Wednesday, December 05, 2007

"Exam Na Naman?!"

One way of looking at medicine as a profession is by viewing it as a series of never ending examinations.


No matter how high up the training ladder you go, there is always one more.

You'd think that after the countless exams we had as medical students, our life would be free from them once we graduated! But the truth is, this constant evaluation is a curse we have to contend with for most of our professional lives.

Lawyers have the bar; accountants, architects, engineers, dentists, and other professionals have their own professional boards to contend with. But for them these major examinations are a once-in-a-lifetime thing -- unless they go abroad and have to take examinations for the country they are getting into. In fairness, doctors who opt to practice as GP's need only take our medical board exams before they hang out a shingle and start their practice. But for doctors who choose the option of specialty training, our medical boards are just the beginning.

It is baffling to my "non-showbiz" friends when I turn their invitations down for a night on the town with the unfortunate excuse, "I have to study."

So, yes, on top of our hospital duties, we still need to pull all-nighters to read our best friend Harrison's for our regular exams. And now, as we're reaching the end of this stage in our training, our reward is... yet another make-or-break exam. *sigh*

I am getting too old for this. Here is proof:




This is my single photo essay on how not to study.

Even the atmosphere and the coffee in Starbucks are not proof to the frailty of the human body - and the wonderfully sleep-inducing text.

Now I wonder how in the world I will be able to get past the next exam.

5 comments:

Manggy said...

HAHA! A likely story. To be fair, I never drank coffee when I was in med (still don't-- some "gourmet" I am), but I guess we still ended up the same, huh?!

What's sad is some of the exams become more of tricking the students. Sad, especially since they help no one except the test-maker's ego. Well, the IM exams were fair, I felt :)

Please say hi to all the seniors, especially Ma'am Ena, Ma'am Jean, and Sir Gerome!

PS I replied to your comment here. Thanks very much!

silverfork said...

Oh no! A glimpse at my future!
Hahaha. Good luck in your BIG exam ma'am! :-)

MegaMom said...

I used to feel this way about exams too! Buti nga may pa-Starbucks, starbucks na ngayon. During our time, Nescafe was the only choice, although I'd occasionally get some barako from relatives in the provinces, just to keep me awake. One of my batchmates (sis) even took caffeine pills...tsk, tsk, I'd rather enjoy the caffeine in a cup of coffee.
Anyway, there are these exams, and there are "exams of life". Believe me, these are way easy. You'll understand what I mean as you move to the next stage of your life.

aloyloy said...

Haynako, dati ko pa theory na ang Starbucks na yan, hindi pure ang caffeine content... to seduce us med studes to buy more and more coffee pag hindi nag-work ang first dose.

dr_clairebear said...

Manggy - I'm glad you enjoyed IM. :) I love it, even if it doesn't love me as much... and our exams, though fair, are hard, even for us. :)

Silverfork - enjoy residency! despite its up and downs, I must say that they were among the best years of my life.

Aloy - I agree with your assessment -- but sometimes, maybe, I think we've just become immune to the coffee.

Megamom - with conviction, I must say -- I hate growing up. It just gets way too complicated for adults!