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Good afternoon. I'm I'm part of Binza team. I'm Sophia Lead. And what is Binza? Well, uh we are the Bulgaria International Medical Students Alliance. We are a community that we are interested in. Company registered in the UK. We have a hesitation number in UK. We are a charity organization and our aim is to build a more connect community for our international medical students studying in Bulgaria and make it more accessible for students to reach out for help and support. We are dedicated to helping students overcome the challenges of adapting to a new culture and education system by providing essential resource for academic, cultural integration and personal growth. Our, our goal is to create an inclusive community where every student can trip. We offer support as graduates to navigate the intricate process of reintegration into the NHS system. As junior doctors, recognizing the unique challenges faced by immigrant school study in a grad and graduate from Bulgaria. We are committed to simplify the translation to professional practice and to ensure Bulgaria training, graduations are well equipped for the medical career. So first, we're gonna tell you a little bit about ourselves. I will um I medical medical student. Yeah. Insurance. Right. Yeah. Ok. So first I'm gonna talk a little bit about staying on the schedule and how important that can be. Uh So one of my uh tips is to plan the semester effectively and how to use the service as well. Um I suggest that for each subject, you create a study plan and you learn how to prioritize your task. So for example, if you have a colloquium coming up, um I encourage students to prioritize that first. Uh And uh make sure you stay on top of your subjects in what we call as well. And uh another t is to allocate your time. Um So what I tend to do is for every hour of a subject that we have within a week. For example, we have psychology once a week. I try to allocate one hour of independent study in your own time. Um And I feel that it's, it's, it's very effective to kind of consolidate what we've done in class that week as well. Um And I'd suggest to break down your goal. So don't try to study the whole syllabus in one week. That is almost impossible. You could not be able to do it. Um And I suggest that you do two or three topics a day. Um And then you revisit them the next week to make sure that you are, remember what you've learned and some of apps that I recommend on notion which is the main personal favorite. There's also one note which is great for ipad. Um uh There's also a new app called that is I just figuring out what we have now. And also there's Google Drive, which is accessible to everyone and there's actually a us Google Drive with all of our resources and services that you can access as well and show you how to use that. Uh So now I'm gonna talk a little bit about not taking. So what I suggest when you take notes, I know that not everyone likes to take notes and some people might read and that's how it works for you. But for me, I prefer to take notes. And what I tend to do is I try to gain a general understanding of whatever it is that I'm doing whatever the top it is, get an overview of the subject first. Then I would focus on learning the specific points and avoid spending too much. I am trying to remember my details. So don't try to memorize an essay for one of your topics. It's easier to remember some key points that you know, you definitely want to remember and that you write in your, in your exam. Um But uh don't try and remember massive details and specific words, it's really useless. And um for making notes, there's no real right way to do it. Everyone has what really work to me. First year was flash cards, especially for biology and parasitology. I thought flash cards were very helpful and uh also meeting tables for your subjects. So uh for example, I remember in parasite, I would have uh the specific parasite that it was and then I would have the information about the life cycle. And then next to it, I would read which, which was it infective or non infective stage? And it was kind of easier for me to remember things that way because I'm quite a visual learner at that time. Um Pictures and different things to help you remember stuff and also mind maps are really helpful as well to try and gain the synoptic knowledge of what you're trying to remember. So you, for example, if you're doing topic in biology and you can try and link it with other topics that are within the syllabus, so that way you're remembering more things at the same time and doing less work, but you're remembering more things. Um I just wanted to quickly show you my notion. So if you have the information, it's a very good. OK. So here uh so this is how I or the page. If you scroll down, maybe we can click on the, for example. Um So yeah, I put all the different sessions. I've got bones and joints and muscles that's going to turn the bones. This is your, but I'm not sure if they didn't see this on the. Can you guys see the? Yes. OK. Cool. So uh let's go into which one let's go to do. Mhm. Ok. So you can see here this is how I lay down my notes. First of all, I just give a little sum of where it is. And then on your syllabus, of course, there are um points that tells you to focus your answer on. So now I've got information, information about microscopy and microscopy. Got some pictures. Yeah, some important information. And I highlighted the important words that II definitely want to remember uh physiology, blood supply. So as you can see, I'm not really writing full sentences, I'm just giving, you know, short sentences and just just, we all know about the X and these are the are not, nobody really knows what it says in there. And as I say, do not use them. So if you can use because for me reading and repeating in my head, that's the way that I learn using actually check over is probably the best thing you can do if you're like me. OK. Nice. OK. So I'm gonna talk about colloquiums and how to approach them. Uh So colloquiums are also known as mi or mid term exams and it's a professor's way to know to test you uh on how much, you know about their subject semester. And each subject has a number of colloquiums and again, you can be told about them in, in your classes, you need to study. So they're not gonna tell you to study the whole, um, syllabus for these over here, it's gonna be a number of points and, uh, the different ways that you can get, you can get it as an M CQ or you can get it as a short answer question. It can be more and sometimes you might even ask you right about it. Uh, don't be alarmed by this because most often they don't count towards the final grade, but there is a way for you to track your progress. And also in exams, if you in between two grades, they will look at how you been doing to try and see if you can. Uh, so how can I take, prepare exams and what can I do to achieve the best outcomes? Yeah. So I'm gonna talk about the again, just a good example. So, um yeah, I was talking about parasitology, be examined and might receive some short answer questions. So, uh of course, there's a micro part of biology where they give you a slide, you have to observe it under the microscope and you have to see which parasite it is. For example, we've got one on, on there right now that we have your biology. But I guess is that what that, what that one might be? You got any answers, any guesses? Ok. Ok. You can just press next and we also will come home a positive. Yeah. Yeah. So the, so the question that you might be asked about the side. So you're gonna be asked, what's the life cycle, what's the effect? And so these are the kind of short answer questions that they might ask you and then uh to build on this and to test if you, if you are actually studying or if you're just learning, if I ask you, uh can you describe a specific ology of the bacteria? And you have to say, OK, so that's, it's a trophi, it's got flagella, it's got two BP, et cetera. So the most important thing they have to remember is that, you know, every detail of the topic just have to show that you have a good understanding of the topic and that you can be critically think about what you're being past. OK. So this is an example of a syllabus cytology, I think. Yeah, it is. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, a couple of months. And as you can see, it's quite a long syllabus. It's definitely not possible to study for this two week. You have to do it through the year, you have to do it. Um you know, as, as you have, you have to uh go back, go back home and read and make sure you're understanding what we're doing in class. So first we just don't panic and divides are learning into um divides your learning into bite size chunks. For example, today's goal, I'm gonna focus on embryology, right? So, embryology is one of the shortest sections on the syllabus. And that's why I suggest that you guys can do this part first, do the shorter parts first. And the content is a bit more tricky. So it can be hard to study this if you leave it too late. Repetition is key. So make sure you revisit topics. You have done a week or two later on to test yourself on how much you remember. And lecture notes are really important. So please please use them. Please don't use the xerox notes. Um The textbook that I use for cytology was called Jean Ques Basic Histology. You can find it online and it's very good and these are some more resources that I use. So quisle it is very helpful can hub especially for anatomy. Uh youtube, this special channel as well. II love playing talks men. I think he's great. Um Don't just sit to one resource, stop relying on the xerox nodes. They're riddled with mistakes and they're written by students. They are not fact checked. And in my opinion, it's best not to use them at all. Use resources that are backed up with literature. And uh group study is also uh very effective. And uh I'd suggest that you try out the method you learn a topic, then you teach the topic to someone else. OK. So I would suggest that students in information and that of information use focus on co of always essay exam. You not required to write essays. And then do you have a snapshot of what the topic is trying to say, what is your answer as exam? So give this specific answer and when they answer your question, when they give you a question, um do you want me? OK, sure. When they give you a question, you can um final your answer down and be very specific um listening in lectures and seminars for what professors emphasize on some professors for particular subjects. Well, in all subjects will identify questions that might come up in the exam. Hence attending a lecture and seminar is beneficial. Um No, what topics get repeated or highlighted as critical. Um There might be some specific topics that generally come up. For example, currently I'm studying for a dermatology exam and there's a repeated topic syphilis and that's under treatment diagnosis, primary stage, secondary stage, tertiary stage. So you need to ensure what comes up repeatedly and you might not just get questioned on that one topic, you might get questioned on the topic above as well because it's related, I would also suggest distinguish between sufficient information. So essential for understanding and extra details. It's always nice to know extra information which you feel like, OK, this is gonna add some sort of value. But for exams, you need to ensure that you're not overdoing it because your brain only has so much capacity to retain what you need to know. For example, this is an example of biology, I believe. So you need to know the definition. So what a ribosome is, what's composed of the structure, what it is composed of the function of it. So synthesis synthesizes proteins by translating Mrna where it would be located and some key concepts related to it. So it's bullet size is to the point and it's specific, it's not going into essay mode. So you know exactly what to say and keep it short and sweet. Yeah. So where to get materials from? Usually at the end of the syllabus, you'll have um recommended literature, for example, books or specific websites. If you look well enough on your syllabus, usually they are um written on the end. Um I would suggest using specific books that professors do suggest um including their own books, sometimes they can be beneficial. But if you do find books online or resources that you find easier to read, then use them as well. Um Class drives a dropbox, check the approved material resources for key textbooks and summaries. Um As he explained, there's a dropbox that you can use, there's lots of um textbooks already uploaded on there. Um Efficient reading, focus on summaries, key pages. Um highlight specific main concepts and note areas of confusion for follow up with professors. So if there is something specific, you're unsure of, I would say um you know, write it down and then you can ask about it at the end of the lesson or during the lesson, if that is um something which has been discussed during a class, be proactive. I would suggest you use your initiative, ask upper year students or peers for guidance on useful material as they have already done these exams. Obviously, each and every year things do change. But if you're on cycle exams, um once you may have done an exam which you may have next, so it's always good to have an update from your friends and peers. Ok, know your capacity for independent study, take responsibility. So this is managing your time and study habits based on what, what works best for you. Some people might study early in the morning during breaks or continue a study. So using the Pomodoro technique works for most people like myself. Um If you wake up early and you're going to attend a class in the morning, maybe setting some time aside after you've had lunch, not overwhelming yourself with um overloading your brain with knowledge, build a routine, develop a consistent healthy study schedule over time. This doesn't come instantly as 1/5 year, I'm still learning. Sometimes I need to change things up to help my schedule and have a healthy balance between um you know, I can spend this much time to study and this is time I need for my social activities. I would suggest attending classes, regular attendance. Still fil familia, familia. Oh my God. Uh familiarity with different formats for example, lectures and seminars and practical and helps professors recognize your effort. Um getting to know professors, especially when you go to lectures as mostly they will be the examiner on the day. So it always shows to them that, you know, you've attended, you've participated and they recognize, even if you do forget something in an exam, they might be slightly lenient and they'll be like, yes you attended. It can when you've got nervous, anxious. So they might give you a bit of an easier time in an exam key starting points, create a quick reference, a title sentence or diagram to help record main ideas and prevent blank moments in exams. So if you're gonna start with a lengthy syllabus and there's lots of points and there's specific ones you forget, maybe have an image or a starting word or a key um image that you used to pinpoint the key facts for that um bullet point. So you're not gonna have anything to write on the exam. You'll be full of information because you remembered um diagrams associated with that particular topic and going over the syllabus. So review frequently um go over the syllabus multiple times to refresh your memory, active learning. I would say is key to knowing your material the best. Um I would suggest printing the syllabus being organized, break down the topics. If there's a part of the syllabus, you feel more confident starting with, then start with that divide the number of days until you have the exam and see how many points you need to do across the days. Obviously, there's gonna be days where you do more. Some days you'll do less. But obviously, it's better to do something than nothing daily go as I suggested, do um going over the content as much as you can aiming to review the entire s the first minimum 3 to 4 times as I feel like for myself, that does work. And I have retained enough information, active repetition study at night and test yourself in the morning. So maybe reviewing a bit of material in the night and then testing yourself in the morning to see how much information you've retained. Repeating the material helps reinforce learning confidence for the exam day. If you reviewed consistently and met your goals, you'll be prepared and confident on the exam day. So not being worried or vividly anxious, it's innate that, you know, you're going to be slightly worried like what's going to be the outcome. But if you went over the material, you'll be able to assist information correctly for the exam and you'll be able to manage on the day. Ok. So this is the part that most of you probably wouldn't have faced before. And these are the oral exams that Sophia um most exams comprise of a practical aspect and a theoretical aspect which includes writing down your knowledge, then discussing the topics with the professor. This is a foreign concept to many students, especially most of us from the UK, we've never had to do oral exams. So here are some tips on how to go about this part of your exam. So first of all, how would you make a good impression, prepare thoroughly, review your course material, um create outlines and flash cards to summarize any key concepts. I think we've spoken about this and um but most importantly, practice speaking about these topics out loud to get comfortable with verbalizing your thoughts. Second of all, confidence is key because the professors will be watching you. When you walk up to them with your paper, they'll be looking at you to see, you know, if you seem happy and content. So I would say start off with the topic you're most confident in. As soon as you sit down opposite, the examiner, always start unloading your knowledge on the topic that you have written and understood the most about this will give a great impression for this high and allows the exam to progress instead of being terminated early. So if you have three points, I think in cytology, you have three different topics. If you start off with the one that you don't know about the exam could be ended early and you don't get to show that you have actually studied. Um Furthermore, examiners are more likely to give you a chance on lesser known topics if they can see you demonstrating your knowledge on other syllabus points. Um The second thing is keep speaking, do your best to explain concepts and take everything back to the basics. So you can build on your understanding even if something seems self explanatory, take it back to the basics, take it back to a secondary school level G ce levels. This way, the examiner is not able to ask you questions in the middle and catch you out, but you can still carry on talking. And the last thing is aim for six guys. If there is a topic, you have really understood that you would like to aim for a higher grade. You can always say like, could you ask me more questions? What can I do to get a higher grade? And I'll tell you a bit more about why this is important a bit later. Number three, stay calm. This is quite hard because we've never had to do oral exams. So you can get quite nervous, you can trip over your words. But I would say practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing to manage your anxiety. Remember that it's ok to pause, collect your thoughts before you speak. Have a rough idea of what you're gonna say. It's definitely daunting the first couple of times. So nerves are very normal and structure your answers with a clear introduction, main point and conclusion. This will help you organize your thoughts and stay on schedule. Number four, engage with the examiner, make eye contact show enthusiasm. Don't be sat there with your, with your head up. That's really not gonna do any good. This interaction can create a more relaxed atmosphere if you have been attending the lectures, especially the, the professor could recognize you and could be like, oh, I've seen you in this lecture. Let me talk about that. If you don't understand the question, don't hesitate to ask the examiner for clarification. It's better to ask them than to get in correctly. And for the exam examinant, you, you just don't know your topic. OK. This is quite important and it's to know your audience. So your responses need to demonstrate your understanding of this subject. Um as stated confidence can go a long way but do not overdo this into arrogance because I've seen this a couple of times in exams. You need to remember these examiners are doctors and professors who are very experienced in their field and this means they accept um respect, never argue. Even if you think you have a reason to most likely the examiners are um the same in all of the settings of the exam. So if you redo any exams and you don't wanna be remembered in a negative light, and I think this is number six practice makes perfect. Ultimately, the more oral exams you experience, the better you are to tackle them and learn your own coping mechanisms, attend the exam 15 minutes earlier than the time stated they'll tell you this. But just so, you know, if the exams are 830 you need to be there at 8, 10, 815 at the latest. Uh, you need to be dressed smartly with natural makeup if you wear makeup, um, as you want to be as composed as possible and if you're prepared efficiently, the exam should be fine successful even. Ok. So overall, yeah. Ok. Medical schools academically regress and demands a significant commitment of time and energy. However, maintaining consistent study targets, staying organized with a regular reviewing course material will help manage the workload and make complex concepts more accessible. Ultimately making the overall experience more manageable, their support is vital in aggregating the challenges of medical school. While it is beneficial to seek advice from public students who have experienced similar challenges, it is also important to remain adaptable and don't be discouraged by the experiences before you're becoming overly comfortable with the advice that you see and instead approach each phase with the mindset of continuous learning and resilience. And lastly, but I would say most importantly during your medical school journey, it is essential to be mindful of your personal wellbeing and mental health. Be aware that challenges related to the to discrimination bias and the pressures of academic expectations may arise. It is crucial to develop strategies for self care, seek support when needed and stay resilient in the face of setbacks or disappointment such as failing an exam and Now, if anyone has any questions, please put them in the chat and we'll answer them. So, before your questions, I want to remember everyone that I share a link for the feedback. You can provide a feedback and then you can have the certificate of the lecture that you attended. Uh I'm a medical doctor. I just graduated from Sophia University and I want to talk about group study sessions and I regret, I just figured out the group study sessions in 50 year. But the thing is it is the most powerful tool for you to boost your knowledge. I was always doing the first syllabus reading alone. And then at the second syllabus reading, I was doing together with two friends of mine online. I'm gonna tell you an example that I would read the first point and the two friends of mine would uh add some comments to my point. For example, I just finished the, the first point I thought in my head, I did brilliant and I would deserve a six. And then my two friends would join me and said, do you know what you forgot to mention that graph? And the others would say, do you know what you forgot to mention the visual trial? And they would act like my two examiners. And like these, we did together the second read of the syllabus and nobody could destroy us the final exam. I also want to share my experience in biophysics exam. Uh First of all, for this exam is study with the summary of the lectures. Don't go for any copy notes, just study with the summary of this lecture. I'm sharing it right now in our mentorship group on whatsapp. Um So for the Biophysics two, you have two examiners, one are gonna sit in in the first row and the other one are gonna sit in the last row. So be careful if your colleagues are asking for your help index. You think this is not cheating but the professors, they don't think so. I saw one girl the best of her group helping two colleagues, one in front of her and the other one behind her in the end of her exam, the colleagues that she helped pass the exam and she the brilliant one helping the college she failed and she had to study the biophysics syllabus during her summer to redo the exam in September. So be careful if you want to be friendly for your group because the professors tend to punish the one who is doing the kind behavior. So at the graduation dinner, I sat down with some friends and at least three of them three brilliant minds. They told me histories about helping colleagues to be polite to the colleagues to be nice to the colleagues in the exam and themselves failing the exam. Because uh what's gonna happen? I'm gonna tell you the professor examine, you will never say you are failing because I saw you help the others. No, no. You do very many questions to you in the oral examination and that then you are losing your summer vacation to do this exam again. Don't try to be friends to your colleagues. The professor are watching and they think you are the biggest cheater in the room. They don't see that you are helping the colleagues. So if you have any questions now, we are he we are glad to help you guys. If you don't have any question, please provide feedback for us. And then you're gonna have the certificate at the end. Do you? Yeah, we got and you can join our mentorship program and we can put it in there. Um How did they join a mentorship program? So I'm gonna send the mentorship program, a link on the first year whatsapp group. Is that OK for you? Or if you want it sent to your email, you can put your email in. It doesn't really matter. Uh They put the email, OK? I'll take your email and I'm gonna send you the whatsapp link of the mentorship program for your email. And by the way, I'm gonna share the mentorship whatsapp link uh just here at the meal. She and I think you can cop this link and join the group. Please follow us on Instagram BZA Binza dot BG and we are coming with more lectures for you guys and thank you very much for the attendance today. If you guys can think of anything else that you would want from us to hear from, you know, all the students, then please let us know as well. Maybe practice oral exam sessions where you can go. Um, and we can ask you a topic and you can practice how that would go because the pra uh, practicing I think is one of the best ways to get over your nervousness in oral exams. Ok. See you guys. Thank you for attending. Thank you. Mhm.