I took the INI-CET exam on November 20, and the moment I finished writing it, I felt I won’t be able to crack it because I had made some silly mistakes. I kept panicking the whole week till the results were announced on November 28,” says Dr Nikhil Vasudeva, 23, who achieved INI-CET AIR 1 among 30,000 MBBS students who took the exam this year.
The Institute of National Importance Common Entrance Exam (INI-CET) is mandatory for the PG courses in any of the four institutes — AIIMS, JIPMER, PGIMER and NIMHANS — in any of the specialities.
On the day of the result, Vasudeva woke up at 6:30am, entered his role number on the website, and couldn’t believe his eyes. “I had got All India Rank 1. I immediately called up my father in Punjab, and my friends and requested them to cross check. My father later told me ‘only you were unsure of yourself, we all knew you would make it’. I feel happy that my family is proud of me as no one has ever been an MBBS in my family,” recalls Vasudeva, who hails from Kathera village in Punjab and recently completed his MBBS degree from Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.
It was Vasudeva’s late mother, a pharmacist herself, who wanted him to get into the field of medicine. In 2015, he cracked the MBBS entrance, just a few months after her demise. “I chose this field because of her. Whenever I was low on motivation, I thought of her, and used to tell myself that if I could crack an exam during this difficult time, I can do it again,” says Vasudeva, who also credits his friends Karan, Sidharth, and Ramyash for his achievement as they always believed in him.
“Every day, after my internship (9:00am-4:00pm), I used to devote six hours preparing for this test for the past three years.” On weekends, he took coaching classes that lasted 8-12-hours a day. But achieving an AIR 1 is just the beginning of a long, tough road ahead, he believes.“My ultimate goal is either a fellowship in the US or the UK or a super specialisation here in next five years,” says Vasudeva, who also served in the COVID ward at his workplace, Safdarjung Hospital, in the pandemic. For now, he wants to do his PG from AIIMS, Delhi. “The residency there is more like a job. In the first year, I will get a stipend of `1per a month. I am interested in Cardiology and Oncology, but I have three years’ time to take that decision while doing my PG,” he adds.
When not buried in his books, Vasudeva loves to play his guitar and hum a song or two. “Music is my stress buster. Apart from that, I love talking to my family and visit my friends, who have always stood by my side,” he adds.To aspiring medical students, Vasudeva says practice is the key. “Even I was unsure of my preparation before the exam. But taking more and more mock tests and getting good ranks really boosted my morale. I never shied away from taking tests. It helped me a lot.”
Fulfiling his mother’s dream
It was Vasudeva’s late mother, a pharmacist herself, who wanted him to get into the field of medicine. In 2015, he cracked the MBBS entrance, just a few months after her demise. “I chose this field because of her,” he says.