All of us have had frightening as well as funny moments with our examiners during our MBBS vivas. Dr. Shwetha Venkateswaran (Brainchild of Grant Memes for Jeejeebhoy Teens) has compiled her experiences in this article. Something every MBBS student can relate to.
Obs-Gyn University Viva
I guess the external examiner was just fed up of asking people relevant questions so he decided to ask me my mother tongue. I said ‘Tamil’.
The external examiner said “Oh, even your ma’am is Tamil. Anyway, I’ve been asking so many questions. Let ma’am ask you whatever she wants you to answer”
Internal examiner ma’am: I’ll only be happy if I see a dance.
External: Oh no no no, I cannot ask her to dance. If she starts dancing here, it’ll be published in the paper tomorrow- Creepy old examiner asks female students to dance in their viva!
I couldn’t control my laughter this time!
Pharmacology Viva (term exams)
Examiner: Tell me your favorite system
Me: CVS!
Examiner: Tell me the classification of ‘Antiarrythmic drugs’
(I’d always skip that chapter because it wasn’t in the important questions and I found it difficult. I guess I should have told him ANS instead! Damn!)
Me: Sorry sir!
Forensic Medicine Viva
This was extremely funny. The examiner called 3 of us inside together. We
were the last 3 roll numbers. And as usual, we had ignored Forensic Medicine and read only the important questions for theory. So he started asking questions one by one and we were stumped.
Examiner: Tell me. What is Lochia?
Me: Sorry sir.
Friend 1: Sorry sir.
Friend 2: Sorry sir.
Examiner: Okay, tell me what is section 201 of IPC?
Friend 1: Sorry sir.
Friend 2: Sorry sir.
Me: Sorry sir.
This happened 2–3 more times. We just couldn’t answer anything. One of my friends attempted to answer one of the questions.
Examiner: Are the answers some kind of secret you’ll only reveal to the external examiner? Go. Study next time. I want to see fresh faces next year.
We tried keeping a straight face when he said this and left. Shamelessly!
Orthopedics viva
The examiner was asking everyone the same question to everyone – “What is Trendelenburg’s sign?”.
My friend came out and told us something quickly and in short and we could only recall it in bits and pieces.
He called 5 people inside together.
Examiner: What is Trendelburg’s sign?
We all tried answering it but no one lived up to his expectations and he found some fault with our answers.
Examiner: *Arey beta, apne doston ko puchneka na, main sabko same hi question puch raha hoon. Tumlog bahar discuss nahi karte ho kya? Chalo, koi baat nahi.*
(I’m asking everyone the same questions. You guys don’t go out and discuss viva questions with your friends? Anyway, never mind)
Forensic Medicine viva
This happened to one of my batchmates during the term exam. The viva was taken in a very odd way. The examiner took it in front of the whole class.
It was based on examination of suspect who committed sexual assault.
Examiner: What is the length of the penis?
Batchmate: Umm, 30 cm?
Examiner: Oh my God! *Agli baar dekh ke aana*!
(See one next time and come)
PSM university viva
I thought this will be the toughest viva ever and the exam will start at 8 and end at 5. I saw my batchmate enter the room for his viva and get out in under 5 minutes.
He said ‘She asked me just one question and then checked her WhatsApp messages’
The exam ended at 10:30. I was among the lucky few to get done early because I was the third roll number in the second half of the batch.
The examiner asked me “Principles of Health education” and as usual, I had to remember points, which all seemed the same in PSM.
She was extremely disinterested. I was telling her the answer, she was just nodding. My internal examiner entered. They spoke for a minute. Then I thought she’ll ask me another question. But guess what? She asked me the same question!
ENT Viva
This happened to my sister. Some external examiner was taking 15 minutes per person and my sister was puzzled and wondered why someone would take so long in an ENT viva.
She went in. The external asked her ‘Where do you want to do your PG?’. She said “Any of the Mumbai colleges”. He said ‘Not Pune?’. She said ‘Of course, if not Mumbai, then Pune is my next option’. He then went on to tell her how he did “A famous actress’s” nose job for 50L rupees whereas it costs more than 1 crore in the private sector. All this happened and he eventually asked my sister just one question which she answered.
Also, has anyone ever had those examiner who have asked them, “How many marks should I give you out of 10?”. One of my sister’s batchmates said “9/10” and actually got 9/10. He answered nothing!
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2 replies on “MBBS Vivas : A Horror story”
During our final gynae practical in Dec 1976 the external Ms G ….. from Patiala medical college massacred 36 out of 180 (me included) …the batch mate just before me was asked to pick up and identify a specimen…he picked up the uterus and said ‘heart madam’….that was the beginning of the end for the rest 35 of us….none of us was asked a si gle question but only fa e reading and decision taken instantly…our internal couldn’t pacify her….
Well summarise. I have had similar experiences😁.