How I passed AKT despite struggling to focus: Dr Khine

For me the first couple of weeks was a real struggle – even completing twenty questions in one go was a challenge. I kept on getting distracted and wanted to rest as my brain – it was certainly not used to doing regular questions like this anymore! 

I tried to learn with my friends and set up time to study questions together online, however everyone had different learning techniques and learning speeds. My long Covid was leading to exhaustion and so I ultimately stopped this approach. 

Early on I would suggest trying a number of different learning techniques to know which way is the best way for you – both in terms of speed and effectiveness. This will help significantly in reducing stress and anxiety – something that was my biggest struggle.

I later learned that I study better with background soothing music and just doing it at my own pace – alone – and having the mindset that just doing however many questions that I could (even just two or three question at a time) is profit for me rather than no questions at all. 

Targeting a certain number of questions a day tended to stress me out and made me feel like I was going to fail (I know this helps for others however). I ended up just doing 10 questions at a time, followed by reviewing notes around the topics that I wasn’t familiar with. I then took a quick break and moved onto the next 10 questions.

After I got into the habit of doing questions regularly – even a few a day – it eventually got me a little motivation as I realised my own strategy.

If I encounter a subject that is quite new to me (for example cows milk allergy in paediatrics), I would use passmedicine notes (which are concise and to the point) for clinical notes. 

For a ‘system by system’ summary I found listening to the Arora clinical audiobook very good for me. I found that I could learn much better by listening rather than reading, and found it much less stressful than reading whole paragraphs and steps in management – something that I initially found exhausting. If you prefer visual/video learning then the clinical crammer online course may help instead.

I chose to listen when I was in a good headspace, or at times when I was not focused enough to do questions – for example before bed time, after lunch, whilst travelling or sometimes even when I simply didn’t feel like doing anything at all.

When I did questions, I tried to mix it up – I might do ten questions from one question bank, followed by ten from another. I definitely felt that mixing it up made me better equipped to deal with questions in the real exam as they came in various formats.

For me it really doesn’t depend on the number of questions done in a day, it depends on how much you understand the topics inside the questions. When you do questions, I’d suggest really reviewing the answers closely, trying to understand the disease, pathogenesis and reasons for management – especially which is the next investigation of choice.

For the statistics part, the Arora stats material is only the resource I used to pass the exam. It is very clear and you can re-use it as many times as you want in order to understand the whole process of statistics. If you are struggling with statistics please don’t only do lots of calculations – take time to understand the principles behind the calculations as well – something that Dr Arora explains very well in his audiobook. 

Following Dr Arora’s Instagram helped right up to my exam as he posts a lot of AKT-relevant material on his insta feed (plus I am a social media addict!). For Dr Arora’s teaching follow @dr_aman_arora.

For mocks, I personally did the Arora mock exam bundle. These are more difficult than the usual ones and definitely highlighted my weak areas such as not reading the questions carefully (although I knew the subject well) and skipping to the end and not reading the small question details. I would definitely recommend the Arora question bank and mocks as they really helped set me straight.

In the week before the exam I was very lucky to have the support of my partner for food and general ‘looking after’, making sure that I studied the most that I could. Ordering takeaways for the week is a good suggestion, and don’t forget to pamper yourself too lol.

On the day before the exam I just revised the summaries of stats and admin, did a few couple of questions, rested and ate well. 

The exam itself felt very confusing and was certainly tiring. I managed to finish on time although usually I finished very early in practice. 

Please don’t try to study on the day of the exam – especially if you have a morning sitting – by then you will have studied your best. I’ve always found that last minute cramming just makes me feel frustrated and not able to focus on the exam itself – but of course you may be different!

After a long and challenging journey I was lucky to pass AKT first time. I really hope my blog can help those people who struggle to focus, those who have difficulty concentrating or those who feel anxious and easily flustered – I certainly fit all of these categories and I still managed to get through 

Dr Khine GPST2

Clear Teaching Built for Busy Trainees

If you want a guided path, our AKT resources help you build confidence at each step. Everything is created by senior UK doctors with experience in the exam and in teaching.

You can choose:
– AKT Ultimate – a full AKT preparation system with question banks, videos, audios, live teaching, flashcards and mock exams.
– A live AKT teaching programme held over a few months before each sitting.
– Individual resources such as audios, videos, question banks or mocks. 

Each option follows a clear plan that helps you stay organised and focused. Explore these more here.

Also:
– Join National AKT WhatsApp Teaching Group here
– Get AKT Updates and Teaching Emails here.
– Register for next Free AKT Webinar here.