The BORED Exams

Today was the first day in a long time that I was able to relax and not worry about anything related to school. I finally took my COMLEX yesterday, the first of many medical licensing exams, and I'm not looking forward to taking the USMLE on Monday. For those who are unfamiliar, the COMLEX and USMLE board exams are required for students to apply to residency. Much like the SAT is used to get into college and the MCAT into medical school, the USMLE/COMLEX are used to compete with other students for the residency spots. The USMLE is an MD board exam and the COMLEX is a DO board exam. Luckily, the DO students can take both exams whereas the MD's can only take their USMLE. This is only one of the many perks of being an osteopathic medical student! If you can call taking two 8-hour exams a perk...

One of my practice board exam questions. These symptoms seem a liiiitle too familiar...

The COMLEX is actually a 9 hour exam composed of 400 questions. There are 8 blocks of 50 questions with a 40 minute break after the 4th block. I ended up only taking about 20 minutes of my break because you don't really feel like sitting around when you're in the zone and just want to get the test over with. The test was brutal. A lot of people have asked me how I think I did but it's just so hard to tell. After 400 questions it was all I could do to wake my rear end up after sitting for so long and on Monday I have to do it all over again. Scores aren't released for six weeks, which is a long time to wait, especially if you're just hoping you've passed! Once this exam is over, I'll be all the more happier. I wish I could say that with one exam down that I'm relieved, but honestly I feel like nothing has changed. I still have a massive exam on Monday and I won't feel the relief until Monday evening when the exam is over. I have a couple of days to relax and enjoy the 4th of July before I move into my apartment in Tucson and begin my first rotation, surgery, in a new city all by myself. I sort of wish that I could have an 'easier' rotation to ease me into the rotation state of mind and learn how things go, but it'll be trial by fire. I just hope my surgeon preceptors have the time to look at me and answer some of my questions. It will be quite an experience and I fully expect my blog to become WAY more exciting once I begin my rotations.

10 day forecast.. It's supposed to be 'cooling down' this week!

Kelcie has been more than amazing these past few months. She's been busy with school and her own rotations, but there has been plenty of times where she has downtime and can do nothing with it because I have been so busy. The end of school had me studying like crazy for my final exams, my practice COMLEX a few days after and then full-time studying for the board exams. I was studying about 12 hours a day for these exams so you can imagine how lonely things must have been for her just sort of waiting around for me to get done... and when I did get done, I was pretty wiped out. We do take time for ourselves though and enjoy getting outdoors when we can. Unfortunately one of things we love to do the most is hike and when the weather is the way it is out here in Phoenix, you can forget about it. Hiking in 115 degree heat isn't fun and it's not safe either. Still, we persevered through these past months and I'm so glad to see that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel come rotations (I hope!). I know that the rotations will pose their own challenges but from what I've heard, I will at least have some time back to myself so that I can get back to being the significant other/spouse that I want to be. Medical school is hard in the respect that you have to give up a lot of things in order to be successful. It's easy for people to say "live for today, not for tomorrow!" or "don't wait to be the person you want to be!", but honestly, medical school has stolen that from me and I'm ready to take it back!

Wish me luck on my exam this Monday. The end of this exam signifies the end of a very stressful time and the beginning of a new life for Kelcie and I. Goodnight everyone!

-Student Doctor Benjamin D. Smith