I’m a doctor!

Apologies for radio-silence since my last blog which was just before my final exams of medical school. The last couple of weeks have passed by in a bit of a blur, a kaleidoscope of exams and anxious waiting for the results.

First of all, the exams. Written exams came first, with 2 papers of multiple-choice questions. I found quite a lot of the questions in these papers tricky – there is a definite step up from Phase II of the course to Phase III (final year). The patients in these questions have more complicated medical histories and the questions require you to think and reason why it can’t be one condition as much as it requires you to know what condition it might be. Overall, I found paper 2 the easier of the two, although I know most of the year found paper 1 easier. I think this is probably just dependent on what we’ve read over in the weeks before the exam. It’s always difficult to gauge how well an exam has gone after sitting it, so I simply tell myself, ‘once it’s done, it’s done’, and keep moving forward. I think I could drive myself crazy if I devoted too much time to going over each question in my mind and casting doubt over my answers. Besides, there was no time to sit on my laurels after completing the written papers as OSCEs were imminently upon me.

OSCE day arrived, and it was an equally daunting, intense, stressful and exhilarating experience. There were 10 ‘stations’ (clinical scenarios) to work through and I felt a definite lull in concentration towards the end. The OSCE scenarios are 7 minutes each and the station usually requires some sort of clinical examination and then you are asked questions by the examiner. It always surprises me that, no matter how much practice you get, there is still something that catches you off completely off guard! However, I think this is good practice for life as a qualified doctor – patients always surprise you, no matter how experienced you are. By the end of the OSCE, I could definitely feel my energy waning, but there was still (just) one exam to go – the OSLER.

I have practiced many of these during my placements but of course nothing compares to one under exam conditions, as the stakes are far higher. An OSLER is a ‘long-case’, where you have to take a full medical history (10 minutes), then discuss tests you want to do and how to manage the patient (10 minutes). The exam usually ends with a communication aspect – so explaining how to take a drug or what a certain test involves to the patient. We have to complete 4 OSLER cases for our finals, all on one day with a short break in between each case. This exam tests everything, from your clinical knowledge to your history taking and patient communication skills, as well as how well you can integrate your knowledge and put it all together. The written exams test what you know, the OSCEs test what you can do, and the OSLERs test how well you can function as a doctor, a healthcare professional. The OSLER day was very long but actually flew by because of how busy it is.

So that’s it – finals done! I then had a week wait until results…and I passed! It still hasn’t really sunk in, but I’ve passed medical school and will be starting my first doctor job come august. In my next blog I will go through some more details about applying for my GMC registration and what my first doctor jobs will be. Don’t miss it!

Megan Earle : 04 May 2021 11:40 |  Tags: Exams Finals Jordan Mbchb Osce Osler Student Warwick Wms |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem