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

Year 1 OSCEs

First month in and not realizing what I was getting myself into...

The Objective Structured Clinical Examinations aka OSCEs is one of the most important exams in medical school.

It consists of 6 stations and a prompt before you enter the room. You have 3 minutes to read the prompt and 8 minutes to finish the station. The stations can range from physical exams (such as a knee exam) to history taking (such as anemia history). It is based on all the theoretical knowledge we have gotten from our lectures and synthesized into all the clinical knowledge we have gotten from our clinical days. More importantly than all of that, it shows the school the we are not awkward af and can actually talk to people normally.

For me, I thought this was one of the best exams I have ever taken in my life. It showed me that being a doctor is much more than just filling out bubbles on a blank exam. Instead the interaction we got, even from just actors and volunteers, were great. Our ability to relate to people is critical in our careers.

And best of all, we are now on a weeklong break before our 5th and final block for year 1 as well as our 3 upcoming exams.

Pray for me.

Edit: Update after OSCEs and Results

So it has been approximately three weeks since I sat the OSCEs. Personally, I loved the OSCEs and it was one of the best exams I have ever taken (and not because I did exceptionally well). Even though everyone says it's a song and dance, I really appreciate how it actually simulated working life for us. The one downside I would say that it is largely very subjective and not at all standardized. On one station I got 100 and comments saying I had great repertoire with the patient whereas on another station I got 36 saying it seemed like I was reading off a checklist. Furthermore, we got a station that hasn't been taught and was used for second years... I guess in the end everything is subjective and testable.

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.