AML 7 & CML 4 - Dr Abhishek, INI SS DM July '26 - Cardiology | Success Story | Dr Kamal Sharma

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:05]Hello everyone. With me is Dr. Abhishek Unnikrishnan. Join me in congratulating him for his tremendous success in INI SS July 26 for DM Cardiology. He's got AIIMS merit list rank seven and all India merit list common merit list rank four. Congratulations, Abhishek.

[00:00:22]>> Thank you so much.

[00:00:24]>> So, it is a great success that now you will be eligible in both the merit list. I mean, it's a situation that you might have both and you might or you might have to choose either. But, either of the two that two great institutes are there in your hand. I mean, either way of it is it's going to be wonderful. So, Abhishek was a full course subscriber of Dr. Theral. So, I want to know how did he start from?

[00:00:46]Abhishek, where did you do your undergraduate and postgraduate from?

[00:00:49]>> Um sir, both from Karnataka. I did my undergraduate from Al-Ameen Medical College in Vijayapura and my PG in Government Medical College, Gadag. That also in Karnataka only, sir.

[00:01:00]>> And this was your first attempt, right?

[00:01:02]>> Uh no, sir. Actually, I had attempted last year November session, but I couldn't get through till the interview.

[00:01:08]So, after that I tried NEET and then I gotten a decent enough rank in NEET. So, I thought maybe I would compromise and just, you know, take Cardiology there because branch was what mattered to me.

[00:01:18]But then, I thought I will try and yeah.

[00:01:22]>> So, so when did you start preparing and how was it different for the first attempt and this attempt?

[00:01:28]Were your preparation methodology? Did you start preparing Cardiology exclusively in your residency or were you doing medicine first and preparing on Harrison and then just doing diagram table flowcharts Braunwald that I usually tell my students to go. Don't go full Braunwald. Just go to the videos, do the test, do the PYQs, do the Q bank and then come back and cover up the topics that you feel that you're not done with. Or what was the or was it the other way around? So, how was the difference between >> No, sir.

[00:01:53]>> your preparation approach and the the and the uh the first attempt and the second attempt.

[00:02:00]>> Huh, so so actually what happened what went right this time is I followed what you had told sir. Like first get through everything first the videos that QBank and then just cover up the things that are pending from Braunwald.

[00:02:11]The mistake I did in the first time was you know going through Braunwald completely and a lot of things made sense and so many things are given so beautifully there but I lose track of the the things to focus on and so that's why I felt that you know going for the important things the high yield topics are more important rather than just reading the book fully.

[00:02:30]>> Absolutely. Absolutely. As I was discussing also the other success stories that Braunwald is a book to be read in 3 years. You can't expect it to be thorough in 6 months, right?

[00:02:41]And then again high yield topics. I mean we always tell that pregnancy, cardiac tumors, chemotherapeutic agents, pre-op assessment, a clinical examination. You do 40 pages, you get four questions. You go to 10 pages, you get one question.

[00:02:57]Compare this with ACS, 400 pages, you get two questions. So it doesn't make sense. I mean I mean you can do ACS from Harrison itself and that's fair enough. I mean Harrison doesn't you don't forget Harrison. You've done it for 3 years. So I think it makes very much good sense.

[00:03:13]So yeah. Yeah, so I mean that's that's one strategy that you said that you would do and that's that's really important and that's what you did differently. So how was Dr. Najeeb's helpful? I mean the videos and the notes and then going the QBank and then coming back to revise where you went wrong in your question bank and were you keeping a track where you were falling wrong in your question bank attempts or and coming back and visiting the topic?

[00:03:40]>> Huh, so what I used to do was I used to go through the videos first to understand what the topic is about and once I do the videos I used to do the question banks immediately within two to three days and then I used to have this confidence to you know okay I know the topic I can do it more or less on that.

[00:03:54]But then when I had to come back when I revisited the topic after a few days, I realized there were some lapses in the things that I understood. And so, doing the Q bank again and understanding rather than just blindly going to the correct answer, you know, analyzing, ruling out the other options, that helped me through the second time around. And then the grand test, especially the last few ones just before the exams, I remember a lot of the questions, they had topics which were asked in the previous INI, like frailty and all those and they had actually come for this exam also. So, I feel the grand test gave us a really good edge this time.

[00:04:26]>> Right, because grand test the design on the changing patterns that are adopted.

[00:04:31]For example, frailty is a concept that Noacs did not talk about when the older edition of Harrison was there. When the new edition came, the new Brunwald came, the frailty started emerging, people started defining, then talking about where to do, what to do, what scores to use, etc. And this this is how then we actually adopt to the new test series.

[00:04:49]And then of course, because it's in vogue, the questions can actually pop up, you know. So, yeah, that's the stress. So, how were the videos? I mean, some of the videos have been recently updated. Some of them are old ones. So, how were the videos? I think 110 odd videos are there for the INI.

[00:05:04]>> Ah, sir, excellent. And then everything that we need is there, sir. So, there is no need for anything else. The videos are very good, sir. And I really felt like it was I was sitting in an actual classroom, you know, interacting with you. And the mock interviews also that you did, that really helped us towards the end, sir.

[00:05:22]>> Yeah, so this this year again I was discussing, I usually say they don't put spotters. I have a video on spotters, but this year deliberately maybe they heard and they put a spotter this year.

[00:05:33]So, there was a spotter for everyone and they asked left many equivalent or something like that. And then it was Everybody was asked the same spotter. So, that was one good thing that the same spotter was kept for everyone. But usually this has not been a INI history to actually in an ask a spotter. But I always stress I mean I think the spotters are again there is this video on spotters and usually one or the other MCQ will actually pops up out of it for the exams also. I believe I think this time it was constriction versus restriction gap discordant pattern. Was it asked this time? Was it there in the I think so sir.

[00:06:07]>> I think so sir.

[00:06:09]>> And there was some images as well based on echo or was it ECG this time? I think they were only two image based questions in the final or there were none.

[00:06:19]>> For the interview sir?

[00:06:21]>> No no not the interview the for the theory the written part.

[00:06:25]Computer based I think this this time they did not have any image.

[00:06:29]So maybe they were trying to make it >> It wasn't there I think so yes.

[00:06:34]They changed pattern.

[00:06:36]>> Yeah because so most of the times I mean maybe they that should have been a clue because they did not ask any image based question. I think they were more more descriptive history based questions were still there but image based questions that usually one or the other ECG rhythm that have been a trend like five six years back has been changing of late so maybe they could they were probably looking to make it for it in the interview. So when you prepared this time discussion approach for the latest guidelines because what happens now every other month one or the other topic will get a new guideline from one or the other association. ESC will say EHA will give ADA will release KDIGO will come up with something. So what were you doing? How were you doing? And also I want to ask you about the trials because there was I remember a lot of noises to what trials important trials and then I had to share two PDFs one for the last decade and was one of the large trials. So how did you prepare for those two topics the trials and the latest guidelines? And how was it helpful in the Dr. Deryl group?

[00:07:41]>> So for the trials uh, like you said, the PDF was there, sir. And I actually used, uh, ChatGPT for this. So, what I did was I, uh, I copied the entire list of trials there, and I had this custom MCQs made, uh, every day at 5:00 p.m. and at uh, 9:00 p.m. So, ChatGPT would automatically remind me, and I just have to put the prompt, and then I would get the trials. It asked me questions based on those trials. And so, it was just me testing, and especially these similar name trials or uh, trials for the same studies, like uh, role of PCI post MI, things like that. So, things that are easily confused, I had to I used to revise them again and again. So, every day I was brushing up with around 10 to 15 trials, on a good day maybe more. And so, that's what helped me, uh, understand trials. That was also a mistake that I made the first time around. I neglected trials a lot. I focused only on the main ones. But this time I went more in-depth for the trials, sir. So, that's how I managed the trials part. And then, uh, other than that, uh, the new updates in medicines, sir. So, they're actually, um, uh, pulmonary embolism and dys- lipidemia. Actually, there were videos that you had also uploaded, so >> Yes, I had shared a video on >> I actually didn't go through uh, to I didn't go through all of the major updates, sir. Just, uh, a few of those, and thankfully, it That's all that was in >> They were the one that were asked here.

[00:08:53]Dyslipidemia is was very much expected, and that's why the first video that I prepared for a guideline was for dyslipidemia. And actually, we made it free for all because we didn't want just to be discriminated. I'm sorry for that, you were subscriber. But I think our students know as to, uh, what are the important ones, and they could listen to and go through it.

[00:09:11]And dyslipidemia guidelines were the one that actually was asked across how it is changed, what are the new therapies, etc. That's been always been in vogue.

[00:09:19]Uh, uh, right Abhishek. So, uh, for those who are intending to prepare for November 26, what are the tips that you want to give as to how they are a DocTutorials subscriber, or what is their approach that they should follow for remaining, say, three or four months, and then consolidate upon?

[00:09:36]>> Uh, so, the studying part, everybody knows it already. You just go through the videos, do the questions, sit and revise. Revision is key. And then always stay in touch with the updates and trials. Cardiology, definitely trials.

[00:09:47]So, these things everybody knows, but other than that, I also would like to say just, you know, hang in there.

[00:09:53]Sometimes it might feel like it is too much and, you know, it's much beyond something that we can do, but just hang in there. Anyway, support is there. We have great faculties, great lectures, everything. So, everything is there. All you have to do is just, you know, sit in and lock in. We can do it.

[00:10:09]>> Thank you. Thank you for giving those inspiring words to all colleagues and your juniors who are actually looking forward to get mentored. And I'm there in whatever way I can support you, Abhishek, when you join your DM residency.

[00:10:24]I wish you all the best. I'm sure you're going to get one of the best seats and then you're going to make most of it.

[00:10:29]One of the dream seats that you and everybody looks out for is something that's there on the offing for you. So, best wishes and congratulations and have a good time with your family and friends. Enjoy and celebrate your success.

[00:10:42]>> Thank you, sir.

[00:10:45]>> So, bye-bye. Take care.

[00:10:47]>> Bye, sir.

[00:10:49]Bye.