First Aid to Med school

Hello Dear,

I am glad you found theblog useful.

Yes non bahrainis can take the exam.

Hello Dear,

Hello there,

This is a very broad question to which I think only you can answer. Any medical graduate should be able to sit and pass the exam with the right amount of studying and preparation. Please refere to my post on the EMSTREX exam on how to prepare and what resources are recommended. If you prepare well there is no reason why you wouldn’t pass the exam.

Hello there,

Hello dear,

For you to work in the US you have to be america board certified, which means you did your residency in the states and sat their exams.

Hello dear,

MOH residency currently is only open for Bahraini applicants.

Countries that enroll other nationalities in their residency program include UAE and Qatar.

Hello,

You will have to come to the training department located in Kanoo building in SMC to request an elective rotation. They will advise you further.

Most likely you will need to provide the following:

CV, copy of ID, photos , copy of vaccinations proof, proof of enrolled in a medical school, dates of elective and department of interest.

Hello Dear, 

I found this document very useful for me when I started to learn about clinical audit. Have  a look and let me know if you have any questions. 

http://www.uhbristol.nhs.uk/files/nhs-ubht/1%20What%20is%20Clinical%20Audit%20v3.pdf 

Hello dear, 

SC1 can be overwhelming because usually at the end of the year you have 5 major modules and specialities to be examined in over 7-10 days. 

However, you should know that starting to study early on during the semester and planning ahead will get you through the year smoothly and comfortably. So let’s have a look at how you might be able to prep for the end of year starting now. 

You need to look into your modules and what is the percentage of each module that will be examined at the end of rotation versus the end of year. 

For example; pediatrics will compose of 60% of the grade for the end of rotation and 40% for the end of year, so technically, by the end of the rotation you would have studied the bulk of it and by the end of the year you just need to go over the important things. 

However, in psychiatry, the majority of the mark is at the end of the year, so you will dedicate more time for it at the end of year revision, and so on. 

This is the basis of how you should approach the exams and prep for them. 

Here’s what worked for me:

-Pediatrics: End of rotation: Go over the important topics of the book + plenty of clinical exam practice during the rotation. End of year: 3- 4 days to go over the important topics of the book for the second time. 

-OBGYN: End of rotation: clinical practice mainly for the OSCE, try and finish as much as possible of the lectures. End of year: 1-2 weeks to go over the main lectures for the 2nd time, go over your notes, practice questions. 

-Psychiatry: End of rotation: straight forward clinical practice, try to finish as much as possible of the handbook. End of year: 1 week try to go over the major topics of the book and practice the from the osce book with friends. 

-Med surg: This module had only end of rotation exam, no end of year. 

-GP: This module is mainly end of year exam + portfolio. For the end of year we had lectures to go through, I think now it’s more of recommended topics that you study for the oxford handbook. Utilise your rotation time to finish these and you should be fine. 

This is what worked for me. You need about 4 weeks before your end of year starts to have your schedule ready to study and prep for the exams and then during the actual week of the exams you are just reviewing notes rather than reading new information for the first time. 

Hope this helps. 

Hello dear, 

GCC nationals and UAE residents (non emarati) are allowed to sit for the exam, if you are non GCC and non resident you can try contacting them and asking if you are allowed to sit for the exam, they might have a different procedure for such conditions. Their email address is [email protected]

What is internship year?

Internship is a year in between. A year of transition from being a medical student to becoming a physician. You will rotate in all the major departments, even the ones you dislike. So take a deep breath and get started, soon it will be done. 

How much will I “learn” in my internship?

To be very honest, very minimal in terms of new knowledge. You will learn the practical and paperwork side stuff that comes with the job mostly. I hate to break it to you, but the last place you were actually taught in was medical school and it is over. From internship onwards, it’s about how much YOU work on yourself, how much you study and what exams you take. No one, and I mean no one will come and offer you material to study or register you in exams to take or any of that. It’s all up to you now.

You can literally get through every day as an intern doing minimal to nothing, at the same time you can get through internship having taught yourself how to act professionally, how to deal with patients (away from simulated scenarios) and having studied for whatever exam of interest. So it’s all up to you.

Is it okay if I am an intern and still cannot decide what speciality I want to major in? 

It is very okay, Relax. Do not rush yourself into deciding what speciality you want. This is something you will have to do for the rest of your life, so take your time to decide. 

Some people know right away what speciality they want, but that’s a minority. 

Internship will give you some but not all perspective that you need. You might have liked a speciality on paper, but when you do it as a physician you realize the bigger picture. So don’t limit yourself and keep an open mind. 

So how can I organize my internship year and take my exams, what exams can I take and how many can I take in this year?

Considering it is now september, it’s a good time to start. Usually the first couple on months right after graduation you want to do nothing, you are so happy with the fact that the ability to go to work and come back home not having to open a book actually exists. It’s okay to enjoy that for a couple of months.

The exams you can/ prepare for this year: BMLE (Bahraini) , SLE (Saudi) , EMSTREX (UAE), USMLE (especially step 2 CK), IFOM, PLABS, MCCEE (Canadian). 

If you are still undecided about residency and would like to take your time, then the 2 exams for you this year are the SLE and BMLE. The BMLE enables you to work in Bahrain after internship until you get into residency, and the SLE is easiest to take during internship and will get you into residency once you decide. 

The exams I can talk about:

1-BMLE - UPDATED 2019-: (Mandatory for all Bahrainis): This used to have fixed dates but starting this year it is booked for through the prometric system https://www.prometric.com/en-us/clients/NHRA/Pages/landing.aspx, you can only book it once you are done with your internship. For this reason, what you can do during the year is prepare for it.  Pass or fail exam, once you pass you get your licence as a general physician and can work in any hospital in Bahrain. 

Usual dates: Open dates, booked through Prometric. You need an eligibility ID from NHRA in order to book, can only be booked once done with internship. 

Time needed to study: 1-2 months if free, 3 months if while working/ doing on calls. 

Material used: Master the boards for step 2 CK by kaplan (not the only book out there, any book that gives you a review of all the major specialities will do, I used this and that’s why it’s mentioned here) + questions for American Board of Family Physicians is recommended.

2 -SLE: You can book it at any time online, you are allowed to take it once you start internship. You can repeat it I think 3 or 4 times per year and the highest mark is counted.

Usual dates: open dates, taken in Bahrain at a prometric centre in GOSI but if you are interested in applying for residency while in internship, take it by January max.

Time needed to study: 1-2 month (before the booked date, if you have built up you base -I will explain that below-)

Material used: There are certain Qbanks that are available online, use them. This is one option: http://bit.ly/2aVFYGj

3 -EMSTREX: UAE exam, taken in Al Ain University in UAE (1 hour drive from Dubai) on fixed dates.

Usual dates: twice a month on a Saturday starting from December – February.

Time needed to study: 1 month (before the booked date, if you have built up you base -I will explain that below-)

Material used: online sample questions

Website: https://fmhsmeb.uaeu.ac.ae/

4-USMLE:

Step 2 CK is the perfect exam to take during internship, because it is essentially the same material covered that you will need for all the previous licensure exams. And your knowledge is fresh from med school.

If you want my advice, even in you do not want to take it, study from its materials first. It will give you a strong base for all the previous 3 exams. This is what I meant when I mentioned the time needed above, if you have a good base to start with. Otherwise you might need longer time.

When I say that you will only need a month to study before each of the previous exams, this is based upon you having a strong base to build up on. Material directed towards The USMLE step 2 CK would give you that base.

Usual dates: open dates. booked through prometric. 

Time needed to study: about 3 months

Material used: Uworld Qbank + Master the boards book by Kaplan

-I have no experience with the MCCEE or the PLABs but a lot of people did them during the internship, again it depend on where you want to do your training, it might be that you should only do the MCCEE and disregard the others.

This might be a lot for you to take, so let me put it in a suggested simplified plan for you.

-October, November: Use Master the boards for step 2 CK by Kaplan. Very good book to review and study. Well written and easy to understand.

-December: revise the questions specific for the SLE from any resource you would like. And aim to take the exam by end of December.

-January: revise the questions specific for the EMSTREX and aim to take it by end of January, early February.

-February + March: free for you to take a rest, or repeat the SLE if you wish, or even take it for the first time here. You can also study from Uworld Qbank here if you want to sit the USMLE step 2 CK.

-April: Study for the BMLE and take it once you are done with the internship.

Choose the exams you would like to take and not all of them; it’s up to you. For example, if you know you don’t want to apply for Dubai, then no need to take the EMSTREX and so on.

I hope this was helpful, if you still have any questions feel free to drop them at the “ask me” section.

With the best of luck.

Hello dear,

Thank you for the kind words.

As for your question, unfortunately to be enrolled in a residency program in one of the main hospitals, being bahraini national is a condition.

Hello there,

Hello there,

Thank you for your question.

The MRCPCH is a good idea if you are interested in pediatrics.

I personally think that if you have already started your pediatrics residency to start studying for it because the clinical experience will add to your knowledge and help with the exam.

However, if you still didn’t start residency but would like to utilize the time you can do that too.

I personally used the past test question bank to prepare for the exam. You can buy it online and use it on your mobile phone and your computer.

To do this question bank you will need a base first. This base can be from any of the UK general pediatrics books. There are many around, I personally did not use that because as I said I was already a resident for a year and was preparing for my part one saudi board exam so I used the same material and augmented it with rge question bank.

About how to apply, you need to create an account on the RCPCH website and from there you can access exam dates and application process details.

Hello dear, 

Thank you for your question.