Post-Exam Rambling 2

I was absorbed with other stuff, and this topic is kinda stale now with the exam result coming out yesterday. However, to finish my record, I will just finish my purposeless rambling. :)

Note: This is merely a record for the uninspiring albeit memory-stimulating exams I had. If you have the least of interest in my studies, perhaps you shall stop at this point for the time being, and consider some other blogs, news or online articles. :) My blogroll and linkroll on the left might interest you.



8 June 2006 - CRL Paper 1
After all the shell shock for the paper 2 on Monday, the paper 1 came surprisingly as an easier paper for me.

CRL paper 2 is a 3-hour paper, where we have 3 PBL-based questions and 9 short answer questions. In the PBL we are given a scenario, say a patient who present in the emergency department with shortness of breath and blue lips. We are then asked clinically relevant questions such as history questions to ask the patient, clinical tests that we should perform, possible mechanisms underlying the signs and symptoms etc. On the other hand, for the short answer questions, we are allocated approximately 10 minutes each for a written response to a question, e.g. "Describe the organs and enzymes involved in the conversion of Vitamin D to its active form."

Overall, I think that this paper is answerable. For the short answer questions, for most parts I feel that I have been a bit lucky in my last-minute preparation. I can still remember how I was studying lung defense before I went to bed the day before, and there I was elated at the sight of a lung defense question. However, there are some questions which was doomed anyhow... Like the Vitamin D question I mentioned above, there was simply no way I could have memorised the enzyme involved in the conversion. Even if I were given 3-week Swot Vacation, I would still have flunked in that question.

Also, the university kind of regained our respect by setting fresh questions rather than copying the past-year questions. Last semester, I can still remember how I was happy but upset at the same time, when I saw 5 out of 6 questions coming from the past years. That was when I I nicknamed PBL as Past-year Based Learning and sent my complaint to the department (without a written reply, anyway). But this year, I am happy because they department is finally set to actually test the stuff up our sleeves. I may get a lower mark, but at least this is fair and square.


13 June 2006 - CRL Practical Exam
Having one of the most benign names among our papers, this paper is so much more malignant than its innocuous look.

Well, as the name goes, this paper is indeed testing us about the practicals. There are 48 multiple-choice questions in total, and 4 questions would be attributed to a particular practical that we had done in the past. The subjects of the practicals include histology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and physics.

In the past, practical exam was kinda a killer subject for me. There are questions which appear out of no where, and sometimes you look at the questions and wonder - "What?! Did they ever explain this in the practical at all?" Eerrm, well, perhaps it just shows how much attention when we were given the post-practical explanation everytime. But you just can't blame me, who don't empathize the agony of going through an indecipherable rambling after a long practical session on a Friday afternoon? :D

However, this time around, the practical exam is alright. Most of the questions are answerable, and for this exam I feel that there are less "I-have-no-idea-at-all" questions, which is good. When everything was over, I remember I heaved a huge sigh of relief... Although I still didn't figure out what in the world those histology slides were showing. :P


Result:
The result was out yesterday morning. I was lucky to have scored H1 in both subjects (CRL and HP). I thank everyone who has given me academic and emotional support throughout the semester, my family, my housemate and most importantly, my special one. You won't realize how much strength I derived from you. I give you my heartfelt thanks.