Day 16. T-7 days and

Day 16. T-7 days and counting.

The official countdown has begun. In one week from now I will be in the middle of the test. Probably on break between my 3rd and 4th section. The exam is composed of 7 one-hour-long sections dedicated to the following subjects: Anatomy, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Physiology, Pathology, and Behavioral Sciences.

Right now I am most scared of Anatomy and Pharmacology, but Behavioral Sciences is creeping up there. Its one of those "soft" subjects that mixes hardcore biostatistics and epidemiology with questions like "what should you do if a man dies, and his liscence says he wants to be an organ donor, but his wife is frantically refusing to give up his organs, saying that is against their religion." I thought the answers to that kind of question would be pretty basic common sense, and I consider myself to have a pretty well-calibrated moral compass, so I was suprised to find that I get every single one of these moral dilema questions wrong. Turns out I am a horrible person who doesn't know right from wrong and who will end up being a terrible doctor because I clearly can't identify what's in the best interest of my patients.

I wouldn't say that I'm starting to panic, but I would say that I'm beginning to develop strong feelings of concern. I did my first official timed practice test last night. 2 of them actually. 66% and 52%. Yikes. That following a weekend of half-hearted committment to the study schedule. On top of being perpetually tired I mangaged to develop a mild festering illness over the weekend that made me weak and distractable. But I'm all better now, and I'm ready for what I will henceforth refer to as "Power Week." I am going all out on this one. Its the homestretch and I'm starting to sprint. Its the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and there are 2 runners on base and we are down by 1 and the manager tells me to bunt, and I say 'No, goddammit! I'm going to bring 'em home!" and he says, "Just don't strike out like you did last time," and I say, "OK!"
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