Source: www.theguardian.com
It has been five months since the night before the first day of my “Final of the Final” exams yet I can still remember it clearly. I have finished all four major rotations for my final year – Obstetric & Gynecology, Surgery, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, followed by two months off school for my elective posting in Malaysia.
I got back to Jordan few days before the exam to allow time to re-adjust myself to the surrounding and to get into the final exam momentum. In four weeks, we were to sit for four multiple choice questions exam, followed by another four days for our viva exam. The night before my first MCQ exam, I had a breakdown. I called my parents and cried for nearly half-an-hour if not more, on the phone. Sometimes I could hear the person on the other end complaining they could not understand a word I’m saying.
It was after I finished the first paper I feel this sense of relief. I know that no matter what I do, there will be questions I have no idea how to answer. If I think the exam was hard, there’ll be more than another half of the class who would think the same. I then realized the secret behind final of the final, is persistency. It’s not about what you knew and what you did not, you just have to keep going and do your best. You cannot give in to “There too many things I did not know, and there is too little time to study”. With the volume of material in medicine, there is no way you’re going to know everything – unless you have some superpower to memorize everything in your textbooks, lectures and the journals.
To all medical students sitting for their final of the final.
Don’t waste your time worrying. The time you still have left will be better spent studying. Don’t worry about the volume of the material, common things are common – focus on that first. If you are reading this in the earlier days of your final year, remember to pay extra attention on the life-saving details. No matter what happened during the final exam, just keep going. Don’t look back to the previous paper you screwed up, you will do better in the next one.
Take good care of yourself. Exercise daily or at least a few times a week to relieve the tension building up in your life. Spend few minutes a day talking to your loved ones and watch funny videos on the internet, you’ll perform better if you are in a good emotional state. For muslims students, remember to pray on time and do not delay your prayer because you need to study.
To the family and friends of the medical students sitting for their final of the final.
Your support means a lot to them. Let them know that you are praying for their success. Remind them of their capabilities. Avoid saying things like “If others can do it, why can’t you?” and “I’m sure you have studied a lot, of course you will do well,”. It puts extra pressure on the medical student and no one in medical school will feel that they have studied “a lot”. Make jokes when you talk to them because they need something to cheer them up. Keep them in your prayers, they need it even more.
I wish you all the best. Take it one step at a time.
Dr. Nurul Atiqah is a house officer currently serving in tertiary hospital in Perak.