MBBS Coaching for international licensing exams

                              

If the textbooks could teach...

Publishers would be doctors

Text Books are full of information and professors are lecturing to the best of their abilities but; do all students get it? The answer is NO. How about our newly found love, “apps”, flooding our minds with information at our fingertips, turning everyone into a “virtual scholar” (in theory)? What about the mountains of information available on Wikipedia, Google,ask.com, about.com, MSN, Bing, Yahoo, dictionaries, encyclopedias and other web search engines? Then there are White papers, renowned universities’ information pages and blog posts. It’s an ocean deep and sky high treasure of knowledge at our disposal, yet students cannot navigate their way through passing exams and remain somewhat lost.

Well, there is a reason for all this. A simple explanation is embedded in history. We know that mankind has always needed coaching and leadership. For Noah to build an ark, Ram and Buddha to teach love for humanity, Moses to bring back the tablets, Jesus to deliver the Good News and Mohammad to legislate the Law of Moses and Good News of Jesus. They were great coaches of morality. The era of scientific revelation started in the later centuries through people like Avicenna, Algebra, Newton and Einstein whose coaching affects us today and will continue to, tomorrow.

Coaching is an essential ingredient of leadership. Without coaching, teams do not win and students do not succeed. Lead My World (LMW) has a philosophy of developing coaching skills amongst the leadership, thereby coaching students to achieve their academic and career goals. Lead My World targets specific academic concepts, collects data, and after critical analysis, develops coaching strategies. Lead My World meticulously addresses the subject matters and their content in depth to present to students in a manner that they can relate to. LMW presents multi-dimensional renderings of human science concepts with intricate details. Our coaching is nurturing in style and that makes learning easy and very effective.

We learnt that most MBBS graduates from China generally fail the licensing exams in their respective countries. Our critical analysis determined the reasons for failure but we were not interested in stopping there. Our goal was to develop a sustainable strategy that delivers solutions and we did. We developed coaching programs for MBBS students to make them understand the depth, the logic, the rational, and the relation between perception and reality. Our interactive live lecture classes make students participate and own what they learn, which results in better retention and clarity of concepts. Students who have been coached by Lead My World are self-confident and perform at an equal level with M.D.s from the USA, Canada, and other countries.

Lead My World’s coaching program for MBBS has the following features

·         MCI,PMD,BMDC,PLAB, USMLE, MRCP,AMC and HPCSA licensing exam preparations

·         Students prefer to watch Video Lectures so we developed video lectures on international licensing examinations.

·         Lead My World in collaboration with their partners produced a series of state of the art animated coaching videos on human anatomy. We developed high yield content books, MCQs, & case studies of core concepts   

·         Lead My World’s business and academic development wing has created preparatory classes & proven exam strategy seminars and techniques for passing the exams.

·         For those procrastinators and last minute planners, Lead My World even developed a fast track, crash course with live on demand lectures and revision on weak points.

These features have resulted in the following benefits to Lead My World’s students

·         A comprehensive study & revision of MBBS subjects was a refresher for some and surprisingly comprehendible for others studying for examinations for the first time. Step by step study in a non-judgmental and non-performance oriented environment proved to be more palatable and productive for enrolled students.

·         This coaching is done by expert doctors and educators with strategic teaching methodology.

·         The curriculum specifically deals with and emphasizes on passing licensing exams of respective countries while re-enforcing their CK and CS for future applications.

·         This coaching program gives Lead My World’s   students a competitive edge over those who do not take coaching. It is a confidence builder and ultimately gives the graduates great positioning for residencies and job placements.

LMW coaching Strategy 

MBBS 1st Year: - Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry

MBBS 2nd Year: -Pathology, Pharmacology

MBBS 3rd Year: - Microbiology, Ophthalmology, ENT

MBBS 4th Year: - Internal Medicine, Surgery

MBBS 5th Year: - Obstetrics, Gynecology, Pediatrics

MBBS 6th Year: - Orthopedics, Dermatology, Psychiatry,

Radiology, Anesthesia, Forensic medicine

          

·         For information visit www.Leadmyworld.com or send your questions to: Najam@Leadmyworld.com

USMLE and MBBS Degree: Practice as a Medical Doctor in the USA

MBBS & USMLE

Lead My World has now instituted USMLE preparatory classes with a MBBS degree program at the International School of Capital Medical University Beijing, Peoples Republic of China. It is important to talk about what USMLE stands for, not from the standpoint of the abbreviation but the VALUE of it. It basically brings MBBS (A 6 year undergraduate clinical medicine degree, Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery) graduates to work in the United States, shoulder to shoulder with MD degree holding doctors if they pass all three steps of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) with distinction. Here are some informative facts about the USMLE;

United States Medical Licensing Examination is a qualifying test for practicing Medical Doctors in the United States. This examination is endorsed and sponsored by the FSMB - Federation of State Medical Board and the NBME - National Board of Medical Examiners

 USMLE is a platform to evaluate and assess the ability to comprehend the principles and methodologies of diagnoses/treatment concepts. The test is comprised of three major steps   

Step 1

An examination to assess a candidate’s clinical knowledge and understanding of;

• ·         Scientific concepts in basic medicine
• ·         Principles and methodology or mechanisms of body health, disease, and different modes and options of treatment and therapy.
• ·          Fundamental and scientific knowledge of competent practice of medicine
• ·         Comprehensive knowledge of System and Processes

Step 2

·         In this examination, a candidate is tested on his/her application of knowledge and skills as it relates to the clinical science’s understanding and its supervised application for patient care.

• ·         Knowledge and skills of human health protection, health promotion, and disease prevention.
• ·         Basic rules of clinical sciences and basic patient-centered skills and medical practice.

Step 2 CK- Clinical Knowledge

Clinical Knowledge is based on an integrated material outline that organizes clinical science along two dimensions: Medical Doctor’s practice and disease categories.

• ·         This one day exam is also divided into blocks.
• ·         The test format can vary with each block.
• ·         Each block will have a maximum of 45 items which will be displayed in the beginning of the test.
• ·         Total items of the blocks will not exceed 355
• ·         A total of one hour is allotted for each block

Step 2 CS- Clinical Skills

This is one of the most important components of the USMLE. In this segment, examinees are tested on their clinical skills ranging from bedside manners, gathering data from the patients, physical examination, to communication skills of conveying facts to the patients and colleagues alike. The examiners watch each step of the candidate with very critical and minuet observation.

Step 3

In this final step of examination, candidates are assessed on their ability to apply their CK and CS of biomedical and clinical science.

·         Candidates are observed for the unsupervised practice of medicine.

·         The emphasis of this test is on patient management in an ambulatory setting. 

·         Passing of this exam can lead a candidate to acquiring a license to practice medicine without supervision.

·         The test items are case studies and real patient situations designed by Medical Experts, State Board Members, Medical Academic experts, and nonacademic experts.

·         Evaluation of tasks, patient’s issues and the severity of conditions, their solutions.

·         Patient centered case studies of a clinical encounter+assessment and physician’s judgment.

·         Since the applied science and clinical fundamentals have been observed in step 1 and 2, the prognoses justification is assessed in step 3 as it relates to its rational and justification.

Examination format:

·         It is comprised of 8 hour daily testing for 2 days.

·         First day an examine has to answer 336 Multiple Choice Items (MCI)

·         These MCIs are divided into 7 blocks with 48 items  in each block 

·         Abstract or Pharmaceutical associated items may differ in the number of items per block.

·         2^nd day of testing is comprised of 144 MCI divided into 4 Blocks of 36 items. Total time to complete the tasks is 3 hours for these blocks.

·         There are 12 case simulations with a 4 hour completion time.

National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)

NBME was founded in 1915. NBME is an independent, non-profit organization, serving through its high-quality assessments of healthcare professionals.

USMLE was developed by NBME and is managed by it. The purpose of licensing exams is to test the core competencies of an individual to practice Medicine in the USA. It is important to note that NBME and FSMG co-sponsor the United State Medical Licensing Exams in collaboration with Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). NBME also sponsor PLAS, Post Licensure Assessment System for evaluation of already licensed Medical Doctors. This extends a new common standard between American and International Graduate Doctors.  

Certification as NBME Diplomat

The requirements for NBME Certification as a Diploma are as follow;

·         Successful completion of USMLE's 3 steps or a combination of parts & steps.

·         MD degree from an accredited medical school of LCME, Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

·         Accreditation Counsel on Graduate Medical Education, ACGME’s accredited Internship in Canada

I will be delighted to answer any further questions about USMLE or the MBBS degree program at CCMU. Please contact me at Najam@Leadmyworld.com

 Najam Hasan

University ranking Shamanking

University Ranking Shmanking

I received a call from the office manager of an organization that the “president” wanted to speak with me on some important matters as a result of the performance of my organization proved to be exemplary that year, or so she said. We set up a phone appointment for the day I planned to be available for the president who was joined by the “chairman” of the board to congratulate me for the “job well done” and begged leave for his appointment. The president was very pleasant, articulated himself well as an educated person, communicated like a well versed person and informed me that I had won the prestigious award of my field and will be receiving my award certificate and a shield of recognition. The gentleman also advised me that I can only receive the award at a banquet ceremony at the Westin Hotel and that the event would be covered by the media along with some politicians and celebrities presence. This was no hoax. The president informed me that the dinner was complimentary but I had to make a contribution of $5,000 to attend the ceremony. There was no hissing sound but my excitement fizzled when he insisted on making the “donation” to his organization. Mind you, this organization was advertising in some prestigious magazines as a business evaluating company for a while so the authenticity was not in question.  

It finally downed on me that the president was probably calling me from the chairman’s a desk away office. No, it was not a scam. He offered an award and priced it according to the demographics. He was very upset that I was not giving this “award opportunity” the credit it deserved. On my insistence that if won the award then it should not be tied with a donation, he almost yelled at me with frustration for letting the opportunity go. I could understand his frustration; he lost a business prospect with a very high profit margin. Lesson learnt, was that all awards and rankings are not based on the commonly acceptable merit which is based on facts.

Ranking of schools is no different than that. Wait a minute- That may not be a fair statement so let us rationalize it. Let us take the high ranking schools like, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, U Penn, MIT, Stanford,  UCLA, UCB, UCSD, JH, UCal and some more, they are pretty darn good schools. They do not pay advertisement money to get their high ranking, they earned from the past performance and lack of competition. The fact of the matter is that the higher you pay these magazines for the “advertorials” or advertisement, better the ranking you get. They also use criteria like, how long you have been advertising with them, how much money you are spending with them and how regularly etc.. That can get your institution ranking up and down also. It’s crying shame that the education profession has become a pure business in some cases. No one ranks those small town colleges in God forsaken districts where the professors and teachers work twice as hard with less than adequate support staff, lack of funding, falling apart facilities but working to the max of their abilities and availabilities. Can someone start ranking those financially struggling institutions and underpaid over worked faculties please? Can someone give a damn about how it affects the moral of the staff when the “endowment fund” is a luxury that you can fantasize about but not realize it?  

Ranking shmnking, it’s all a politics and business as usual game. Should we ask ourselves, why do we want to give more money to the institutes already overflowing with funding and not support the “No name” institutes? Surely they do not have the resources to groom you to be the president or CEO but isn't that what we start learning between the age of differentiation to the age of 5 or 7? If you have perfect GPA, financing in place and aspire to be the leader, knowing that realistically you can do it, go to the high ranking schools we mentioned here but otherwise get an admission in a school that offers the best curriculum, dedicated faculty and a chance to shine and outrun those Ivy League and high ranking school graduates as not all of them become president of the United States, only one out of thousands does every 4 to 8 years. So what about the rest of the CEO s and leaders? Where do they come from? The rise from within ranks! Little do we know that high ranking is done by commercial entities and not the unbiased educational authorities?  So do you a favour when it comes to the question of which school I should be going to? Ask yourself instead, which schools I can or should not attend and why. That ought to make things clearer. It may be sobering in some cases and enlightening in others. Some of these magazines in business of selling the “best school rankings” may not give me an award for my truth in higher education Blog but then again, I do not advertise with them so it won’t make a difference.        

Imagine all the people, not like John Lennon did but just imagine all the people having access to higher education like they do in the USA? Imagine someone holding your kids hands and guiding them through a bridge to cross over in the world of good colleges and universities, clearing a pathway with their experience to navigate through these uncharted waters? Imagine a group of people caring for and worrying about your children’s well-being and success same as you do? Do people like that exist?

Yes they do, the world is full of good people and goodness. We only hear about the exceptions, all because the media programs and educates us in a certain way. Speaking of education, exploration for higher education and its sources is on the rise. People realize that having an associate or even a bachelor degree is not enough to survive in this ever so competitive world. It’s all about specialization now. Specialization in the field you choose to cultivate.

Globalization made this world a village but the cutting edge technology has even brought knowledge in our palms and fingertips, literally. Superficial knowledge is so common that Holiday Inn made a commercial in which, this gentleman is giving a pilot some instructions on how to land a helicopter and some admirer asked him where he learnt flying, “No but I stayed at Holiday Inn last night he replies”, Insinuating the knowledge he gained by listening to the conversations at free breakfast hotel offers.

How do you get to have that interview call or the SMS about job interview? It’s in the magic of your resume. A resume that states the degree and the university you attended. Your professional certifications, accreditation of your school, association membership, intern-ship and residencies. It all matters to the employers now a day. More and more people are applying for the same opportunity as we all are exposed to the same source of information and aspire for the best. Employers are no longer comparing apples to oranges. It is apples to apples-stupid. What distinguishes an apple from another apple is the quality of juice it has in it and the energy it can generate. This juice comes from a higher degree and the energy from the quality of education you receive from the university you attend. I am proud of the schools I have attended but I would not pick the university I chose over University of Bridgeport that gave me an admission but not the scholarship. Today I would go to schools of better ranking over the desperate need for a scholarship. Today if the ranking is one notch higher, I am willing to pay 10% more in fees, imagine paying double the fee for double the quality of higher education?

It’s worth it. It’s worth it because you pay that higher tuition fee for 2 to 4 years, depending on your degree program but enjoy the higher salary for over twenty five years of your career. Higher degree programs allow better grooming of individuals and maturity of theoretical knowledge, deeper than superficial knowledge. Some countries do not allow lawyers to practice until they complete the JD level of education, D.Pharmacy for pharmacists and M.D. for practising doctors.

In USA, there are more M.D. degree student candidates than the available seats in medical schools. It does not stop there; your desired residency has become more difficult to get into and if you are looking for a hospital or a district of your choice, you can forget about it unless you are outstanding and it shows on your CV. Higher the GPA, higher the chances of getting an interview. You also get to choose a lot with a higher education degree at a high ranking school. One can make an argument that some of the “high ranking” schools are over rated. True some are. The rankings are politically and commercially motivated and that is a valid argument for a debate, indeed. One of nephews is attending Harvard and he think, Harvard is “overrated” but on the other hand my other nephew who attended U-Penn for his MBA degree, attributes his success to the university culture and values. Higher education is no longer a property of the Ivy League, it is becoming common. Ivy League surely produced great professors and educators but they have left and joined other institutions, a league of their own and that is a good thing for all. Goodness exists all over and education is a key to open the doors to spread it regardless of USA-China or the rest of the world.