Karl Avillo, MD 🚢

Over the past 10 years, I ranked 7th in the Nurse Licensure Examination, 3rd in the Physician Licensure Examination, and 1st in the Philippine Specialty Board of Internal Medicine. What most people don’t know? I use the same 3 study strategies every time. 🧵👇

Hard study techniques (e.g., doing practice tests) help you remember more to pass your exams. Easy study techniques (e.g., rereading, highlighting) don’t.

There comes a day when you should realize that no one is coming to f—ing save you. No one. And that the only thing standing between you and your goals is your self.

You feel stuck because you think tomorrow will be the perfect time for you start studying for your exam. Because tomorrow you'll be more ready, more motivated, & less busy. And because tomorrow you'll have more time & more energy. But then, didn’t you say the same thing yesterday?

If someone you love was kidnapped, and the only way to get them back was to pass your exam You’d study 12-14 hours a day, do practice tests (even if they’re harder to do), and do everything you can to pass that exam. You have a lot more inside of you than you’ll ever know.

“Winners win because they decide they’ve already won and let reality catch up.”

Think about the hardest thing that you’ve ever gone through in your life. Now compare that to getting 30 out of 100 on a practice test that nobody else will ever see. You've already handled a lot worse than a low practice test score. Get over it.

It’s not about getting all the answers right on the practice tests. It’s about being less wrong on the next set of practice tests you do. That’s how you get better over time and pass your exams.

I regret to inform you that most of your problems with learning and remembering stuff for exams are solved by doing practice tests and filling your knowledge gaps.

Failing an exam can teach you more about yourself than passing it ever would.

Life hack: Never take criticism from someone you wouldn't take advice from.

Most students overestimate what they can remember from just re-reading their books But underestimate what they will remember from doing active recall (ie, doing practice tests). Don't be like most students. Do active recall.

I need to tattoo this into my brain

Sooner or later, you’ll realize you can’t average your way to success. You either push yourself to be exceptional, or accept it isn’t for you and quit. Always choose the first one.

Congratulations to Dr. Rene Louis Singson, who ranked 2nd in the October 2026 PLE! Love seeing wins like this from our MedQbank subscribers! 🏆 “MedQbank’s website/app and group chat allowed me to study effectively at a relatively low cost of energy and time.” Over 1,000 MedQbank subscribers have now passed the PLE and become licensed MDs. You can be next. medqbank.com.ph/

I never get tired of reading these MedQbank success stories. Each one is a reminder that what we're doing actually matters. And nothing fires me up more than that. medqbank.com.ph

If you really want something, you'll always find a way to get it. But if you don't, you'll always find an excuse for why you didn't get it. So the question is: how bad do you really want it?

Reminder to self: Extraordinary results require extraordinary effort.