INI-SS April 2026 Endocrinology AML 7, Dr Manish Talkar in conversation with Dr Mayur Agrawal

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Hello everyone, I am Dr. Mayural, endocrinologist from Bopal. Welcome to this session. This is for Maro super speciality endocrinology. Today we have a great personality Dr. Manish with us.

[00:00:15]He has cracked the toughest exam that is INI and he is choosing I would say the best branch that is endocrinology. So on behalf of team Maro I welcome you and congratulate you for this great success.

[00:00:33]So for the viewers just tell me about you.

[00:00:37]>> Uh I'm Dr. Manish Talkar. I done my uh UG from SGS medical college and KM hospital Mumbai Parail. Followed by that I had pursued MD medicine uh degree in from Jodpur cracking INA and now I had work I was working as an SR for almost 8 months. After that I done my first attempt of INISS in November. During that time I had uh got CML of 14 14 and uh AML of 10 rank but uh I want to have proper preparation after dropping with full focus. I was not able to manage uh the work plus the studies for that period of time and thought that two months of preparation is okay. So I left uh my SR ship in February end and started preparing with full purpose for this INIS session and got the rank of seven.

[00:01:34]>> Yeah. So uh were you doing the SR ship in endocrinology or it was general medicine or some different >> it's uh I was doing SR ship in internal medicine only but in our floor only besides the floor uh endocrine OPD was there. So I used to go there and meet the DMSRs over there and they were good friends of mine only. So that way the in interest also got uh elated further.

[00:02:03]>> Yeah. So what was your exposure during your MD times in endocrinology?

[00:02:08]>> Uh actually our professor HOD uh Dr. MK Ger was there uh when I joined. So he used to ask lot of endo questions during our raw rounds. There were grand rounds during our residency ship on uh as per ward wise. So there are two grand rounds during every week. So during that time he used to ask general questions also at some questions of uh endo also and we have some common classes also in between if interested can join their endoc classes with 14 days of rotation posting also during endocrinology.

[00:02:44]So that way >> is what sparked endocrinology in you?

[00:02:50]>> Yes sir. Before also during MBBS day I used when I used to read Harrison the section of endocrinology was very vast and very given very elaborately and with proper algorithm and during the preparation of PG Rakkesh also used to say that endo people are like very brainiac. They used to sit on one chair and think lot of the possibilities. So I thought this is the closest branch which is replicating the medicine and I can practice medicine also side by side while doing the endocrinology. So that was my purpose of choosing this speciality and sticking to the speciality further.

[00:03:26]>> Yeah. So any role model for endocrinology you thought that okay this is why I want to go in endocrinology.

[00:03:33]>> I have first think uh I first seen our h of KM Tushar Mangar also. So he was also wellestablished personality in Bombay field of endocrinology and when I came in Jodur at that time and I saw Gir is proper a physician but he's like a role model for me only.

[00:03:58]>> Okay right from >> you were influenced by endocrinologist.

[00:04:03]>> Yes sir.

[00:04:04]>> Okay. So what do you think that what's the app time when anybody should start preparing for the super speciality especially if he or she wants endocrinology. What's the minimum time duration a person would require to get prepared himself or herself for the exam?

[00:04:22]I think six month period is uh if we are starting fresh a 6 month period or five months period of dedicated reading uh with the notes is fine enough with supplemented by the standard books like Williams and some uh help of Chad GPT or Gemini like AI tools also for some of the recent updates that is enough for uh securing the good rank that what I feel I actually started preparing uh for my MD exams during In that time only I was reading the endocrine portion from marrow with other subjects also and I completed one proper reading of the notes and saw the videos also once uh during that preparatory phase but when uh I passed the exam and near to that I came. So that time 3 months of preparation I uh revised that note at least one or two times and seeing the videos once or twice had uh actually I haven't made my own notes. I was watching the videos only twice or thrice and catching some important points and I supplementing it with the books and the AI tools like chat JPD.

[00:05:35]>> Okay. And what about this uh Williams deg or the latest guideline? Did you go through them?

[00:05:41]>> Yes sir. Uh uh this session actually last session I had not got enough of time to read Williams properly. This time I had uh not completely read the Williams with line to line but uh as seniors also told that at least see the go through the tables which are very important and currently as ask uh and commonly asked and repeatedly asked like INI is all about the patterns and the uh current update. So I had seen the table and supplemented it with some of the current guidelines like lipidology has released very new guidelines and lot of questions have also came like 10 questions were there from the lipidology. So reading at least the flash cards that had helped me during this >> how how do you grade this year's exam and uh what about interview also? So these two things many of the aspirants would like to know.

[00:06:34]uh I had given both exams. Last time exam was more focused on the clinical and algorithm based pattern. Uh so it had more of long stem questions that is catching a lot of time to read and then further analyze. But this exam had lot of oneliner questions but some tricky or uh some uh tricky way they have twisted the question uh like uh in the uh and some of the questions were like straightforward also it is not catching much more time just if you know the answer then you know and otherwise that question is we need to flip that question >> yeah so that's what I feel there slight difference that it's more of clinical rather than factual And your need is more of actual rather than clinical where if you know then you know here I think more of clinical sense is very very important and that actually helps if you have a good exposure or if you have seen patient because getting into algorithm in that short span and especially the tremendous pressure is really tough for anybody. So uh what was your strategy for solving the questions during the exam?

[00:07:49]>> Uh I actually used to solve all the questions and whatever questions I was I was having some confusion or it's like dicey. So I used to bookmark them in first and used to solve all the questions. My strategy was like uh if there are 55 questions of specialtity, it could be possible that 10 questions could go wrong for all the candidates or maximally like eight questions could go wrong to all the candidates. So I had marked that I should till eight I can go wrong at least. uh and u for medicine section I must say that we should hit all the questions right whatever 25 to 26 questions were there because some of that questions would act as buffer for wrongs in the subject questions so maximum tolerable wrong questions that I had expected was 12 uh 10 to 12 so till that time it should not go wrong and we should not miss any silly questions or silly silly mistakes should not be done at all in the main subject question so that was my strategy for this in >> and were you stressed about the interview and how was it how did you prepare for the interview because that's again really important. Uh yes, last session I had actually I was stressed during the last session of Aina because I I was very freshy for the interview session to go and the last time interview they Mallaya seniors told that six to seven minutes period we will get and we will have to answer whatever questions we can in that stipulated period. So it would be like a rapid fire round for us. So last qu last INI was like that I know it was bit stressed this session also the stress of exam is is there naturally but a bit I am relaxed that I know how to answer the question within that stipulated period and with minimum words to maximize the output or the answer that was my strategy for INA.

[00:09:48]>> And what was your last minute preparation uh for theory versus interview? uh for last minute uh uh preparation of theory I use that high high yield notes of the marrow plus seen all the videos at least during the last 3 days period with like 2x or read the notes because last minute revision fetches a lot during the actual paper answering within that stipulated if you know the answer and seen or glance it within the last minute then you can answer and for uh during the uh theory part also I supplemented it with Bansali's book of endocrinology for clinical rounds that my senior told me to read at least whatever the complimentary questions were there and that is also I used during the interview session also to read it side by side the theory notes.

[00:10:40]>> Okay. So what's your feedback on the videos that uh we have made? Obviously we are updating it very soon but uh it will help us to update them.

[00:10:51]uh I feel the lipid question lipidology questions it was there covered in the marrow but it is covered under the cardiology by the nish answer. So that question was uh that part I think uh was not there in the endocrinology videos and the videos on u the primary hyperldterism the abs ratios that were asked so that was not included in the videos but rest of the videos were complete and been updated while reading it.

[00:11:22]>> Yeah. Yeah. So that actually we have covered in MCQ so probably that's why we have not repeated. So uh were the MCQ videos useful for you?

[00:11:31]>> Uh yes I used it uh I solved some of the modules of the marrow during the preparation like but subject videos I had solved many of it uh like growth hormone adrenals which are frequently been asked I had solved it but my focus was mainly to revise the theory not that is my approach of uh heading towards the subject. So I used to listen to whatever said in the videos and catch the important point and note it down. So that questions or whatever information given in the video can cause uh can create the new question rather than already frame question. That was my approach of studying. Even during my PG times also I used to re uh hear Rakkesh S's video like two to three times. So that way this is my way of studying. So >> yeah and we have also tried to incorporate these high yield videos and previous year questions. So I think they are really useful but were they useful to you?

[00:12:32]>> Uh yes I use it for catching my uh 25 marks of medicine part from that because uh it was very short crisp and concise.

[00:12:42]So reading just that is I think fine enough to get the idea. For those who already starting doing a freshy start for them it is very high yield that what I feel and uh for uh specifically for subject we need to read a lot lot of things other than whatever given also in the videos because no one can complete the subject in that stipulated videos of 40 to 50. So we need to have our own eyesight to uh fetch whatever is current trending and supplement it with the notes. So that is only I had done.

[00:13:17]>> Yeah. So I think with this the listeners got a fair idea that how did you prepare? So before we end just last two question firstly where are you planning to join?

[00:13:30]uh I was planning to join in as Bopal most likely because my seniors were also there who have helped me during this journey and they were also from my same PG institute who have guided me. So that is uh my aim. Yeah. So that would be great and then I can meet you in physical also. And before we end the session any uh say end note you would like to give to all the aspirants all the future endos who are preparing that this is the thing you should do and this is the thing you should not be doing.

[00:14:05]>> Yes sir. Uh the things we one should do is to revise to see videos properly.

[00:14:12]First of all in one reading no one able to grasp the subject properly. The learning is always like sigmoidal. It starts like 25 30% then it suddenly peaks to 75 80 and then it plateaus at 97% and 3% we'll learn lifetime. So uh it's like that only. So first at when if it's starting a fresh journey then we should see first videos properly to grab or embive all the things which has been given and later on we can revise that the revision method can be different one can do with MCQ or one can do with the uh seeing the videos again and again that what I done whatever method suits to oneself and then testing that knowledge with the MCQs again that is also important because it complements and always bookmark the areas first of all and see the standard books tables also properly if feasible because most of the videos had included the tables also but if some were got missed then you should supplement it with the standard books also and uh in the era of AI make use of AI properly and in a very well manner because it summarizes all the topics in a very short span as well as like Simon and broom criteria was asked And that was not covered anywhere but I'd seen during the lipidology time and I seen that criteria. So it got I I I used to answer that question properly and many other other things also wherever is doubtful you see from AI and write it within the notes because you're not able to remember it. So this three two to three points which I told like to revise the notes properly, supplement it with MCQs and make use of RA properly and all uh try to read the tables of the standard book. These are the key notes for cracking the exam and within three three and a half month preparation also we can able to make a good rank like 10 14 which I had you done last time and if you more do it more revise it more you will get more better rank.

[00:16:16]Yeah. So I think especially with your analogy of those sigmoidal curve you have already uh being talking like an endocrinologist. Welcome to this side of the table. I really like that. So thank you. Thank you Dr. Manish and thank you all the viewers who have joined in. I hope this is useful to you. Thank you.

[00:16:38]Thank you sir.