Today was my first exam in medical school. Wow. And it’s finally over! Here’s how the exam was broken down for you curious Internet goers.
8:30 to 11:30 AM – 125 multiple choice questions with around six short answer questions (80% of the grade)
1:00 to 2:05 PM – histology (20 slides at 3 minutes a piece, 10% of grade)
2:40 to 4:05 PM – gross anatomy (95 stations, 15 of which were “rest stops”, one minute a piece, 10% of the grade)
First of all, let it be known that I was highly disgusted by the anatomy practical. Not because it was difficult, but simply because trapezius was not pinned anywhere in the whole darn thing. My beloved trapezius… oh how I missed thee. 😉
After finishing the exam, I went to my undergrad institution (30 minutes from Baylor) and had a chance to talk about my block experiences with one of the professors who was undoubtedly a positive influence in my education. Her son also attends Baylor and is almost finishing up, so we had a really good “catch up” conversation.
Now I’m sitting in one of the study rooms on the 4th story awaiting an “End of Block” party my classmates put together at a bar in Midtown. Apparently, this bar will only be open for my class (ie, no random people will be there), so that in itself is pretty nifty. Though I don’t drink, I enjoy seeing my classmates take on an alternate persona in their tipsy/drunk form. 😀
Block 2 starts on Monday, and my birthday is coming up this Friday, so I’ve got a lot of enjoying to do before another four weeks of school.
I guess, it’s good that you don’t get tested very often so you have more time to read and put it together – but at the same time is that six weeks of information on one exam (vs. like 2-3 weeks) is HUGE. When a prior comment was talking about the amount of information being “pornographic” in size, she wasn’t kidding. The info will be leaking out of your ears. LOL.
So is your entire grade in a block based on one exam!?!?
What’s even more interesting is that the final grades in blocks 1, 2, and 3 are actually averaged to provide a final “core concepts” average. In a sense, we get one grade for the “Core Foundations” course… six months worth of material. 🙂 As you know, UT Southwestern is very different in this regard. I’d say there are pros and cons with each method of testing.