Hey 6th years,
It’s getting closer to the end. I hope you are as excited as you are nervous. This is one of the easier exams you will do in POTE. There is a whole bulk of material to study but you’re gonna have to have been absent the last three years to perform poorly.
So let’s cut to the chase. By now, I’m sure you already set up your accounts on the state exam website. If you haven’t, it’s here. Typically, the question bank is being updated until 30 days before the written exam the test bank will be closed. Then the questions will not change. Unfortunately there is no proper way to check what questions have been changed and what are yet to be changed unless updates are posted on the website, which they are not always. So I actually did not start studying for the exam until 30 days prior when the questions were set. If I checked correctly, your written exam is on May 27th, so I really do hope you have all started.
This process can be overwhelming. And some of you are probably burnt out from all the exams you have had to take over the year, PLUS the thesis and defence. I get it. Today, I just want to share some tips and tricks that massively helped. I was able to finish the question bank once and was on my 2nd pass of the Q-bank at the time of the exam, having only started studying within the 30-day period.
For general medicine, there are 13 main blocks, covering material from as far back as 4th year. Still within some of the blocks are sub-blocks that are quite extensive. There are 17 within internal medicine alone and 10 in surgery, followed closely by gynaecology and paediatrics which have 9 sub-blocks each. I suggest you start with these. I think it goes without saying that the more extensive the question list, the more likely you are to get questions from those blocks.
The types of questions, broken down
You are going to have 3 main types of questions. There are your simple multiple-choice questions. These are the questions that go: “which of these is xxxxx?”, “All these are types of xxx except….” with your A-B-C-D(-E) answer selection. These are completely straight forward, and you get one point for each simple MCQ correctly answer.
There are the combination MCQs. They are the ones with the answer list that goes “A) 1,2 and 3 are correct”, “B) 1 and 3 are correct”, etc. One point for each question as well but they are easier to fail if your knowledge is not thorough.
Finally, we have the match/pair/associate questions where you have a list and need to connect a question to an answer. These are where you can gain or lose multiple points per question.
How to prepare: my advice
When studying, I suggest starting with the match/pair/associate question types. I call them high value questions because they carry higher stakes and if you make a mistake, there’s more to lose. Take a look at the attached sample question for this question type: it’s worth 5 points in total. If you don’t get all pairs correct, you will lose at least 2 points due to the pairing nature of this question format. Also if you study them first, you get to go over them again and again during your study process and they get locked in there 🧠
Then get your simple MCQs down because they are easier to remember and carry the same point at the combination questions. Let the combination MCQs come last.
Use the testing feature on the state exam website. You have the options of a short exam, a long exam or a long trial exam. You also get to choose what topics you want to feature in the test exam and this came in handy. I focused on one sub-block or block at a time, went through the questions and then tested when I wanted a break. Your scores will start out low naturally especially if you are not done with the sections you are testing but eventually, you will get there. I was using the testing feature everyday multiple times a day (around 4 to 5 times) and it really helped with retaining information.
The elimination method while solving questions worked the best for me. I read a question, list out the options A to D, or E and cross off what I was sure was not right. This helped me feel more confident in my choice every time. Even if I knew the answer straight away, this was my way of double-checking.
When reading your questions particularly simple choice, make sure you check for boldened and/or capitalised words. “The questions may go: “These symptoms are NOT characteristic of…”, or “These are possible risk factors of gallstones EXCEPT…”. I remember having a few stumbles during the study process because I did not pay proper attention to this. It’s such a silly thing to get tripped up by so don’t get got.
Is there any value in attending the mock exam?
Personally, I don’t think so. It’s not much different from any standard written exam you have taken before. If attending it to see what the format and atmosphere is like gives you peace of mind, by all means go ahead. But 2 weeks in, you might be discouraged by the score you get particularly if you are yet to finish the Q-bank at least once. That was the case for me.
How long is the exam? How many points?
You will have 150 minutes. Both in the mock and the actual final written exam. You can accrue a total of 180 points for 100% (at least this was the case for 2024).
Some answeres seem…wrong
Yes, I agree that some of the answers you come across in the Q-bank are not always correct. I marked down at least 10 in the Q-bank I studied from where I didn’t quite agree with the answers provided. The popular advice from older students and alumni is to give it back as it was given to you, and I would say the same. Learn it as it is and mark down the Q-bank answer in the exam. You can note it down as wrong for your own personal knowledge.
When do the results come out?
Well we had ours on the 28th of May, 2024 and the results came out on the 29th.
Okay so that brings us to the end of this post. Here, I’m attaching the information sheet that we got in our final written exam. If you have any other questions, feel free to drop them down in the comments. I’ll make a document on the state oral exam next.
Good luck!