Oh my, I really can’t believe the surgical long and short cases are tomorrow.
The Surgical Long Case is a 50 minute practical exam. 15 minute to interview a patient and take a full medical history from a real patient, 10 minute to examine him, 5 minute to consolidate, and the last 20 min is for 2 examiners to grill you with questions after you present your diagnosis and management plan. That’s the Long Case component.
I’ll be reporting at 7am at hospital tomorrow. They will hold our cell phones and laptops temporarily while the other groups before me take their exams. My slot’s probably only around 10 or 11am.
In the afternoon, will be my Surgical Short Cases. We will be whizzed through 4 different patients, and without talking to any of them and only purely by examining them, we’ve to come up with our diagnosis, management, and treatment plan- 4 minutes each. 4 minutes to talk non-stop, to have all sorts of things fly through our brains and out of our mouths to show the examiners everything we have to show for.
Some of my classmates have already taken their exams, and everyone’s cases are different.
I can’t believe it’s finally here.
Saturday will be our Medical and Paediatric Long cases, while Sunday will be a full day of Medical and Paediatric short cases. Those who fail, usually fail short cases. Sometimes, just a single thing like causing the patient significant pain at any point can result in an outright F grade. There’s a 10% failure rate each year. Sometimes, people blank out out of anxiety.
For some reason, I’m not too nervous. I just marvel at what God has done in the life of a wretch like me and stand amazed. I know, tomorrow will not be by my own strength but entirely His. I only fear my attitude will hinder His Power in my life. Over lunch today, my friend and I watched bits of the Francis Chan video a friend sent me that day.
He was saying something about him wanting to pray for humility, because he wants humility to be such a part of his life that He won’t need God to humble him in such a painful way. Like King Nebuchadnezzar, a king in the bible who was too proud for his own good and watched his kingdom fall… but was later restored in greater glory after he had learnt his lesson and acknowledged God’s place in his life.
I know for myself that God revealed the story of Nebuchadnezzar in my life to expose the pride within me- the root of my illness was pride, I think. And I just pray that God will send me through this last week of exams with His covering and humility, grace and strength.
This is really it- 5 years of ups and downs in medical school. I’m scared and happy all at the same time.
It’s tomorrow. It’s this weekend.
My exams end on Sunday evening.
And whether I pass or not, I fly to Africa next Wednesday.
This is it.