It's A New World, It's A New Life: Orientation Guide to Anxious Freshmen ( Batch 2013-18 )!!

by
Muhammad Salik
Unsa Athar

Batch'17

The title of this article is the name of a song by Bryan Adams. So everybody listen to the song and you’ll get an idea how life changes when you enter Medical College and even more when you enter K.E.

(This guide for freshmen is for a general kemlife. We’ll be posting a complete hostel guide for girls and boys soon)

(We've heard that the method of teaching is changing to Module system this year. So study patterns and stuff might be different for you guys from the ones mentioned here)

A BOY'S POV

PROLOGUE OF FRESHMEN AT KEMU:

Disclaimer: This article is written by a Kemcolian, so everything here is from K.E's point of you plus the writer is a Guy so it's a bit inclined towards Boys, only a bit so still every Med Student and Girls should read it too and change the context according to them. No Offense.

First of all thank Allah, Each one of you did very well, Y’ALL MADE IT TO K.E. So guys everybody here is the Man of the Match. Congratulations to all of you for being simply outstanding in your MCAT and for getting Admission into this dream institution we call KING EDWARD MEDICAL UNIVERSITY. So basically you’re the CREAM of the CREAM. Ohh this line never gets old. You’re the “CREME DE LA CREME”

So if your reading this blog you’re either a reader type of person or simply put you’re real nervous for your first day at KEMU as well as your First year as Freshmen. In KEMU every year the 2^nd year guides the New first year. So keeping the tradition alive I am writing this blog to duly brief you all about the roller coaster ride that’s up ahead. Buckle up work belts and here we go…

We’ll talk about in points here, like in chapters. Kind of like a movie from Quentin Tarantino.

Chapter 1: BE PROUD

Okay so let’s make things interesting. What you need to know about your life up ahead Is that it is simply AWESOME. K.E was the best choice you ever made. Of course the opportunity presented itself and you grabbed it. So be proud about it. Show it off a little. And know that you’re the best Med Student in the bestest University. And believe me, you’re gonna love it. Why are you the best? Because you’ve achieved the impossible. Like you dreamed about going to K.E and thought it was near impossible. Now you’ll live the impossible.

Chapter 2: BOOKS

Do not buy any books on your own. When you go to Union like a nerd and ask him to give you all the good books of first year MBBS. You just end up with a large pile of books and even a larger sum of payment. Medical books are expensive so buy them after consulting someone who is in K.E, best thing to do is to ask your immediate seniors and the second best thing to do is to just buy the books I am gonna mention below.

Anatomy: B.D Churasia Vol 1 and 2, KLM embryo, GA by GA, Laiq Hussain for histo, Netter's atlas for spotting

Biochemistry: Mustaq Vol 1

Physiology: Good Old ‘Guyton’ (that’s a hell of a book believe me). Try to buy Guyton in 2 Volume, One with 1st year Contents and other with 2nd year Contents.

Instant books for Instant Study: 
Physio : Firdous Physiology, 
Embryo: Sharjeel Embryology, 
biochem: Fiaq Ahmed Instant Biochemistry,
Histo: Essentials of Histology by M.Amir

Books not to buy: Don’t buy the cunningham Dissector, it’s no use. Don’t buy any other books of any other subject without first reading that book in the K.E library. Reading a book tells you whether you understand that book or not. And DON’T ever buy twilight (you know what I mean!).I’ll mention some extracurricular books in my next article.

Chapter 3: ENJOYS YOUR HOLIDAYS

Please don’t ruin you pre-joining holiday by reading anything medical or simply study related. Go have some real fun. Watch a lot of movies, watch the award winning TV-series, watch whatever you like, Go on a trip to somewhere, visit some restaurants, have a Bar.B.Q, read great novels, go to a Cinema to watch Waar, or Catching Fire or Mjolnir in action, JUST STAY AWAY FROM BOOKS coz for the next 5 year you’re gonna be dug up deep in all these books. So have some fresh air while you still can.

Chapter 4: THERE WILL BE AN INTERVIEW! SERIOUSLY!!

So everybody, maybe you’ve heard or read about a medical examination and interview that is taken before giving you admission to the intstitute. When I heard of it I thought….. seriously!!!! An interview, like we haven’t done enough yet to get the damn admission and now they want to take an interview and Medical exam, and that’s right, you’ve done more than enough to get this admission so no need to worry about anything now, it’s just a formality. It’s a simple day when your height and weight will be checked and you eye-sight and your medical history is taken, like any operation or stitches or anything else. It’s just for the institutes own data management or information and nothing to worry about. And there will be no interview. So chill out. They’ll give you a chalan form and you’ll have to submit your fee in HBL KEMU Branch, it’s just beside the Café, Hostilities fee is about 55,000, while Day Scholar fee is about 25,000, still keep an extra 5-10 thousand in case they’ve increased it this year.

Chapter 5: NEED TO KNOW TERMS:

Theeta: A nerd who’s despised all the year for studying too much and not playing and having fun and when the profs are over everybody keeps saying, ‘That’s the person who deserves a distinction’.

Zero Point: A point where everybody sits and haves causal conversations and passes their leisure time but for first years it’s the pit, it’s the point which every first year should avoid at all costs. Otherwise face the consequences with courage.

 ...........................................................................................................

FIRST DAY AT KEMU:

So you’ve enjoyed your holidays and today you wake up and get dressed up cozy to go to KEMU for the first time. You have a lot of expectations, so in order to avoid any kind of shock to your primitive emotion, let me clear a few misconceptions here.

1.       On the first day there will be no study.

2.       You will not be ragged and fooled the whole day and the days up ahead.

3.       You’ll enjoy zero point like everybody else does.

4.       You’ll get a laptop form.

So what I really mean is that don’t get too comfortable guys, on the first day there will be a lot of fooling, there will be study especially Physiology Department will teach you one full chapter( yeah I know how awful this feels), there will be intro from all the Depts. First you’ll have a welcome speech, then you take the Oath, then a group photo is taken and then off you go and find the departments for lectures. While looking for the departments for lectures YOU WILL be ragged and fooled so be warned. Other than that your day will go jussst fine. And DO bring your overalls and wear them, they’re really important and useful in many ways ;-) .

LIFE IN KEMU:

IT IS AN AMAZING LIFE AND K.E IS AN AMAZING PLACE. You’ll love it once all the ragging stuff is done with, which by the way continues for a long long time. So KEMLIFE is the portal where you should be reading stuff about KEMLIFE (ironical isn’t it!). Kemunited has got about everything there is to KEMLIFE but I think I can make a few good additions. KEMLIFE can basically be divided into two parts: 1.Study 2.FUN. I like the fun part better so let’s begin with it.

KEMLIFE: THE FUN PART

How can I put it. It’s real hard to describe. We at K.E have fun all the time. The chapter about enjoying your holidays was just to make sure you enjoy them to their fullest but in reality there is a lot of fresh air in KEMU and the life here is simply amazing. We study hard when there are tests or something like that I am no so sure, you’ll see. But we chill out a lot.

First, the University is awesome. So what you can do for the first few day is just enjoy the view and architecture , explore the places, go to the café, visit al-kareem , wander about in Anarkali and I bet you’ll find a lot of fun thing to do.

SPORTS:

We have a lot of sports but the new VC has put a bit of a ban type of thing on sports during University hours so we used to play a lot but don’t know how things go this year. Otherwise let me tell you what we have here. Firstly all the games and courts are free to use for a Kemcolian, No fee no charges etc. You just have to pay registration fee in case you’re playing some championship or tournament. And you should have your own gear and Equipments.

Football: The ground you see when you enter K.E is Patiala ground, that is where all the football (Actually all the sports) happen in University. But KPL i.e King Edward Primeire league is held in Hostel Ground ( the best team there is The Rammers, you’ll hear about ‘em a lot)

Cricket: Same goes for cricket. Other than that, various event of cricket come up so join them, registration fee is very little so join up and enjoy. Fun is playing a game and even better is to win that game (I am so damn right, ain’t I ).

Table Tennis: We have 2 nice tables in Patiala block Library and one in Physiotherapy Dept and another one in New Hostel Common Room. There are two Titles held each year. One is Amatuer and other is Professional. Here again fee in Minimal and there are both singles and doubles. So if you play Table tennis Sign up and Prove it. In case you don’t play table tennis start playing it. It’s a really easy and fun game. You can’t win the championship but you still can enjoy it with the players or your caliber. Even girls play table tennis so enjoy the game (no offense girls, these boys just need a push).

Squash: Well there is a nice court in new hostel and championships are held. There are great players here. We have Peer Sahib in our Entry (he’s got a beard but he’s not the real deal so don’t go to him for dam darood, well if you take my advice just don’t go to any peer for that matter, we got plenty of doctors here you know!). Back to the sport then, you know how to play sign up for the title, you don’t know how to play just go to the court and enjoy the game, you’ll learn soon and nobody’ll stop you.

Badminton: Same here. A court in New Hostel and paly all you want just bring your own Racquet and Shuttle.

Swimming: There’s a pretty cool Swimming pool in New Hostel and it opens every summer. There is no Fee or Charges of any kind. Just take your Anatomy Card with you and enjoy the cool water. Don’t know how to swim, the pool is not for you, you’ll just drown. I mean come on don’t be a pussy, GO in there, somebody will teach you how to swim, just go to the pool and ask for instructions from someone, anyone who is swimming there. Swimming is easy thingy and one should definitely know how to swim. So here’s your chance to learn swimming.

I don’t think I missed anything but even if I did you’ll know when you come to K.E.

SOCIETIES:

We have got a lot of societies. And all these societies do a lot of good work. So if your talented or you want to become talented just join a society, any society, all the societies. Once you get to know all these societies you can then chose the one to keep and contribute towards depending on your interests.

And remember, nobody is going to give you anything for granted. Like you join a society and then wait for them to come to you and take your interview and give you a hotshot post in their society. You have to look up the events yourself, stay alert, know the dates of interview, look for opportunities to contribute and then fight for the opportunities that’s how you’ll end up doing something otherwise you’re just an imaginary part of the society.

Everything you need to know about all the societies is written up in great detail in the KEMLIFE section of kemunited, so read it there and decide what you have to do.

MOVIES: A Kemcolian always watches good movies. Go to IMDB.com Search for the best movies list and watch all the movies with 8+ rating. Coz here we watch a lot of movies.

TV SERIES: Same goes for TV Series. Must see series include: 1. Game of Thrones 2. Sherlock Holmes 3: Breaking Bad  4. The Big Bang Theory 5.House MD. Ask you senior they’ll guide you best about the series or movie to watch. It’s the ‘been there, done it’ type of thing with seniors, so they know things and can guide you in studies as well as in chillies…

NOVELS:    So when guys come to K.E some of them already read novels and some of them don't, and the ones who don't read get some inspiration from those who read and start reading some novel, but what these newbies don't know is that there are 2 kinds of novels, One for the girls with the girly stuff and the other are for the boys with the boys stuff, and for someone who is a regular real reader type of person every novel is a novel and that person knows which novel to read and which not to but when someone starts new after some inspiration either he becomes a reader or he just reads some 1,2,3,5 or 10 novels and then that’s it for all the inspiration and reading stuff is all done. So you can be either of that person but if you become the second one then make sure that the 5,10 or 20 novels that you read are the best ones the world has ever seen, written by the best authors ever. So do some research and then start reading but for some tips I’ll tell you my favorite authors, books and autobiographies and believe me, every list you see on the internet for great novels, the novel I am gonna mention here will be there. So lets begin( these are the novels which mainly boys can read and should read but girls can too and I know some girls who have read them too so go for them, they’re best sellers of all times):

Authors: Dan Brown, Jeffery Archer, Sidney Sheldon, Stephen King, J.K.Rowling Book Series: Harry Potter( I loved it when I read it some years back), Lord of the Rings, A Song of Fire and Ice. Now a days The Hunger Games, The Mortal Instruments, Divergent are very popular and they’re pretty good too, in the respective order. Read the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and only this book nothing else by Paulo Coelho is that good. Autobiographies: The Other Side of Me by Sidney Sheldon, Going Solo by Roald Dahl, in Urdu Shahab Nama by Shahab Sahib is a really really admired book. Well if you read the books by the authors I mentioned above and the series and these autobiographies I bet you have A LOT of books to read and if you read ‘em all or even 10-20 of ‘em you’ve got you entrance card into the world of readers. Then you’ll know what to do next all by yourself.

KEMLIFE: STUDIES

Well studies depend on yourself. You can study as much as you like  or you can study not at all, nobody really gives a hell. It’s all about you in the end. If you want to pass all the tests then study easy, if you want to top all the tests then study seriously, but in the end all that matters is the Big Fish, the real Monster, the Professional Exams. So in reality you just need to pass your profs to get through MBBS. Let’s discuss some aspects in points.

Attendence: Well don’t worry about it much. You need 75% attendance to take Prof. Exams and even if you fail to fulfill this requirement you should take the repeater classes and your good to go. So chill out this one. And proxy depends on the teacher taking the lecture. DH is mostly chill for proxies.

Tests: Well if you study a lot you’ll definitely pass all the tests, but other than that if you study like me and my friends i.e. you study for tests and then you chill out then again you study when the test comes, it’s all luck then, maybe you’ll pass maybe you’ll not but really it really doesn’t matter in the end. It effects your Internal Assessment marks which are 10 for practicals and 10 for written Exams. So it’s up to you again.

Substages and Stages: Well everybody studies for Anatomy and seriously you don’t study except for Anatomy. When Profs arrive, there is one subject that everybody has got prepared to some extent and that my friends is Anatomy.

Practicals: This is something that doesn’t matter at all, you’ll have to study for practicals and complete your copies eventually when practicals are upon you and believe me the 3 holidays in prof practical exams are enough for all the subject. But a word of advice, try to keep pace with the practical classes and make the copies in your practical classes, this way it is much easier and will take off a lot of burden during profs.

Reading Room: You need to read and want a quiet place with nice atmosphere, go the reading room. In the Uni it's just beside the Cafe. There is no fee or charges and really no need to make a card. Both for girls and boys, separate portions, sorry for that.

Library: It's in Patiala Block, that's the majestic white Building we all fall in love with. So you can sit in library, read library books but if you want to borrow any book then you need to open your account type of thing in the library register. It's like for 200 - 300 rupees.

Well that’s all about studies so don’t sweat it, everything’s gonna be alright.
 ...............................................................................................................................................................

A GIRL'S POV

“Today I close the door to the past, Open the door to future, take a deep breath, step on through and start a new chapter in my life.”

All hail the guys and gals out there to manage to make it to KEMU this year!!  Session 2013-14, I don’t know about feelings right now but I am way too excited because I am going to be your senior now ^_^ which means “RAGGING EVERY SINLGE ONE OF YOU” *evil laugh* and also passing on the tricks and tactics to survive the freshman year at KE my seniors told me. 

So ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seat belts for I am going to take you to a roller coaster ride through..umm.. well read it and you ll know. :P

CLASS GROUPS:

Find your class group(s) on facebook and join it. There may be a dozen of them. Join them all. They’ll help you a lot from the very beginning as they’ll keep you informed about interview dates and who get the letter and what stuff is needed for the interview and blah blah blah. When the session starts all the admins will agree on making a sinlge group so the issue of 10000+ notifications will resolve with time.  For those who have no previous friends/fellows with them: Don’t make friends quickly. Talk to people but be careful too. Trust can kill, especially hostellites.

ORIENTATION GUIDE AND RAGGING:

Your first day can be really fun or not-so-fun. You will be taken to the new auditorium and the pro VC will tell you stuff (stuff? Let’s keep the suspense ;) ) . Then you’ll take an oath (about how you’ll not flirt around because your class fellows are like your siblings :P ). You’ll be taken then to the lecture theatres and BANG! The little sweet bombs of M.B.B.S. will start bursting straight onto your head. The key to survive is DO NOT PANIC. Since 1860, people have been surviving this so you’ll survive too.

RAGGING:

Get yourself ragged! it’s in the limits chillax! Do not misbehave. If you try to act all cool arrogant dude who cannot be snubbed well then KE isn’t the place for you. Day scholars can avoid ragging by moving in groups and running away like mad chickens whenever senior spot you. Hostellites can’t avoid ragging but trust me it’ll help you make friends with seniors. Seniors paint the juniors’ faces with toothpaste if you misbehave. For boys, *sympathies* ragging in boys contains stuff that censor board doesn't allow to be mentioned in this blog. :P

STUDY:

Credits: Fabia Fayyaz

Yes you have to study here. That’s why you came here -_-

The thing you all (ok may be not all) want to know the most is the books to ought to have. So here’s the list.

ANATOMY:

·         GROSS:

(Bold and Underlined ones are a must. Others can be taken from the library or downloaded)

BD Churasia Volume 1,2  

KLM Clinically oriented anatomy  

Netter’s Atlas

RJ Last’s Anatomy

Gray’s Anatomy

Snell’s Anatomy

McMinn’s Atlas

Gross is taught via demonstrations and dissections and is tested through sub stages (viva/spotting) and stages (viva,written,spotting). There are three regions taught in first year : Upper limb, lower limb, thorax. 

·         GA:

Tassaduq’s GA

GA by Ghulam Ahmed

·         HISTOLOGY:

Laiq’s Hussein Histo.

diFiore’s atlas

Junqueira’s histo (download)

Hemotoxylin, Eosin Pencils. (these are pencils. Not a book)

Histo will be covered via lectures and practical.

·         EMBRYOLOGY:

KLM’s Embryo

Langmann’s

PHYSIOLOGY:

Guyton

Gannong

Mushtaq/Jaypee

BIOCHEMISTRY:

Mushtaq Volume 1,2

Lippincot

Hashmi’s

(Ander ki baat: The HOD’s probably changing this year so changes are expected in the department :P )

OTHER STUFF REQUIRED:

Lots and lots and lots and lots of passport size photographs.

·         An overall (labcoat)

·         Dissection box

·         Latex gloves

·         Money  :P  (for you’ll have to buy a little bit of this and little bit of that every now and then)

*Make it clear that passing/failing is now going to be a part of your life*  ._.

The rest of the study part has been mentioned quite well by Salik and hey we will be present at uni, 329 us, so you can ask anything you want whenever you want.

FUN FOR GIRLS:

KE is a fun place for girls too. You can act like crazy or be a sober elegant one it’s all as you please.  If you make good friends you’ll have fun of a lifetime here. You can go out to mm alam road, anarkali, fortress with friends. You can celebrate birthdays in the anatomy lawns. You can do whatever you want.

We have got every kind of society here for you girls to prove yourself. You can join all the societies and or none at all. It’s just that you’ll have to put in some hard work to get an output.  It’s really easy to manage societies with your studies (okay not that easy :P ) but please get a social life here. Join the societies of your interest. It’s just the best thing you can do here at KE.

Sports week:

A week full of fun. Theme day, colour day, funfair, gymkhana events; a chance to dress up and go crazy!

Read here to know about the societies we have here

http://kemunited.blogspot.com/2011/01/societies-at-kemu.html

A few things I would like to mention for girls:

• ·         Do not trust people too easily. You can never ever judge a person based on a two day or even a month long behaviour of them. Be nice to everyone and find your type with time
• ·         Do NOT get involved in the class politics or even society politics in your first year.  If you put your nose in everybody’s business I am telling you, you shall regret it.
• ·         You cannot survive here without your seniors Be nice to them. Being nice doesn’t mean you have to butter them all the time. Just respect them and do NOT try to act like something superior just because you have a higher merit aggregate than them. Because Seniors can make your life hell here if you call for it.
• ·         Try to avoid arguing at class groups. It’s of no use. Boys are boys. They are never going to accept anything :P
• ·         Set your limits and stay within them. If you cross the line, you’ll get labeled forever! (You are getting my point here, right?)
• ·         Leg pulling is not going to work here. Dig a hole for someone and you’ll find yourself being buried in a grave by them.
• ·         Okay, the rest of the stuff I’ll tell when we meet :D

Wishing you all the best!! I hope we have a good time together.

Looking forward to being a bossy senior :P

Read the 1^st Year, Laiba's and Kemlife tabs to know more about the place you are going to be a part of now!

http://kemunited.blogspot.com/p/kemlife.html

http://kemunited.blogspot.com/p/laibas.html

http://kemunited.blogspot.com/p/1st2nd-year.html

All hail kemcolians!

KEMU Original Logo. Photo Credits: Awais Raza

PS:

Oh and we shall throw a welcome party for you guys soon In Shaa Allah! 

Here's  the picture of last year's letter for interviews. It will give you an idea of the stuff required. Our classes were to start from 13th December. Check the dates on the letter and do the maths according to your date of commencement of your classes :)

http://kemunited.blogspot.com/2013/11/admission-letter.html