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Stuff of the moment... hope some of it
helps....
Breezing through the Philippine Medical Licensure
Board Exam Thing
Of course, I’m no expert on this as I’ve only taken the exam once so…
you’ll have to take everything here with a grain of salt. And with a few
of you wanting to take the exam this coming February time is running
short.
First things first, there are some pre-requisite knowledge each one
should have before taking a PRC exam.
1. You understand simple English.
2. You can follow simple 5 step instructions without difficulty.
3. You know the difference between a pencil and a pen.
4. You have enough dexterity to be able to shade a small box with ease.
And finally,
5. You understand that no one will believe your excuse of not taking the
exam seriously when you fail.
Of course, this guide also requires that you have signed-up for the exam
and, have at least 2 months preparation before the exam itself. You need
one month for fooling around (gimmicks, outings, movies, etc.) and
another for intensive training. Also you are required to at least have a
copy of the previous exam questions which you should at least read once
over, understanding the questions and not simply memorizing the answers
(Most have been answered wrongly anyway).
Anatomy
book to read: Lansang Notes
side book: Any
Interestingly, anatomy isn’t really that difficult a subject matter
since everyone will definitely have passing knowledge on the subject
matter. The infamous ‘Lansang Notes’ will be sufficient review to remind
everyone of the basics that should be remembered. Blood supply,
lymphatic drainage and a little on innervation should be the focus.
What’d you expect? This IS anatomy.
days to finish: 3-4
Biochemistry
book to read: Lippincott’s
side book: Harper’s
It’s probably the safest bet to say that you’ll have to at least go over
the entire Lippincott book once to have passing recall of the subject
matter. Basically it’s simply a matter of familiarizing yourself with
the stupidly large illustration of the cycle. Focus on the entry of
amino acids into the cycle, figure out which are ketogenic and non-ketogenic.
Also familiarize yourself with all the enzymes especially those used in
DNA stuff. For those with biology majors, you’ll have an added bonus of
knowing botany because they ask really useless questions regarding
plants.
days to finish: 4
Pathology
book to read: Robbin’s Pathology (Neonate)
side book: Robbin’s Pathology (Neonate)
What can I say? It’s my favorite book of all time. It’s small, concise
and had all the answers you needed for the damn exam. Unfortunately,
it’s impossible to remember them all. Syndromes such as MEN, klifelter’s
etc. are favorites. Allegedly there was a leak on what to focus on, the
day of the exam, though it didn’t really help. Just go through the
entire book once, and then focus on some syndromes and gene errors.
days to finish: 4-5
Physiology
book to read: Lippincott’s
side book: Ganong
Go over the thin little Lippincott then focus on the following chapters,
CVS, Pulmo, Renal, and GI. These little buggers should be read in the
big book. Also it would be helpful for the point hungry to look for the
potassium content of some bodily fluid such as saliva, endolymph and the
like.
days to finish: 3-4
Pharmacology
book to read: Lipincott’s
side book: Katzung
I can’t really help you guys here. This is probably one of my stronger
subjects but unfortunately it was my lowest score in the damn exam. I
have no idea where you can find data on specific anti-cancer regimes,
but then that’s what they asked. Of course, they’ll probably have a
different examiner this time but hell, knowing the basics is always
good.
days to finish: 4
Microbiology
book to read: samplex
side book: Any
There are tons of books on the subject matter. Ridiculously simple never
really fit in with me. I get confused with all those memorizing weird
mnemonics. So, I just dug up my old book, Medical Micro by Murray and
just read on. Focus more on microbiology and very little on parasitology.
Don’t bother too much with this exam, I took it under 20 minutes.
days to finish: 2
Community Medicine
book to read: samplex
side book: none
Honestly, I’ve read hand outs from 2 or 3 schools for this, and it
didn’t help. I’d suggest that you just read sample exams for this.
days to finish: 1
Legal Medicine
book to read: Summary of legal med?
side book: none
I honestly don’t recall the name of the book. It was one of those thin
paperback photocopied reviewers that everyone had. I only read most of
it on the exam day itself.
days to finish: 1
Medicine
book to read: samplex
side book: Currents, NMS, Harrison’s
After reviewing physiology and pathology, you don’t really need much
more review on this. I don’t recall reading up on medicine save for the
sample exams.
days to finish: 3-4 (only because you have to scrutinize the samplex)
OB-GYN
book to read: NMS
side book: Williams
I hate this subject. ’nough said.
days to finish: 3
Surgery
book to read: samplex
side book: none
Recall how surgery exams almost always leave us in awe on where in the
world they could find such questions. That’s pretty much the case with
this. You have you anti-cancer pharma and some basic anatomy. Everythign
else would just be in the samplex. Don’t bother studying.
days to finish: 3-4 (as with med)
Pediatrics
book to read: first 10 chapters of Del
Mundo
side book: pee brain
Pediatrics was always easy for me. Just read the basics to recall most
mnemonics. Add a little dash of vitamins and related diseases, DOH
regimens ad you’re all set to go.
days to finish: 3
Then there are always the things that you should
know, but no one ever really told you:
1. Bring reviewers to the exam. Despite having the flyers tell you that
you are not allowed to do so, it isn’t really true. I only brought
reviewers the second day of the exam. I wasted precious time. I also did
most of my best studying on the exam days themselves.
2. Dress comfortably. I was comfortable in my whites. Of course this is
relative. (my whites consisted of white jeans and a white polo)
3. Bring your phone and calculator.
4. Always sleep before exam days.
5. Try to catch as much information just before an exam. Some say
cramming doesn’t work…but I got a few points from studying right before
the exam. From tips taken from other examinees.
6. Relax. I’m not one to give into panic. And I was actually one to give
others panic by submitting my paper 20-30 minutes into the exam. I’ve
got a friend who panicked mid exam and pretty much had mental block
through out. Understand that if you found the exam difficult, everyone
probably did too.
7. Eat. No sense staving yourself.
8. Enjoy. This is actually where everything you’ve worked for in the
past several years boils down to, so enjoy. (Gimmicks after ever exam,
especially Sundays)
9. When all else fails… know that testmanship works. Most of the exam
questions are badly written, and testmanship almost always leads to the
right answer.
10. Of course, if you fail you’ll be seeing a lot of your friends again
re-taking the exam with you, so don’t worry too much… (Unless you’re
from a school that has a high passing rate).
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