Day 2422: Psychological Trauma

Okay team. I probably got a high pass/B in Psych. Why, you ask? Because I bombed the Psych Shelf exam.

I don't remember if I have explained this to any of you, but a Shelf is an NBME exam. An NBME exam is the same company/people that wrote my USMLE Step 1/my first (of three) boards I have to take to get my MD.

Okay, definitions out of the way. After getting the lowest possible pass ever on that exam, I panicked. I emailed the rotation coordinator right away and asked her a) did I even pass the exam? b) if they could regrade the exam, because there is no way I could have done that badly. Well, the coordinator was very helpful and assuaged my fears, even if she didn't regrade my exam. The coordinator emailed me a few days later telling me she received my clinical grade and it was an honors/A. Go me. Unfortunately, because I got the lowest possible pass on that exam, my A will probably fall to a B. Poop.

Oh well. This just goes to show you that I really am an awful test-taker. And this isn't a Jess-trying-to-be-humble statement. It's more of matter-of-fact statement.

It also doesn't help that everyone (except me) says that the Psych Shelf is one of the most difficult Shelf exams. Mainly because what we're supposed to know for the exam (i.e., what drugs do you treat someone with generalized anxiety disorder?) are not how things are done clinically. So, even though my classmate told me outright to study all the drugs, I was all questioned out (I did between 400-500 questions in the span of 10 days) and thought I was prepared for the exam. Well. I should have reviewed all the drugs.

Oh well. Now I know. It's pretty clear sailing from here. No more Shelf exams until next semester. I am on RPM (resuscitative and perioperative medicine), which is an anesthesiology, trauma and emergency medicine rotation. I just had my oral trauma exam this morning and it seemed to go okay. ABCDE! Airway! Breathing! Circulation! Disability! Exposure!

Okay, enough shouting. Talk to you all soon. I have a very exciting October ahead, filled with lots of friends and family visits! Yahoo! :D

Day 2247: Politics

After a rousing back-and-forth email with my darling friend M, where I explicitly told her I'm not very political, I may or may not have forgotten to mention that I am going to the capital of Wisconsin to participate (vaguely) in some politics. I need a more ethnically apt saying for "pot calling the kettle black" ... how about "the soy sauce calling the soy paste, chunky"? Haha, no probably not.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Anyway, I am heading to Madison tomorrow (Friday) for the weekend to participate in the Wisconsin Medical Society (WMS) Annual meeting. The WMS is great and they allow medical students to participate in resolution voting and to be a part of the whole political process. I have to tell you, preparing for this trip has not been pleasant. A lot of back-and-forth at the student meetings has shown me how catty politics can be/can make people. However, I wanted to get more involved and I thought this would be an interesting venue. I'll let you know how it goes next week!

In other news, my second micro exam grade dropped compared to my first exam, but that's to be expected since I only studied the micro pertinent to my upcoming boards. Not looking at class notes is kind of detrimental haha. Don't worry, I passed and my average is still good and dandy.

Found via Google from here.

Want to hear something hilarious? I had a passing thought that perhaps Representative Paul Ryan might be at this meeting, but it's mainly for physicians so I won't hold my breath. I wonder how much ire I would engender in all my Democratic pals if I took a picture with him. Haha. My friends would die of betrayal and Danny (and his family) would die of joy. Life is so funny.

Day 2168: Tests and tracks

I got B4! Here is my schedule for next year:

• July 1 - August 15: Obstetrics/Gynecology
• August 16 - September 30: Psychiatry/Neurology
• October 1 - October 31: RPM (anesthesiology, emergency medicine)
• November 1 - November 30: Family medicine
• December 1 - December 23: Vacation/Elective (hopefully urology!)
• January 2 - February 28: Internal medicine
• March 1 - April 30: Surgery
• May 1 - June 30: Pediatrics

My pathology exam was awful. Everyone thought the test was infinitely harder than it should have been and this is why I hate med school exams. They test you on the most minute crap that is not covered on our board exams. Why would I bother learning it if I won't retain it a) anyway and b) for the actual exam that matters? Ugh. I didn't do horribly on the test. I would have liked to do better but seeing as how I could have failed (it was that hard), I'm pretty happy with my grade.

Anyhoo, I'm at research right now. Chatting with my boss about the direction of healthcare, talking about his stint on TV (telling people how to avoid frostbite) and chatting with the research assistants. I enrolled more patients today so that's exciting! Getting people for our study and using mi español.

Day 2112: Pictures and pharm

Hi all! While I was home for Thanksgiving (and the weekend before), I got to see a bunch of my favorite people (as seen below).

Best friend!

Bride-to-be!

Gray tops and Christmas fun!

Jess-es!

Exercise dates at the dish!

I returned to Milwaukee for my last History & Physical Clinical Exam session (just going through a history taking, physical exam and assessment & plan) and an 88 on my pharmacology exam! I am ready to annihilate my pharm final (with lots and lots and lots of studying).

Oh, I left school last night and this is what my car told me.

19-degrees. NOT FUN.

Day 2042: Results plus a couch.

Hello everyone!

The partial credit for my pharmacology exam was essentially nonexistent, so, as anticipated (however disappointedly (which apparently isn't a word according to my red underline courtesy of Firefox)), I passed pharmacology. What I really wanted to was to kill it with a skillet. Oh well. Such is life.

Pathology went gobs better. I don't know what a 90 is, but I'm pretty sure that's above a pass. Whoopee!

Today was given up to me not being ready to study. We have tons more to learn this block, for pharmacology in particular (20 lectures versus block one's 10...eep!), and yet, the motivation is not here it. Don't worry. It'll come back. ...I hope it does anyway... ;)

Oh! I bought a couch. I would link a picture, but the picture on the website is inaccurate. I have a microfiber suede couch, not leather. Anyhoo, a classmate of mine has a pick-up truck and he was kind enough to say 'yes' when I asked if he would help me pick up the couch and move it. So, I think when that is dealt with, I will feel infinitely more ready to study. ...I hope. Haha.

In other news, my darling boyfriend designed a t-shirt for my class/school. He's kind of the best artist ever so my class/school is more than lucky to have his work. I will reveal it in two weeks when everyone else actually receives them.

Okay, I'm off to bed! As my pal Tigger would say, ta ta for now!

Day 1878: Good news, for once!

WHEEEEEEEEEE!

So, my neuroscience exam on Monday went decently. I killed the exam portion but the lab portion came straight out of left field so I didn't do as well because of it. And you know what? I was 110% okay with that. The lecture portion of exams and exam-taking itself have been a true struggle for me these past 8 months and it is nice to know that, for once, I owned the exam portion. I had to close my eyes and breathe a couple of times, while reminding myself that a) I know this and b) I just have to trust myself and my gut, but it was all quite worth it in the end. The score didn't match my knowledge (yet again), but definitely not to the same degree of discrepancy.

Onto the "WHEEEEEEEEEE!" -- I got an 89 on my physiology test! For someone that has been struggling on her last two exams, an 89 is a freaking synonym-for-godsend! Danny has been telling me for months that he believes in me and knows I can do it and it took some good old fake-it-'til-you-make-it to get me to that point where I am actually starting to believe that I can do it. I know, I know. What have you been doing these past eight months, Jess, if not doing it? And to that I would have to say, barely surviving. I have to tell you what a great motivation this is. I mean, not at the moment for my cell tissue biology exam on Friday, but in general. I feel very confident that I am going to do well on my final exams for physiology and neuroscience. Not without hours upon hours of preparation and studying, but I plan to do what it takes to succeed and believe in myself to the absolute fullest.

Yay for good news! And yay to Jess for making it through her first day of bikram yoga teacher training!

More posts on the way!