Board Report, Part 1

Day 5: Sunday, April 27th, 2008

Today I studied from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. For 15 minutes of that time, I was on the phone with the LA dept of water and power; another five I spent on the phone with my mother outside of the library; another 10 minutes was spent talking to some folks who dropped by the study room. The remaining 11 hours and 30 minutes I spent sitting in a room in the library studying the gastrointestinal tract. Anatomy, embryology, physiology, biochemistry, and a start on pathology. About three times I checked my email. Tomorrow I will finish my first pass on GI; then Tuesday it will be on to Endocrine. After that Reproductive. Then Anatomy/Musculoskeletal/Connective tissue disorders. After that? I'll have to check the calender (I don't have it handy right now).

I take Step One of the United States Medical Licensing Exam on June 5th. From now until then, my days are centered on which organ system, which medically-relevant area of basic science, and which sets of questions I will choose to spend my days tackling. Five days in, I have already reviewed a crapload of material. I think of the process as a protracted trip down memory lane, in which all the random diseases, challenging pathways, and pathology slides from the first two years - then a bunch of new stuff - need thorough review, and they also fit into the context of a 350 question multiple choice exam.

In a weird way, this doesn't feel that different from any other exam preparation period. I mean, yes, it's "The Boards," and it is the first time I have put my life on hold (whatever that means, but just bear with me) for a month and a half, but I have this strange feeling that I've been here before. Not exactly when I was studying for the MCAT, not exactly when studying for Organic Chemistry exams, not exactly when I was studying for the AP Chemistry exam (certainly not); but somehow, in the back of my mind, I was preparing all along for this. When I entered medical school, I knew I had signed up for this. In the future, there will be more steps of the boards (albeit ones with much less preparation required), qualifying exams for graduate school, orals, thesis defense, then onto the wards with numerous (difficult) standardized exams for each of the rotations; then more boards; specialty boards. It's a maze. But I knew it was coming...

And I don't know why I'm ready; I don't resent the studying. Maybe it's not so grueling and not so bad as everyone says it is.

Maybe.

Check back with me in a week.