Listen to your heart while choosing a career: Disha Bardhan

IGPME&R, Kolkata

I have always wanted to become a doctor. So choosing Biology in Class 11 was not a difficult decision for me. I preferred not to choose Maths although many of my classmates had both Maths and Biology because I was firm with my inclination towards medical science and I never had any desire of pursuing Engineering as my career. NCERT books of classes 11 and 12 are really good books and are the standard books for NEET, I have been advising this to my juniors as well who are aspiring to get a medical seat. When you fall in love with Biology, you will not complain about its vastness.

At the time of NEET Counselling 2016, I chose Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGME&R), Kolkata because it is among the top 20 medical colleges of India which is definitely for a reason. As a student of IPGME&R, I really appreciate everything about this institution, from the clean campus, good infrastructure to the knowledgeable faculty, and the SSKM Hospital – the only government multi-superspeciality hospital in West Bengal which attends a very high number of patients, which also means they provide good exposure to the students.

My Admission Journey

To get admission in this college of repute was certainly not an easy job. Just like any other medical aspirant, I had dedicated 2 years of high school preparing for medical exam. I remember only a few days before the exam, there was a hue and cry regarding the Supreme Court’s decision of single medical exam for the entire country. Those 2 years were difficult. As a medical aspirant aiming to clear the exam on the first go, I had to sacrifice many things, like staying away from home and giving up almost every means of distraction.

I had already appeared for the state medical exam by the time the decision of the Supreme Court came. So the state exam was nullified for MBBS admissions and restricted to admissions to BAMS and BHMS only. I had also appeared for Manipal MBBS entrance exam. It was nullified too. So I appeared for NEET, AIIMS and JIPMER exams.

I had taken coaching at Allen Career Institute, Kota which was really helpful for my preparation. I firmly believe that any coaching institute will provide very good notes but it ultimately depends on the student’s own will and hard work. Studying in coaching institutes has its own pros and cons. Particularly, staying far away from home, it’s really difficult when there is nobody to lift up a student’s morale when his/her performance is not up to the mark.

When I am asked about the “best way” to prepare for entrance exams, I say there’s really no short cut and the best way is to study really hard. One really has to be sincerely dedicated and confident about his choice of career. As I’ve already said, coaching institutes can feed you with a lot of data, but it’s ultimately up to the student how much he/she is able to and willing to absorb. During preparation phase, a student should practise more and more. One should thoroughly practise previous year question papers of NEET and all model question papers. The student should avoid distractions as much as possible.

My tips for getting admission and making the most of college would be, once you get admission into the college you wanted, enjoy yourself and study too. Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! So remember to maintain yourself in both academics and extra curricular activities.

My Learnings and Insights

I am currently in my second year of the 5.5 year long MBBS course. It is said that college life is one of the most memorable periods of one’s life. Indeed it is.  But it’s not a bed of roses. It has ups and downs!

Did I choose the right career decision for myself? Definitely yes. As I said, I had always wanted to become a doctor. When you pursue the career you genuinely have interest in, it is always enjoyable and you never feel like complaining about it.

There have been a few mistakes that I made along the way and I certainly have learnt from them. For example, in my first counselling, I got a medical college in Chennai. No doubt, Chennai has some of the very good medical colleges, but in a medical college, you are expected to be fluent in the local language to interact with the patients (third year onwards students go to the wards and interact with the patients and learn). My first language is Bengali and I knew learning Tamil would be very difficult for me. Fortunately, I had an option to upgrade in the second counselling. So it is important to choose a medical college whose area’s local language you are familiar with.

How my college education helped me in my career… Well, I am only in my second year yet I am pretty sure college education has a major impact on any student’s career. More than the things we learn from the books, we learn from practical experiences. I cannot thank enough the clinical exposure in the wards. It is easier and interesting to learn about a disease when you have seen such cases.

My advice on career selection would be, listen to your heart and pursue the career you genuinely have interest in. Only then you will be able to achieve success in that field.

My best wishes to everyone reading this article.

About the Author:

My name is Disha Bardhan. I am currently studying MBBS in IPGME&R and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata. My hobbies include writing, debating and dancing.