Tips to crack the UPSC CMS Personality Test

Most of the UPSC CMS aspirants would have concerns about how to get through the UPSC CMS Personality Test. We interviewed Dr. Noopur Srivastava who secured Rank 16 in UPSC CMS exam (2016). We wanted to find out from her what made her get through the UPSC CMS Personality Test? In this blog, she shares the tips that helped her get through the UPSC CMS Personality Test. When were you intimated to attend the interview and where was it held? I received my interview letter a month prior to the day of my personality test and it was held at UPSC Office in New Delhi. What was the duration of the interview? The duration of my interview was around 25 minutes. How tough is it to crack the UPSC CMS interview? Certainly not!! If you have a positive perspective, correct body language, knowledge in your brain and wide awake senses then no interview is tough. Were the interview questions related to only medical content? Or it was both medical content + general awareness? Yeah, interview questions were related to both medical as well as general ability but they focused more on the medical knowledge. Regarding general questions, they can test your spontaneity for example; the questions asked are as follows: Chairman: Dr Noopur, what were you thinking sitting outside and waiting for your turn to come? Me (Noopur): Ma'am, I was thinking that today is my BIG DAY and I have to NAIL it (I said confidently) Chairman: Wow!! She was so impressed with my reply; it built my confidence further for the rest of the questions. Another interviewer asked about the historical importance of my place of graduation i.e. Wardha. Question related to our father of nation Mahatma Gandhi, our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also formed a part of the interview. Is the UPSC CMS interview unpredictable? How prepared were you for the interview? This was the first time I was facing an interview in my life so yes, it was quite unpredictable. Facts which I came to know through my friends who appeared previously, that the interview is easy going just like our clinical viva during graduation. I didn’t prepare specifically for personality test separately because I feel for interviews, our representation matters more than our knowledge. How many interviewers are there? Do they all ask related questions or different sets of questions? There were four interviewers. The chief interviewer was the UPSC Chairman (Ms. Alka Sirohi) and other three belonged to medical profession. They all came up with different sets of questions related to medical science in a sequence. Were there any subject specific questions? If yes, please elaborate. Yes, question related to the Medicine, Surgery, Obs & Gynae and Pediatrics formed major part of the interview. I was asked about the following medical topics:

• Murphys triad, Murphys sign, Murphys law(not related to medical, it was a bonus question)
• 5 cleans of delivery
• Advantages of LMW heparin over unfactionated heparin.
• Acute Rheumatic fever, Jones criteria, treatment with dose
• Signs of infective endocarditis and various micro organism involved with different types e.g. acute, subacute, prosthetics, I.V. drug users etc.
• birth asphyxia and apgar score
• causes of maternal mortality
• Causes of second trimester abortion, cervical incompetence, Mcdonald's and shirodkar's procedure.

Were you asked to provide a solution to any medical case scenario? If yes, please elaborate. Yes, they provided case scenario and asked the approach towards the patient. One of the interviewer popped up the question that if a middle aged women comes with acute pain in a lower limb, then what are the likely possibilities? I took a while and replied it as a case of embolism and I noticed a glimpse of satisfaction on his face. Another interviewer asked me about approach to a case of birth asphyxia and neonatal resuscitation. I could very well relate it to the clinical viva and problem based learning we were taught during graduation. One mistake that you believe everyone must avoid during UPSC CMS interview. Listen to the question carefully, analyze and then speak. Neither cross question with any of the interviewers nor modify the facts. If you know the answer, attempt it else gently apologize and leave it. This will lead you to the next question without wasting time. Do not roll upon the question and deviate in case you are unaware of the answer. It gives a negative impact to the interviewers. Some last tips for our readers preparing for UPSC CMS interview.  There is lot of myth regarding personality test among the UPSC CMS aspirants. Hope this will help you all. Just be you. Stay confident and calm. Keep your basics in clinical very clear. Be optimistic. Your POSITIVE OUTLOOK matters the most than your knowledge on the day of interview and remember 'A GOOD START IS HALF THE BATTLE WON'. Stay tuned to PrepLadder!!