There is definitely difference in medical education between india and the united states. But, no big deal. The basic medical knowledge is universal. Medical students learn the same thing all over the world. Australian medstudents are not going to learn anything different than indians. Dont worry too much about going to india. You are gonna be a better doctor if you throw some sincere efforts during your 5 years in india.
Let us chat abt social survival skills another time. Lemme talk abt academic survival now.

Before stepping into the plane to india, make serious resolutions. You must always remember the objective of jumpman going to india. I have seen some american desi folks who went to india for medschool have failed to complete the mission. Many have failed to complete the medschool, some have completed and have failed to pass the USMLEs, few have passed USMLE and still struggling to get into residency. There could be various factors for these scenerios. It should never happen to jumpman. Plan ahead. Plan for the next 5 years before getting into your airplane. This is more important than your boarding pass.

Nothing is more important than learning aids and books. Never ever hesitate to buy any books. Always remember $$$ you have spent on admission and $$ you are gonna spend for living expenses. Books cost nothing when you compare those expenses. The point is never be stingy on books. The moment you enter your SRMC campus, start dreaming abt the day you are gonna leave that campus successfully. Start dreaming for that wonderful day. start your countdown.

(to be continued)

hey,
i did my undergrad from srmc and i dont think it is such a bad one....anyway i was trying to contact some old classmates and couldnt get hold of any..........does anybody know any docs from 1999-2000 batch mbbs.....help me out guys...
email me at ccourt_05@yahoo.com if there is any info...
thanks a lot in advance.

Time and tide wait for none. Dont ever think 5 years in india is a long period. I vividly remember my first day in medschool and now am gonna retire soon. :rolleyes: but, time has passed so fast. Your 5 year period is slightly longer than US presidential term. If US prez can change the world in just one presidential term, jumpman can easily change his own life upside down in 5 years. right?

Imagine your medschool career is like starting a new business. You got to work hard to make your business flourish and profit. It is absolutely equivalent to starting a business. You have invested thousands of dollars into this study business. so, make out a plan and execute it.

Let us design a business plan for jumpman:

Business Owner: Jumpman
Investment: $$$
Partner: None
Short term goal: ( 2006 -2011)
1. Get MBBS degree
2. Pass USMLE
3. Getting into residency.

Long term goal: (2011-2041)
1. Residency training
2. Becoming a specialist
3. Help people ( 1st priority)
4. make $$$$$ in right way

How to achieve your short term goal?
Take baby steps.
Becoming a top surgeon or physician is not gonna happen overnight. Do you think famous NY surgeons like Subramanian or Ranawat became celebrity surgeons overnight? we are just seeing the final picture. How many thousands of manhours and sleepless nights those folks would have spent to achieve their dreams? How many hundreds of night calls? how many text books read burning the midnight oil? How many hundreds of marathon surgeries to refine their surgical skills? How many hundreds of hours toiling in the OR? How many family occasions they would have missed in their career? It is not only them. Even take Tom Cruise or Oprah Winfrey. They work more than anyone in the world. I have heard that Tom Cruise sleeps only 4 hours a day. There is no gain without pain.

PS: Jumpman- feel free to tell me when you are fed up with my advice. This thread is gonna go forever. You asked for it.

First year is anatomy, physiology and biochemistry.
Indians follow British text books like R.J.Last, Grants anatomy and indian authored BD Chaurasia. Grays anatomy is a reference text book. Unless you plan to become an anatomist, dont buy Grays text book of anatomy.
BD Chaurasia is a boring book. I would recommend Grants and Last. They are wonderful books as far as i remember. Always read applied anatomy books. I have no idea abt American text books. Embryology by Inderber Singh is OK.

If you are plannning to become a future surgeon. Anatomy is very important. Concentrate on anatomy dissection lab. We always had two and half hours of anatomy dissection spent in a long hall which was like size of two football grounds. Each table with a body shared by half dozen medstudents. Chicks were separated from guys in anatomy dissection. There was no co-education dissection table unfortunately. I dont think it was a good idea.Because folks like me half heartedly concentrated on dissection of dead bodies half the time and other half time was spent on checking out alive human bodies on the opposite side.

Future of the medstudents could be easily predicted if you carefully observe the body language of the medstudents in the dissection hall. People who were destined to become internists will touch the heart dissection occasionally and people who were destined to become psychiatrists will stay away atleast 10 ft from the dissection table. You could see the students who are gonna become surgeons in future will always be the ones who will be dissecting. Students who are gonna come to america will be daydreaming staring outside the window.

Cunninghams manual of anatomy is a great book. You have to eat and digest that book from cover and cover if you wanna become a surgeon.
Find out the available gold medals and honor prizes for the first year subjects. Usually students will be laid back in the first year because of the new atmosphere and getting adapted to the school etc. If you are smart utilize the oppurtunity and seize the gold medals. Look out for the local hardcore desis with razor sharp eyes, sitting always in the front row of the class with giant appetite for knowledge. Make friends with them. Always hang out with people who are smarter than you. If possible get a girl friend who has beauty and brains. Those category chicks always prefer older guys. Give a try anyway.

Post all the advice that you have even if this thread goes on forever, I am interested and I am sure others are!

Giving advice to someone for free is so cool. It is the easiest job in the world. So i will do it until you say enuff.

Anatomy is the foundation subject for your medical career. It is really the building block. Anatomy knowledge is going to help all your career for a very long time to come. Whatever you are gonna do, like residencies in general surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, radiology, orthopedics, pathology and few other specialities need strong anatomy background. If you know the anatomy well, you are the king. Medicine is advancing so fast, there is already filelds like telesurgery and minimally invasive key hole surgeries in all surgical branches. whatever happens in future of medicine anatomy is never going to change. If you planning for a psychiatry career, dont worry too much abt anatomy. Check out madras women colleges instead of wasting your time with anatomy.

Anatomy is an interesting subject. But, you can make it exciting and remember it well with few tricks. For example start with shoulder and upper extremity anatomy. You are gonna learn all about muscles, nerves, arteries and veins. It is like reading a map if you learn it plain and try to memorize it. If you stary applying facts it becomes very exciting.
So, you have to know the pathological conditions which can happen in shoulder and upper extremity.
Read very briefly about diseases of upper extremity like carpal tunnel syndrome, dupuytrens contracture, compartment syndrome, nerve entrapment syndromes, thoracic outlet syndrome etc and relate that with anatomy study. That is applied anatomy. Picture memory helps a long way.

I always loved staring those multicolor anatomy illustrations. Develop interest to those red (arteries), blue (veins), brown(muscles) and yellow(nerve and bones) colors. When you become bored with reading anatomy text open your anatomy atlas book (Netters). Keep staring at them. Anatomy atlas should become your playboy magazine. You should scan those pictures and imprint in your brain with equivalent interest to playboy models. or you can even open the playboy magazine and imagine the anatomical structures inside the nude models. whatever works for you. different folks have different strokes.

The reason for my comparison with playboy mag: studies have shown human mens brain is at hyperalert state surging with adrenaline searching for details with ocular lens power of high accuracy while reading this magazine. This enhances anatomy learning also.

Ostelogy is also important. Buy a full size human skeleton model and keep in your room. Having this in your room is more important than Aishwarya rai's full size poster.

It looks like NYer is goin' on advice spree here. The point in the previous post is make learning anatomy ridiculously cool and fun. Learn all about pectoral girdle and affliated anatomy while browsing playboy.

I just reviewed truthtobetold's first post in this thread. I really think whatever he said is absolutely true abt life at srmc. You are expecting to face some tough years in your life. It is not going to be worse than life for american soldiers experiencing at Bagdad. ( different country, different culture, hot sun, mission to accomplish!) Atleast something good is gonna happen to jumpman at the end of 5 years. You have a chance of experiencing something different in your life. There is no thrill in enjoying monotonous sophisticated life all your life journey. Think different. Take this as positive experience in your life. You are going to live in a different culture with two extremes. extremely rich and different grades of poverty. You will get a chance to realize how lucky and fortunate you are to be an american citizen.

Hang out with smart folks. But, you dont necessarily always have to hang out with rich and cool folks like you from the US. You will see mixture of students from all walks of life in the campus. NRIs, Students from powerful and wealthy families in india and also good percentage of students from middle and lower middle class families who got into medschool only because of pure merit. You will also meet some dirt poor students whose whole family property value could be less than value of the car you are driving now. If you get a chance also mingle with them. I promise you will find some highest quality humanbeings from that crowd.

There are different reading techniques.
Some students read everything in the book without focus. obsessive reading. Some read only to get scores and retain nothing. selective reading with focus to get high scores is always better. Remember to retain the facts.

Do not read the origin and insertion of all muscle groups in the body. Read and focus only on important muscles, course of important arteries and nerves. read about specific muscle function. remember what happens in specific nerve paralysis.
read only those important structures again and again. You have to read about other insignificant muscles also. but, you dont have to retain them in your memory. It is just like in life. People care only about important people. They ask about only important structures in your exams.
Gold medal and prize exam questions are usually repeated once in five years or something like that. speak with previous prize winners. Winning a gold medal will change your life in medschool. You become an instant celebrity in your class. First impression is the best. You get friends and foes if become a medal winner. I guarantee it can start jumpman fan club which can line up chicks for you.

Every medschool has a place called anatomy museum which is rarely visited by medstudents. Students visit hospital cafeteria hundred million times during their 5 year period. Some might not even know the direction of their anatomy museum. This place is like a church. Very quiet and serene. sometimes romantic too. good place for a quiet date!. Make sure to go here every week in your 1st year. Even if you study one specimen for a week, you can become an anatomy master in your first year. Some medstudents think it is so cool to visit art museum ( Guggenheim??) in NY city paying like 25 dollars and they dont understand a thing from those scriptures.

Anyone here? Jumpman, are you still listening? :laugh:

Anyone here? Jumpman, are you still listening? :laugh:

Yeah I am still here! One question I had for you, is what do you guys do socially? Assuming that your in class 6x a week for the bulk of the day, I imagine you guys do something to blow off some steam.

Yeah I am still here! One question I had for you, is what do you guys do socially? Assuming that your in class 6x a week for the bulk of the day, I imagine you guys do something to blow off some steam.

Awww...it is good you're still listening. I have this nasty habit of going over the board on anything. If you just gimme an inch i always take a yard from you. I haven't finished anatomy yet. social break? that is another great topic for discussion. It is better to ask mustafamond abt that issue. He is a party animal. My social steam break was wild, wild east! you dont wanna hear abt that here. Let me stick only with academics here buddy. Man, i hate to be the solo artist here in this thread. I also like some more folks come and pitch in more advice for jumpman here.

Always go for the gold.

Imagine medical school campus as your Hollywood town. Medical students are the movie stars. patients are the public. Medical subjects are the movies. Gold medals are like academy awards. (NYer is goin' crazy here!). only the best bag the academy award.

In movie industry academy award winning is like jackpot. Once an academy winner he or she is all set for a glowing movie career. Until that artist dies he/she will be always remembered as an academy award winner or nominee. samething with doctors. If you are a gold medal winner in anatomy or important subjects like surgery in medschool you are a STAR!. That goes a long way in your career. It helps you in the residency and through out your medical career. Your class mates will remember jumpman forever. Patient love gold medal winning doctor.

Why do you think NYer is sitting and writing these posts for you?. I really applaud your initiation in asking me for advice. It shows your enthusiasm in learning. You are definitely gonna be succesfull in medschool. Every thousand mile journey start with one single first step. Your first step to india is very good. You are in right direction.

Treat life in medschool like Trumps 'apprentice' show. Your class mates are your competitors. Remember medschool is man eating man world. it is a game of survival of the fittest. Project of your medschool show is 'Best outgoing student of SRMC in year 2011'. Bag all the gold medals and awards. Get involved in basic research. Write in bold letters in your bathroom mirror with red lipstick.
I want to be the best outgoing medstudent. Read it sincerely every single day when you brush your teeth. It is gonna work like magic. Believe me.

Many people will discourage you in medschool. They will say things like once an FMG you are always an FMG. It is hard for FMGs to get into top tier program. Getting into competitive program is difficult for FMGs. excetras. excetras. They will depress you.Dont believe others. Believe yourself. You can do whatever you want. Anything is possible. Fix your goals. and work in right direction. hardwork. determination. perseverance. positive outlook. dreams always work.

Hello All,

I just accepted admission at SRMC for summer of 2006. New Yorker, the information you have bestowed upon us (and myself in particular) is absolutely invaluable, and being a new person on these boards, I wanted to specifically thank you for taking the time to give your advice that seems unecessarily hard to obtain these days.

Anyways, long story short, I'm a 3rd year at a university in southern california, and I have decided to expand my horizons and begin the journey through medical school. I am of Indian descent, and am familiar with weather, and the conditions of living there, so I have prepared myself for those changes. I'm just on the boards right now to digest some information and meet new people.

Nice to read everyones posts!

Newyorker -- these are a terrific set of posts. I wish I had had the opportunity to have received this advice before starting medical school!

I also wish someone had given me advice during my medschool days. Whatever, my role here is to make our jumpman to become the worlds finest medstudent. a role model for future 21st century medical students of the world.

What is the common factor between following people?
Mike Jordan, Bill Clinton, Academy award winning Clooney, Hugh Hefner, Tiger Woods, Donald Trump? I know they all are celebrities. More than that they have something which is so special character lacking amoung commoners. They all love what they do. Mike Jordan is passionate abt basketball. Clinton loves politics. Trump is passionate abt rebuilding new york city. Hugh Hefners passion is women. If you carefully analyze over achievers they all have that common trait. passion in their own business. Money does not motivates for a long time. It is only love for the game.
What should be jumpmans passion? Medicine without a doubt.

There is only subtle difference between prize winning medstudent and hardworking medstudent. prize winning medstudent is like academy award winning George Clooney. George breathes films. Medal winning medstudent also breathes medicine. I'm not exaggerating here jumpman. Let me reveal you the mind of a gold medal winning anatomy student here.

What do you watch in TV for entertainment and sports? Our celebrity medstudent also watches the same stuff like you, but there is a difference in thinking of both minds. He also watches NBA tournaments, MTV, US open, Golf excetras.

When he is glued to basket ball in TV, he does not simply watches LeBron shooting points. He also thinks about all shoulder actions of LeBron. Protraction. Retraction. External rotation. Internal totation. All about periscapular muscles. Even he recalls the nerve supply of shoulder muscles. While watching Tiger, he thinks abt golfers elbow and related conditions. When watching Sania Mirza in US open tournament he is excited, but does not forget to think about arborization of mammary ducts and quadriceps/hamstring muscles.

I was not kidding when i mentioned all medstudents should eat, breathe and kiss medicine. I really meant what i said, jumpman. Stop breathing for a moment and think about inspiratory and expiratory muscles. When eating your Padthai in chinese restaurant with your fancy fork think about intrinsic muscles of your hand. Think about the beauty and structure of hand anatomy and its delicate movements. Appreciate the anatomy of lumbricals and interrosei muscles. Can Steve Job create a cool structure which can even come close to human hand? Nano ipod..big deal? Think different jumpamn. sure, think about buccal muscle group when kissing your girl friend. That is slightly complicated. forget it.
Am i drivin' you nuts? This just the beginning. :D

Nice posts, as always NY'er.

One question, what did you and others do in regards to studying for the USMLE? Since the Indian curriculum is a little bit different and places a different emphasis on different topics, how would you go about reviewing?

Do you recommend any books, such as First Aid to take and read concurrently during the first year for the appropriate subjects, or should we not worry about it and just start prepping for it after we have completed med. school?

Dont worry jumpman. I will take you through every step in this process of passing medschool.

My story is slightly different. I did not take USMLE in the medschool. but, passed couple of years after medschool which was very hard. You must take step 1 after your preclinical years which is not gonna be difficult at all. American exams are really fair exams compared to indian and british medical examinations. American exam test the candidates whole knowledge package. It is well rounded and scientifically tested examination method. Indian and british examinations are biased and includes oral examination techniques. They test very selectively which is not an intelligent method of assessment.
If you know the stuff, you will pass USMLEs without any problem. It is also knowing the 'technique' to score high. Dont even think about taking step 1 after completing medschool. You have to prepare collaterally for MBBS and USMLE. It is simple.

USMLE:
1. First get the examination guidelines and syllabus. Read it thoroughly and understand the exam pattern.
2.For example (anatomy) They have percentage of questions like neuroanatomy 10% histology 5%. I dont remember the exact numbers. Concentrate and focus on subject which carries higher percentage. They always describe in the syllabus about topics which will be tested in the examination. Read this again and again and know what to read.
3. Always read high yield books. It is OK to spend on First Aid books. Buy books like illustrated anatomy, physiology and biochemistry.
4.Make sure to attend Kaplan review courses during your US visit. I have no idea abt Indian Kaplan courses.
5. Buy illustrated books on human embryology, osteology and histology.

If you do your anatomy home work every day in your room, listen sincerely to lectures in the classroom and religiously perform your anatomy dissection. I dont think you will ever have trouble in passing any anatomy test given anywhere in the world.

once again, thank you for the info New Yorker

One question I had was that I am not familiar with 'First Aid' books, could you (or jumpman23) give me some info on these?

Thanx

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071440674/qid=1147941832/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0908998-3942207?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

'05 edition divides the items by subject (anatomy, biochemistry, etc.) while '06 edition divides it by organ base system.

'05 is probably our best bet, it will be easier to reference vs. flipping through the book to find info. about different subjects.

Bentley-

How ya' doin' man? so you and jumpman are going to be class mates for the next 5 years? Thats cool.
Let me ask you this bentley. What is your fav place in the world? I mean the place where you can find peace and feel@ ease with no tension. no stress. no fear. sitting on a beach chair in Bahamas? movie theater? shopping mall? your home bedroom? or may be your girlfriends lap? not any more buddy. You got to start loving your medical library. Library is the best place in the world. Name another place in the world which could be more peaceful than medical school library?. may be you can compare a peaceful temple ( not in north america. They are more disruptive than a fish market. Have you been to flushing temple in NYC?), a mosque or a church.
My fav place in the world is medical library. It is so cheap and safe place which can also bring joy and fulfillment.

Give me an air-conditioned library.
a comfy chair.
an interesting book. not a biochem book though.
I can live in a library forever.
Start liking your SRMC library. Find a favorite spot and chair. settle down. Dont get used to reading in your room. You might become lonely and feel claustrophobic. Make it a habit to visit library every single day. Like going to gym. People should start gossiping that bentley is a permanent fixture in your school library. If they cant find you anywhere they should be able to find you in your permanent spot in the library. Librarian should come to personally know you by your first name. Library is also a great place to make friendship with quality people than in a bar or nighclub.

I am so tempted to start NYer's online SDN medschool private tutoring for jumpman & bentley company. :laugh:
Let us talk more regional anatomy here. Upper extremity. You can forget or ignore to read anything in upper extremity. but, not brachial plexus anatomy. If you know brachial plexus well, you know everything in the shoulder and extremity. It is like NY subway driver knowing the subway system thoroughly. If you know the subway system: you know New York city.
If you know the brachial plexus: you know shoulder and UE.

Brachial plexus anatomy is going to haunt you forever. Whatever specialist you become in future brachial plexus knowledge is very essential. A neurologist need to know this for electrodiagnostic study. Hand surgeon must be well versed with this to operate on hands. Orthopedic and vascular surgeon cannot get away without bracial plexus anatomy. even Ob/GYNs need to know this for diagnosing erbs palsy. This is just like learning your preschool ABCD.

Brachial plexus is like a big banyan tree with several branches burried deeply into your armpit. Learning anatomy is not rocket science. It is also not a thing to memorize. You just need to use your imagination and remember the facts. When you read about a particular muscle. You need to know the following facts.

Why this muscle is called by this particular name? Where this muscle originates and ends? What happens when this muscle contracts? What happens in nerve injury? What is very special abt this muscle? Is this muscle related to any specific pathology or disease or any function?

I always wondered why medstudents and some physicians spend $$ on computer games and stuff. It is addictive and time consuming.
One surgeon in newyork city was hooked with computer games and became so addicted to it. He was so good and fast in his hands while playing computer games and x-box. Then, he realised he could use his hand skills for laproscopic surgery which needs faster and delicate movements to perform minimally invasive surgery.He is so successfull in his field and now gives training courses in laproscopic surgicals skills using some computer games. That is so cool.I always think abt inventing some animation games to improve anatomy study. May be it is already in the market?
I have some anatomy games to play with when you are bored. It is so silly game jumpman. It is called ABCD anatomy game.

Start A...B....C..
A for Anconeus muscle, anterior tibialis.......and think abt all the muscles which starts with A, think abt origin, insertion, nerve supply, etc.
Then, B for Brachialis, Biceps....
C for Coracobrachialis
D for Deltoid
E for Extensor Hallucis brevis,longus
F for Flexor Hallucis brevis,longus
G for Gracilis
H for Hamstrings...

Didn't i tell you it is a silly game? :laugh:
I also had another mini game to improve my memory. It is called called twins and triplet game. Think abt paired muscles in the body like
pectoralis major & minor
teres major & minor
Longus & brevis muscles
tripletslike gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and minimus. Those muscles have either common origin or inserion. so it is easy to study them together. another silly game :laugh:

Oh! yeah..i forgot to mention another useful books: anatomy made ridiculouly simple and neuroanatomy made ridiculously simple. These are great books and must have.( I am planning to write a book called anatomy made ridiculously sexy ;) )

Jumpman-
i can go on and on like an energizer bunny on every subject. I dont want to hijack this thread of truthtobetold. I hope i was able to give you some useful information.
Good luck man! :)

2. Mean grouch professors?
haha you swear all the profs here are senile-- sure of course you got the hard asses who want to shape you up and YES they will pick on you.. but lets be more specific..everytime a prof would pick on a student -- everytime in my class at least -- that kid would be doign soemthing stupid like texting or talking... and guess what the teacher wouldnt even start on the hard questions.. he would tell that student to stand up and simply say "what did I JUST say" -- if you want to talk back to that -- you dont have the respect and discipline to be in medical college...
And sure there are a few profs who are out to get you... but the majority of your time is spent with post graduates (classroom assistants) and they are always there to help you.. shoot i even was able to copy class notes from one of them no questions asked. By far you will find more support then criticisms if you are humble and approach appropriately.

i am out... pEACE

Speaking about medschool, anatomy, medical library..and now i cant get rid of fondest medschool memories from my mind. Teachers are gurus. I always respect teaching profession and is even nobler than medical profession. Someone mentioned in this thread that indian medschool teachers are not qualified in teaching like having a degree in teaching. i dont think even american physicians who teaches medicine have any special degree in teaching.

I really had few great medschool teachers and very memorable ones. Few physicians are role models and few others are bad models who remind me not to turn out like them in my career. You cant forget your anatomy teachers in your career. They are like your kindergarden teachers.
I distinctly remember this anatomy assistant professor. This guy was a ex-surgeon who was alcoholic cum chain smoker. He once became unconscious after excessive boozing and burnt himself in the couch because of burning cigarette. He lost his right arm due to post burn above elbow amputation. Imagine a surgeon losing his right arm? It is worse than a sprinter losing his leg. He luckily got his job as asistant professor teaching anatomy to medstudents.
This armless surgeon was a great teacher. We had like 7-8 anatomy teachers. He was the best. He can talk about any viscera of the body for hours. My heart always ached when he taught us upper extremity vascular anatomy in the dissection lab.There was also another anatomy teacher who is also hard to forget. She was a dark obese woman who had a voice like yelling whoopi goldberg. I loved her classes. She will never let any medical student to peacefully nap during her postbrandial hot afternoon anatomy lectures because of her sturdy voice. I can even feel her voice echoing in my ears right now detailing the testicular anatomy. nah! it is just a dejavu phenomenon. For some unknown reasons she had passion in teaching human reproductive anatomy. Her voice became emotional during those sessions.

There was another young orthopedic surgeon who was a hot dude. Chicks in my class always drool and drowned us in his orthopedic sessions. His status was equivalent to Brad Pitt. Guys hated him. He knew the stuff and lectured us with his role play. He use to imitate like patients suffering injuries excetras.
Whats goin' on jumpman? Have you bought your books? Are you all set to go to madras?