I have recently cleared FCPS Part 1 in the field of Surgery and Allied in 1st Attempt Alhamdulillah!
So by abiding to the principle of SHARING IS CARING, here are my 2 cents that might benefit someone who is an average student like me and is having a similar goal as mine. This will be a long one, so grab a drink or two, which will ease in following the guide till the very end; Without further ado lets begin.
**PREPARATION TIME:
3 months and 15 days.
There are Zero Shortcuts to time duration, PERIOD.
If i hear someone saying that the time needed for preparing in FCPS Part 1 is less than 3 months then i would say YES it’s absolutely doable, due to time constraints, i myself had only 2 months and was not able to follow this exact plan so had to improvise abit. But i would never advise someone to do the same, because there is always some RISK involved, as you will be leaving few minor subjects here and there or won’t be revising important topics/subjects which, in my opinion, is the key to success for an average student like me and you.
My Seniors and Peers have always advised me and it is also considered as a universal rule that every professional exam no matter in which field we look into, should be attempted only when you are more than 85% sure that you are ready for it. Haven’t you ever thought why people appearing for USMLE give years into it’s prep while we expect wonders in a 2 month prep time?
**SUBJECTS:
Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, NeuroAnatomy, Embryology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Histology, Biochemistry, Biostatistics.
**RESOURCES:
Anatomy:
Snell Review
Essence Anatomy
Acland’s Atlas Video Lectures
Physiology:
BRS Physiology
Dr. Najeeb Lectures
Pathology:
BRS Pathology
Pathoma Book + Videos Lectures
First Aid USMLE Step 1
Microbiology:
Sketchy Micro Video Lectures (Book is Optional)
First Aid USMLE Step 1
NeuroAnatomy:
High Yield NeuroAnatomy
Kaplan’s Anatomy (USMLE Step 1 Lecture Notes)
Dr. Najeeb Lectures
Embryology:
High Yield Embryology
Kaplan’s Anatomy (USMLE Step 1 Lecture Notes)
Embryonic Developmental Animations
Histology:
Kaplan’s Anatomy (USMLE Step 1 Lecture Notes) Older Version.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Biostatistics:
First Aid USMLE Step 1
Past Papers:
Rabia Ali’s Secrets of FCPS Part 1
SK Pearls Past Paper Volumes
Tanveer Notes
Optional but not a replacement of the aforementioned Books:
Asim and Shoaib’s Past Papers
MedCoffee/MediCall (Online Subscription is also available)
*Recent Popular Alternative to Rabia Ali is RafiUllah’s Book Of FCPS Pearls.
**GOAL:
1st Month:
Complete Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology
2nd Month:
Complete NeuroAnatomy, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Embryology
Revise Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology
3rd Month:
Complete Histology, Biochemistry and Biostatistics.
Complete Rabia Ali’s Past Paper Book (Subject Wise).
Revise NeuroAnatomy, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Embryology
Last 15 days:
SK Pearls Past Papers at least last 3-4 Volumes.
Tanveer Notes at least last 5 Sessions.
Revise Rabia Ali’s Book at least 2 times.
**HOW TO STUDY:
As long as i can remember i have always studied page wise and multiple subjects per day, this has suited ME well and have yielded me amazing results, your approach might be different so do what suits YOU better, your ultimate goal should be the same.
Page wise means that if a book has 300 pages and i have to complete it in 30 days, then i will study 10 pages per day regardless of the topic at the starting page or at the end one.
Multiple subjects approach is that if i have to complete 3 subjects in a month, i will divide my daily studying hours into 3, for example if i plan to study 12 hours a day then i will give 4 hours per subject (rather than cramming 30 pages of the same book/subject per day and finishing the book/subject in 10 days and moving to the next one). Probably because for me the knowledge registers better if gained in fragments over a period of time.
**APPROACH:
Your approach in reading, understanding and memorizing the THEORY should never be to pass the EXAM only, it should also be to become a better DOCTOR. With this thought process encircling your mind you will read and understand the text with greater concentration and your brain will make studying a priority which is really needed because of this long 3 and a half month preparation time and most importantly it will shed away your instinct of opting for SHORTCUTS.
**BLUE PRINT:
Before starting anything, download most recent and corrected Erratas* for the Past Paper Books, especially for Rabia Ali’s Book.
I am an audio visual learner so whatever is mentioned below, is a prime example of it, if your approach is something contrary to this, then you are Most Welcome to jump past that part of the Blue Print.
1st Month:
~ 9 to 12 hours of FOCUSED study time per day.
~ 3 Major Subjects are to be completed this month thus 3 to 4 hours per subject.
~ 1st month will get you in Momentum leading you to study full 14 to 16 hours, which will be needed for later days.
#hours (4+4+4=12)
Anatomy: Snell has around 240 readable pages, so for a 30 day time table it will be around 8 pages per day. Keep Essence and Netter’s Atlas along the way to fill the missing Gaps in Snell. Watch Acland’s Atlas video first, only of the relevant theory topic you are about to read on that particular day, twice if needed.
Physiology: BRS has around 210 readable pages so for a 30 day time table it will be around 7 pages per day. Watch Dr. Najeeb Lectures of relevant topics only, if needed, as they are very much time consuming, some random short YouTube videos were also a GEM, so my advise would be that before reading a comparatively difficult topic just YouTube its physiology first then have a read.
Pathology: The story is different here, the Subject is divided into 2 Sections, Basic and Special.
BASIC has to be done by combining 2 books, that are, BRS Pathology and Pathoma while keeping BRS your primary book. Dr. Sattar Videos along the way of the course. Sadly you won’t find videos for Genetics and Immunity which was a bummer for me, so text of BRS is your only option, you can always combine it with First Aid USMLE Step 1’s Immunity Chapter and consult it’s Biochemistry Section for Genetics. BRS Pathology has around 70 readable pages for Basic Path, so for a 7 day time table it will be around 10 pages per day because for the rest of the days you will be completing Special Pathology.
SPECIAL has to be done by combining 2 books also, Pathoma and First Aid USMLE Step 1 while Making First Aid USMLE Step 1 the primary book. Dr. Sattar Videos along the way yet again. For Special Pathology you will study according to Pathoma Video Lecture’s Runtime, Special Path has around 23 hours of runtime, so for a time table of 23 days, Watch an hour of Pathoma a day and follow the Text from both the books accordingly but keeping First Aid USMLE Step 1 as the primary book.
~ By the end of the month you will be able to complete 3 major Subjects with Ease.
2nd Month:
~ 14 to 16 hours of FOCUSED study time per day.
~ You have to complete 4 Minor Subjects this month so relative to the prior approach of studying, you will study 8 hours for it, thus dividing 2 hours per Subject accordingly. (Pharma or Micro might take an extra hour)
~ Rest of the time you will be revising the 3 major Subjects you completed in the previous month. Giving 2 hours per Subject. A total of 6 hours of revision.
#hours (8+6=14)
Microbiology: Sketchy Micro Videos have a Runtime of around 14 hours so for a 30 days period you will be watching 30mins of video every day along with the relevant text of First Aid USMLE Step 1. REMEMBER one thing, Sketchy Micro Videos are for Memorizing Microbiology’s High Yield Points in a pictorial way and the visual representation doesn’t corelate to the text at all, but once you get the hang of it, you will thank me later. Watch a sample video on YouTube and if it suits you then great, if not then our good old page-per-day rule can be applied here too. First Aid USMLE Step 1 has around 80 pages of Micro so it will be around 2 to 3 pages per day, you do the math.
Embryology: High Yield Embryology has around 150 pages, so for a 30 day time table it will be around 4 pages per day. You will be doing the text after watching the relevant Animation for a better understanding. High Yield Books are very much like News Headlines so for me it became alot easier to follow it with Kaplan Anatomy’s Section of Embryology.
NeuroAnatomy: Already gone through the Head and Neck Section in Anatomy and watched Acland’s Videos, it will be comparatively easier for you now to go through the early gross Anatomy Sections of this Subject. High Yield NeuroAnatomy has also around 150 pages, so for a 30 day time table it will be around 4 pages per day as well. Keeping High Yield as a primary book, it is a must, i repeat it is a MUST, to follow Kaplan Anatomy’s Section of NeuroAnatomy along with it. Dr. Najeeb Lectures of certain topics were a great help also for example he has explained blood supply of brain amazingly. (Watch his lectures in 2x Speed :])
Pharmacology:
First Aid USMLE Step 1 has 22 pages of Basic Pharma and around 55 pages of Systemic pharma so for a 30 day time table it will be around 2.5 pages per day.
~ By the end of the month you will be able to complete 4 minor subjects and revise 3 major subjects with Ease.
3rd Month:
~ By the end of the second month 16 hours of FOCUSED study time per day will come naturally.
~ Now you have to complete the least important subjects this month so yet again by following prior approach of studying, you will study 5 hours for it, thus giving 2 hours to Biochemistry, 2 hours to Histology and another hour to Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Public Health.
~ Also you will be revising the Subjects which you completed the previous month. (4 minor subjects for which 1 hour each is enough therefore 4 hours in total for the revision)
~ Rest of the time of yours will be spent on Rabia Ali’s Past Paper Book. 6 hours are more than enough.
#hours (5+4+6=15)
Biochemistry:
First Aid USMLE Step 1 has around 60 pages on this Subject, so for a 30 day time table it will be only 2 pages per day.
Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Public Health:
First Aid USMLE Step 1 has around 15 pages on this Subject, so for a 30 day time table finish this subject twice by reading just a single page a day.
Histology:
Older version of Kaplan’s Anatomy has a separate section for histology which has around 150 pages, so for a 30 day time table 4 pages per day will be sufficient. My advice would be to only have emphasis on those chapters that are frequently asked by CPSP for example Lungs, GIT, Liver etc, and also by reading Rabia Ali’s BCQs on this Subject before starting Kaplan, will help you narrow down the high yield stuff.
Rabia Ali’s Secrets of FCPS Part 1:
As i said earlier you should download most recent and corrected Erratas* for the Past Paper Books, especially for Rabia Ali. Assuming you have done that, talking about this book specifically, it has around 9000 BCQs. Yes! At first! It feels like a daunting task. But let me assure you that it becomes easier in only a day or two. This book is a very well arranged book with separate sections for each subject and having further divisions according to the subject’s chapters. To complete this book you have to do 300 BCQs per day for which 6 hours are more than enough giving you ample amount of time to even open your primary theory book for referencing on confusing questions. There are TWO chapters that you have to do from Rabia Ali’s theory section and combine them with First Aid USMLE Step 1 as they are missing in Snell Anatomy and BRS physio, these are General Anatomy and Blood respectively. So adjust either 1st or your 3rd month of prep accordingly to complete your theory of the respective subject. You will also find more than a few questions of particular topics in this book that are frequently asked by CPSP who’s theory won’t be present in any books mentioned in the above guide or even in any other standard books that we followed during our medical student life. In this scenario you have to look into Rabia Ali’s theory section. (One prime example is the question of types of heat produced by a muscle)
~ By the end of the month you will be able to complete 3 more minor subjects and revise 4 previously read minor subjects with EASE plus a single read to Rabia Ali’s Past Paper Book.
Last 15 days:
These last 2 weeks are totally up to you, how you would spend them. My advice is to do as much Past Papers as you can, a General Rule for Me was:
– Complete SK Pearls Past Papers at least Last 3-4 Volumes.
– Read Tanveer Notes at least Last 5 Sessions.
– Revise Rabia Ali at least 2 times.
– Revise Major or Minor Subjects as per Need. (Anatomy is a volatile subject so do have a glance at it if possible)
**SOME IMPORTANT POINT TO REMEMBER:
The following nuggets are written by Dr. Yousuf Shaikh (My Senior) and all credit goes to him alone. I myself read them while i was preparing and these golden words helped me a mountain so sharing them for you. Read the 4th and the 13th Point twice!
1 – Do not be overwhelmed by the amount of study material. Keep yourself calm and take a day off if you feel like it.
2 – Everyone studies the same books. They have the same amount of time. The deciding factor for clearing FCPS is the TIME you give to studies. So set your priorities right and study adequately.
3 – When doing BCQ books. There will be certain question which will be particularly difficult. Like the time required for blood to flow through hepatic lobule. The answer is 8 seconds. Mark the BCQ with a star so that when you are re doing these books, you pay special attention to these tough questions.
4 – Do not try to copy someone in terms of studying. If you study a particular way and have been successful so far, then there is no need to change now.
5 – Do not believe what people say. You probably must have heard about 100 myths related to CPSP marking scheme and what not. You don’t have to worry about that. All you need to do is give your best shot and Pray for the best.
6 – Remember. A lot of Bcq’s in books are wrong. You need to double check those. What I used to do was immediately Google the question on my cell phone. This saved a lot of my time.
7 – Arrive at least an hour before scheduled time at the venue.
8 – Do not be depressed by the people you meet at the venue. You are likely to meet people attempting exam for the 4th or 7th time. Do hear what they have to say but do not act on it. There is probably a reason they haven’t passed this exam in so many attempts and are the least likely individuals to be seeking advice from.
9 – If you think you have successfully answered at least 75 Bcq’s in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 (individually) then there is a really high chance you will pass this exam. This is just a rough estimate so I might be wrong.
10 – When attempting Bcq’s, read the question very thoroughly. At times multiple options might seem right but read the question again to see if you have missed anything. Most people tend to ignore the EXCEPT which is written at the end of question. Please don’t do this.
11- There is absolutely no need to hurry. 2 hours time is more than enough for 100 questions. You should not miss out in any of them.
12 – Do not cheat. Trust me. There is a high chance your neighbor might be a repeater. You definitely do not want to copy his answer. Trust your own instincts rather than that of a stranger.
13 – Finally, Pray a lot after your exam. This is the second most important thing to do after your months of hard work.
14 – STUDY STUDY and STUDY. I am re-writing this point because of a specific reason.On average CPSP passes around 15-20% of students. However recently due to very large number of residents pouring in and very limited residency seats available there has been a dramatic reduction in the passing rate. Just 2 weeks ago I came across a letter written to CPSP from Health Secretary to reduce the number of FCPS graduates due to unavailability of seats. There was an emergency meeting conducted to address this issue and I can only sense that they have actually reduced the number of passing graduates because this time in february, only 7% of students were passed. This is indeed a dramatic decline. You need to keep this figure in mind because scoring in the top 7% can be pretty difficult but definitely NOT impossible.
(Sadly this passing ratio was 5 years back and now the percentage has plummeted to a record low)
Reference:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/669304/health-reform-cpsp-health-department-at-loggerheads/
15 – Do not consider yourself inferior to anyone when starting your preparation. FCPS is not a paper of intelligence, but rather of endurance and hard work. It is highly unlikely anyone is able to remember the subjects of basic sciences by the end of final year so every one of your batch mate is likely to start from the very beginning giving you the same advantage.
I went through a difficult time when preparing for this FCPS Exam. I only wish to help you guys so that your preparation is eased and you are not confused in any regard. This is the first professional exam of your life, it is normal to be slightly anxious. But do not be over whelmed. You are equally qualified and intelligent as anyone else and have equal chance of clearing the paper.
**SPECIAL THANKS:
First and foremost to Allah (S.W.T) then to my parents and my family for their patience and countless prayers.
To Dr. Najeeb Ullah Chughtai for studying with me and bearing me all along and Dr. Farman Khan for believing in me. Shukran Habibis!
To Dr. Abdullah Nisar, Dr. Hussain Mustafa, Dr. Mohsin Anwer, Dr. Salman Mazhar, Dr. Sohaib Asghar, Dr. Usman Khan, Dr. Jawwad Haider and Dr. Yousuf Shaikh for all the direct and indirect guidance. (I am sorry if i left anyone)
~ In the end BEST OF LUCK TO YOU – JUST REMEMBER ME IN YOUR PRAYERS!
Dr. Syed Muhammad Khalil ur Rahman (Author)
Ultimate Guide in Preparing for FCPS Part 1 