In my Medschool, they say you must have a distinction in pre-clinicals to honour out, is there anybody we can beg to change the rules? I may have turned a new leaf!
So, I started Medschool an excited twenty-something. Get distinctions, and probably walk up the stage for the prize of best graduating student. I had big dreams. Don’t point fingers. We all do. But dreams don’t get things done, init? Work, effort, does the magic.
I had my first Physiology in-course and it was a 60. Why on earth do we even have ‘blood’ and ‘plasma’ as options under “The lymph is an ultrafiltrate of —-“?! It could as well be easily blood. I chose blood. I read the material twice thereabout, but didn’t cram the lines or what do they say? Now, the answer is ‘Plasma’. When you think of negative marking, and all the bureaucracies… Maybe 60 is not a bad mark (Wo, it is a very bad mark!). So, for Physiology, please do read in between the lines. Also, have a good understanding. Understanding helps you to cram.
Oh! Anatomy came, and all I knew was ‘Upper limb’. People had legit finished ‘Upper and Lower limbs’. But you know what I was doing? I wanted to know the whole of upper limb very well, so I kept going over it again and again, like a simple pendulum set in motion. Don’t be like me pls, you won’t know it all at once. Try to grasp the concept as soon as you can, so you can move on. Revisions, flash cards, group discussions, tutorials, as well as your exams, will help with the rest. Your exams, because teachers in this Medschool may sometimes reach Neptune (farthest planet) for control questions. Back to Anatomy, thankfully, seniors gave advice – “do well those you know best”.
I will come back to how to use your head when taking advice, so you don’t land in a ditch. This advice (principle) also applies to this I am giving.
So, I learnt to not guess, I would eventually come to know that Anatomy may allow a healthy dose of guessing, if you know how to wisely guess. Pls don’t do ungrounded trial and error! I focused more on ‘upper limbs’ and did only those I was sure about for my ‘Lower limbs’, I eventually had a low sixty something. BCH was soft. Well, until I blanked out in the examination hall.
Back to why you should not take every advice, days of my part 2 mb were trying times. I wore shower cap to Archi because I went straight from shower to my books (Not literally), I lapped on sleep, like Gideon’s warriors to show I was ready for battle (I don’t know if I was). I lost track of days ‘cos they flew by like UFOs… All of these and I was still discovering topics on the morning of my Anatomy exam. Maybe not entirely, but I feel 70% of this was ‘cos I believed the seniors who told me I would still pass with the barest minimum (side-eye to you), worse still, those who said I would still have time to revise (more bombastic side eye).
Pls read hard, start from the first day like you are preparing for the main exams. Make your notes, revise with them, practice questions, have a time table, do all the right things. Forget the “you can do it all right and still not do well”. You will do well if you do it right. You will do very well. Forget the “I didn’t read too well and I still had 70s”. Those are the exceptions. Please read your books.
Still looking for someone to change the rules though.
Finally, know yourself, know your strengths, know your weaknesses. If you fail, be up fast. I still believe this rule can be changed tho. Let the honours start to count from clinicals. It is a man-made rule, why can’t it be changed, edakun!
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