AIIMS PG Jan 2020: Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme

AIIMS-PG Jan 2020 session is scheduled to be held on 17^th Nov 2019. There was a change in the exam pattern of the AIIMS-PG exam in the previous session. The same pattern & marking scheme continues for the upcoming examination. We have come up with this blog to make you aware of the AIIMS-PG exam pattern.

Marking Scheme

Following is the marking scheme shared on the official website. *It shows that attempting the new pattern questions is much riskier since the negative marking in these is 100% instead of 33% in the usual single response question. The official notification also mentions that the majority of questions in this session will be the usual Single best response type. *For each alternative/ response in the MCQ ** If there are two scenarios in each question

Type of Questions

The Questions for MD/MS/MDS Entrance Examinations are of the objective type and consist of 200 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). The MCQs shall be of the following types and indicative examples of each are given below: 1. Single Best Answer Type Each question/statement shall have four alternatives/statements of which only and one best response is to be selected /marked The nerve that controls salivary secretion from the Parotid Gland is 1. Glossopharyngeal nerve 2. Facial nerve 3. Hypoglossal nerve 4. Chorda tympani Correct answer: +1 and Incorrect answer:-1/3 2. Multiple True-False Type Each question shall have a stem followed by five alternatives/ statements and every alternative/ statement will have to be marked as either True or False The following statements are true/false regarding currently applicable modified Jones criteria for the diagnosis of Rheumatic Fever 1. Major criteria are similar for both Low Risk and High-Risk Populations 2. Doppler echocardiography is recommended for confirming subclinical carditis 3. Monoarthritis is included as one of the major criteria in Low-Risk population 4. Three minor criteria are sufficient to diagnose subsequent episodes of disease 5. Fever ≥ 37.5°C is a minor criterion Correct answer: +1/5 for each alternative/statement and Incorrect answer: -1/5 for each alternative/statement 3. Match the Following Type Each question shall have two columns with four items in one column (A) that need to be matched appropriately with the best alternative available in the next column(B).

Column A	Column B
Lassa fever	Fruit flies
Nipah virus fever	Culex mosquitoes
Kyasanur Forest disease	Multimammate rat
Japanese encephalitis	Fruit bats
-	Hard ticks
-	Cackling Goose

Correct answer: +1/4 for each alternative and Incorrect answer: -1/4 for each alternative 4. Sequential Arrangement Type Each question shall have a list of items that need to be arranged sequentially or in order as indicated Arrange the following bone tumors/lesions sequentially in the order of prevalence with regard to age: Tumour/ lesion occurring in the youngest age group first and the oldest age group last. 1. Osteosarcoma 2. Ewings Tumour 3. Multiple Myeloma. 4. Osteoclastoma Correct answer (full sequence correct); +1, Incorrect Answer (Sequence in correct) : - 1 5. Multiple Completion Type Each question/statement shall have four alternatives/statements of which one or more may be correct and need to be marked using the following key: (1) If a, b, c are correct (2) If a and c are correct (3) If b and d are correct (4) If all four (a, b, c, & d) are correct Clinical features of neonatal tetanus include 1. Stiffness of neck muscles 2. Painful body spasms 3. Difficulty in swallowing 4. Bulging fontanelle Correct answer: +1 and Incorrect answer: -1/4 6. Reason Assertion Type Each question shall have two statements: Assertion (A) and Reason (B) connected by the term “because”. The appropriate answer should be marked using the following key: (1) Both Assertion and Reasons are independently true/correct statements and the Reason is the correct explanation for the Assertion (2) Both Assertion and Reasons are independently true/correct statements, but the Reason is not the correct explanation for the Assertion (3) Assertion is independently a true/correct statement, but the Reasons is independently a false/ incorrect statement (4) Assertion is independently a false/incorrect statement, but the Reasons is independently a true/correct statement (5) Both Assertion and Reasons are independently false/incorrect statements (A) Serum insulin levels in untreated Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus is low (B) In Type 1 Diabetes mellitus the β cells in the pancreas are destroyed In the above question Statement (A) is the Assertion and Statement (B) is the Reason that explains the Assertion (Statement A) Correct answer: +1 and Incorrect answer: -1/4 7. Extended Matching Items / Questions (EMI /EMQ) Each EMI /EMQ will broadly have the following components.

• Theme & Focus
• Answer option list
• Lead in question
• Scenarios or Vignettes

There will be two or more scenario / viginette related to the overall Theme & Focus of the question

• You have to select the best possible answer from the Answer Option List.

Theme & Focus Fatigue Answer Option List

1. Thalassemia
2. Acute Leukemia
3. Hereditary Spherocytosis
4. Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
5. Hodgkin Disease
6. Multiple Myeloma
7. Megaloblastic Anemia
8. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Lead in question For each of the following patients as described in the scenarios below, identify the cause from the above Answer Option List Case 1 A 30-year-old male presented with fatigue and pain abdomen of six months duration. On examination, he is anemia and has multiple, cervical lymph nodes around 1cms in size, hepatomegaly to the extent of 2 cms below costal margin and a spleen that is enlarged to 10 cms below costal margin. Laboratory examination reveals Hemoglobin of 7G/dL, Total Leukocyte Count of 85.6 X109/L and Platelet Count of 326 X109/L. The peripheral smear showed mild anisocytosis and poikilocytosis of Red Cells. Normoblasts were not seen. There were increased numbers of neutrophils and neutrophil precursors and few basophils were identified. Occasional blasts were seen. The Differential Count was: Blasts 1%, Promyelocytes 1%, Myelocytes 8%, Metamyelocytes 7%, Band Forms 22%, Neutrophils 41%, Eosinophils 2% Basophils 2%, Lymphocytes 12% and Monocytes 4%. Numerous platelets were identified singly or in clumps. What is your diagnosis? Case 2 A 25-year-old male was detected to have pallor and mild icterus by his Family Physician whom he consulted for fatigue since about a year. He gives a history of cholecystectomy for gall-stone disease. He could not give any detailed family history except that his father and paternal grandfather were known to be “anemic”. Neither he nor his family members ever needed blood transfusions. On Physical Examination, his spleen was palpable 3 cms below the costal margin. Laboratory investigations revealed: RBC  3.62 x 1012/L HGB  10.3 G/dL HCT  30.1 % MCV  85.1 fL MCH  27.6 pg MCHC  32.6 g/dL RDW  17.9 Reticulocyte count was 15.6% Serum Iron Studies did not reveal any abnormality Hemoglobin electrophoresis was normal Total Bilirubin was 3.2 mg/dL and the Conjugated Bilirubin was 0.5 mg/dL. What is your diagnosis? Correct answer: (+) 1/No. of scenarios and Incorrect answer: (-)1/No. of scenarios In the above example, there are 2 scenarios. Therefore, the marks allotted for each scenario shall be +1/2 for the correct answer identified from the Options List for each scenario and -1/2 will be deducted if an incorrect answer identified from the Option List for that scenario.

Summary of Examination Pattern

Mode of Examination	CBT/ Online
Duration of Examination	3 hours( 180 mins)
Date of Examination	17th Nov 2019 (Sunday)
No. of Shifts	1
Timings of Examination	9:00AM to 12:00 PM
Location of Exam Centres	Tentatively 64 cities in India
Type of Examination	Objective type
No. of questions	200 MCQ
Method of Cut-Off	50th Percentile
Method of determining merit	Overall merit by the ranking of percentiles
Method of resolving ties	Higher aggregate in all subjects in MBBS/ Seniority by age

For more updates... Stay tuned to PrepLadder.