The Last Stretch: 2 Weeks Left

There are two weeks left until the first year of medical school is done. That means two more exams until I am 1/4 an official MD.

Unfortunately, there are two exams left and my motivation has plummeted so much I would be at E on the fuel gauge if I was a car.

This is what I have to look forward to...

The last RSA consists of all 5 blocks we have learned this year (Foundations, Musculoskeletal, Respiratory, Hematology, and Cardiology). It will be approximately 5 hours long and consists of two papers.

The last Anatomy exam will consist of anatomy and histology from the last 3 blocks.

Mostly, my aim is to pass so pray for me. xx

Pathology Intercept

Breaking news-- I just finished my pathology exam.

Now, I am not a person that loves pathology and am definitely not willing to specialize in it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the exam as it was easy and straightforward. The exam itself had 6 sections with one macro or micro slide for each station and questions pertaining to the pathology of the disease. It really helped solidify disease states that we have learned from previous blocks and I think was a really good review.

So overall, my quick review of the pathology exam is good good.

Hematology: A Vampire's Heaven

4/5 blocks have been completed and we are now onto one one of the most critical parts of the body (and what most people are squeamish about): blood.

For my medical school, hematology can be either heme hell or heme heaven depending on the clinical school that you are allocated to. For me, it is heme heaven. That means that while we are still getting an education and learning to differentiate between microcytic and macrocytic anemia, we are also finally able to breathe and catch up for what is ahead.

So what is ahead?

We have OSCE's in two weeks which is a song and dance where we get 6 stations and 10 minutes each to perform a physical exam, take a history, or do a procedural skill. Initially I thought this would be my most hated exam, but I have grown to love it. I love the idea that without being too aggressive or too invasive, we are still able to gather enough clues and diagnose a patient. It is honestly the backbone of medicine.

After OSCE's, we will be having a week off and then a pathology exam. This will consist of us looking through a microscope to diagnose patients based on their slides. Hopefully, I can get the hang of things beforehand...

Then in two months, we will be have our third RSA. This one is a doozy and will consist of material from all 5 blocks. What can be worse than that? Well, we will be having another anatomy exam a day after.

So I guess there truly isn't a holiday after all.