Too right. I'll organise a strike.
Too right. I'll organise a strike.
Apart from the ones which require copious factual knowledge, presumably.Originally Posted by GS
No exam technique in the world is going to get you the marks on some obscure anatomy (or presumably legal) question if you don't know the answer.
Technique is king, until you get to mcq exams.
We have two multiple choice and extended matching papers (120 questions in total I think) and a short essay exam (8 shorts answers in 2 hours).
Then two days of clinical exams.
Torture.
Yes, you need to know the facts. However, there are clear ways to get marks on examinations in accordance with the mark scheme. Once you understand this, it should be much easier to mould your response accordingly. My final accounting exams included a nine hour exam over two days, without actual questions (they were buried in the narrative and you were meant to identify what needed to be done) and a requirement to pass all subjects examined or you failed the whole thing. My approach was to work out how it was marked and structured my response on the days accordingly. I ended up in the top decile for all papers, largely because I was totally confident about the way to approach it and what I needed to do on the day. Everything else flowed from there.
It's just not applicable to my exams. They are multiple choice and short essay answers to very specific questions, you either know it or you don't.
GCSEs and A-levels certainly (it's something I always bang on about when I've done any tutoring), but med exams...nah.
I do keep forgetting that medicine is special. I suppose it's probably best for patient safety. After all, we couldn't have people passing exams on the basis that they've fluked their way through a multiple choice test.
I dunno why you're being such a child about this....not everyone's exams are the same as yours and that's OK. They don't all "boil down to technique". I imagine plenty of other subjects are similar, they just aren't what I happen to be doing.
History exams have a technique to them in that you're basically just writing an essay, which I realised far too late is simply a case of producing formulaic shite; but unless you know what they are going to ask you then you won't get very far without enough knowledge to cover several eventualities. I was usually better at exams because I had the knowledge to wing most things, but I was too big a twat to wind myself in and stick to an essay formula.
I was the master of blagging good marks with limited knowledge during my academic career, but I was always careful to pick subjects with subjectivity and essays and shit. I got A* in English lit A Level despite not completing any of the books, and barely reading more than about 50 pages of half of them. Got A in English Lit AS exam despite comparing the female characters of Great Gatsby to those on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 cus I thought I was fucked so wanted to at least have a laugh as I failed.
If I had done a science subject instead of Politics at uni and put the same amount of effort in I wouldn't have even passed first year.
I just can't learn dry facts. The decision to bin off learning any anatomy was an early one.
In my equivalent history exam yesterday I couldn't remember the name of a historian I was citing, so I just went with, "the historian Lewis says that..."
The modules where knowing the 'perspectives' is more important than actually answering the question yourself used to do my head in, since it would inevitably mean having to memorise one bloke calling x revolutionary, one bloke emphasising continuity, and another bloke being a twat and refusing to take sides. There is no point in having that in schools.
'On the other hand, Cill E. Bastard believes that the most likely explanation involves so-called "Cultural Marxism", which he argues...'
My exams where all about making sure the units matched. I think I've studied twice since I reached higher ed.
Is there anything more pointless than academic conferences? Have to go to one on Sunday and I'm dreading it. Eight hours drive too.
It's called historiography, mate.
Which is pointless at that level (and as stand-alone university modules really). You might as well just learn a list of dates.
They're nothing compared to professional exams. You'll survive.
Got to have a "Professionalism Committee" meeting tomorrow, due to ongoing high levels of absence because of migraines.
Can only go and tell them the truth - I really have done everything which could be expected and more to try and get on top of them - and see what they say. I'm not naive and I understand that there may come a point I have to accept that the illness I have just isn't compatible with being a doctor, but even if that's true I'd at least like to (try to) finish the course.
It's really fucking gutting having your potential curtailed by something you have a limited degree of control over.
That's incredibly rough. Surely they'll have measures in place for dealing with that kind of situation?
I guess the problem is their remit is to put out safe doctors, and part of that is having had a certain amount of teaching and clinical exposure. Just passing the exams (which I always have up to this point) isn't enough.
If genuine that blows, hope they look past it. We had a family friends kid who always wanted to be a pilot and spent his whole life working towards it, until it he failed like a routine vision test very late in the process (Allegedly after passing it a few times through guessing- at least that's what the rumor was) which precluded his acceptance into the Air Force.
Well, into the fire...
You have constant, random migraines? Surely that's caused by something?
Not really. I have a few things which make them worse, like stress, but no cause as such. Just another of the many failings of my weak and feeble body.
Meeting went OK. They were understanding as far as they can be, but there is a threshold at which I will be considered by the exam board regarding whether I can pass the attendance/professionalism module for the year. They tried to be kind about it but I think basically if I hit that I'm fucked.
I truly hope the best for you. Fingers crossed.
Thank you
http://www.theguardian.com/education...isled-students
You probably should have read it, really.
The headline total amount always seems a bit academic to me, since the majority of people won't pay it off and will have it written off after 30 years regardless.
He should just leave the country and never pay it back.
It's effectively operating as a graduate tax, so presumably we can stop whinging about it now.
That's what I did. 3.5% seems pretty intense though.
It turns out that I have nine GCSEs. Why did I think it was twelve?
EDIT: BBBBBCCDE, if you're interested.
Are you counting English Language and Literature separately and double science as two and all that jazz?
EDIT: A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A*A* if you're interested.
I just thought eleven/twelve was normal, but could never remember what I got them all in, so I found them the other day. My CDDE at A-level (and an actual U in AS-level Geography) was probably worse.
It's all about just getting yourself to the next stage where you need to be. They don't actually matter very much, in the grand scheme of life.
Hopefully you won't need the last one by the end of the month.
Been in child and youth mental health/eating disorder service this week.
Absolutely fucking soul destroying.
Say hi to Magic for me.
Turned up to sit in a clinic this morning at 9.
Dr is on leave. He lectured us 2 days ago ffs, he must have known he had students, just send us a fucking email.
Get told another Dr has a clinic at 930 so decide to hang around. 'Actually it starts at 1030'. OK...maybe I'll go.
Said Dr turns up as I'm leaving and says I can join him but first patient isn't til 1030. Spent the last hour in his room on reddit and watching him sign prescriptions.
1030 comes. 1030 goes. Patient has DNAd.
Next patient should be at 11, hope is waning.
This happens far too often as a med student.
Yesterday afternoon I turned up somewhere for another clinic, got told they would inform the Drs I was here and to sit and wait. Checked after an hour if anything was happening (it wasn't, cheers for telling me) and left.
Sounds like every visit to the doctor.
My doctors surgery was rated top 10 in the country. It's the absolute tits.
New Brazzers film?
Is that you?
Why did I think you were Asian?
You're from somewhere in Essex, right? I think I'm getting you mixed up with that other poster who used to be from Southend who was around your age.
I thought AD was one of those white kids who thinks he is black.
No, that's me.
No, apart from you. I thought we had another one.
We've got that brown kid who thinks he's white? Merk or something.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote