After taking clinical shelf exams in Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, OB/GYN, and Surgery, I’ve arrived at a conclusion which may be shared by others who, like me, aren’t gifted test takers – multiple choice exams cannot accurately assess a student’s clinical knowledge. Read more  

Ophthalmology. O-p-h-t-h-a-l-m-o-l-o-g-y. Yes, the word has two ‘h’s in it. Apparently, this fact is very high yield for testing purposes. Read more  

Tomorrow afternoon, the last 20% of my psychiatry rotation’s grade will be determined based on my ability to watch a 30 minute videotaped patient encounter, prepare a presentation, and then orally deliver the case with an accurate differential diagnosis and treatment plan. Read more  

Yesterday was my last day of preclinicals. Hmmm, let me say that again. My LAST day of preclinicals. Ever. It sure has been an incredible eighteen months since I embarked on this journey! I’ll be writing a post at the end of this week (after exams) summarizing my last six months in retrospect, but as for now, it’s an incredible feeling to have come this far in my education. Read more  

It’s finally here – my last block in the basic sciences at Baylor Med. This block will include “age related topics” and “genetics”, neither of which I find particularly interesting but are of obvious importance in clinical medicine (then again, so is everything, right?) Read more  

After nearly eighteen months of didactic lectures, the basic science component to my medical education is fast approaching. On December 17, the MS2s will be taking our end of basic sciences exam (EBSE) which is essentially a modified version of step 1. Students are required to pass this monstrous exam (200 questions in four hours) to begin clinical rotations in January.
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In retrospect, yesterday was one of the longest days I’ve had this year. I slept a total of fifteen minutes the night before trying to cram as many last-minute details as possible for the hematology/oncology exam, but the hard part was trying to buy time from after the exam till one of the end-of-block parties. Since there was no reason to drive home an hour just to come back to the medical center, I had to stay around school. Read more  

Nearly eleven months after beginning orientation at Baylor Med, I’m proud to say that I’ve lived to see my last day of classes as a first year medical student (MS-1). This afternoon, we had a “professor/TA appreciation ceremony” where we honored our beloved teachers for inundating us with knowledge regarding all aspects of the human body. It was a great opportunity to reflect on an amazing year. Read more  

As part of our training, every health science student has to complete the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) to assess our clinical competency by performing physical exams, neurological exams, taking histories, and presenting cases. Read more  

This past exam week has been a marathon of sleepless nights culminating in a full session of “12 hours” from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. After the block party last night, I had been awake for 47 hours and was breathing hard just to get to my car… right across the street. Read more