Friday, August 24, 2007

Roller Coaster

In the introduction to my medical school blog, I stated that the purpose of this blog would be to chronicle the ups and downs of my medical training experience. Only one month into my second year and already you've seen at least one example of the highs and lows. Of course (if you've been following along these past few weeks), I'm referring here to Dr. A (high) and Dr. B (low).

A couple of weeks ago I experienced the low of an unsatisfactory quiz score. I wrote a post about the disconnect I felt between the amount of studying I did for that quiz and the grade I received. Yesterday I received my scores for this week's examinations.

Going into the exams, I felt confident about the first, but was worried about the second which covered a lot more information. I first went to get the second exam score: I passed -- barely. Not cool, considering the hours I put into it. But, yes, I passed. My confidence shaken, I went to get the score for the first examination. The result: I did very well! In fact, it was the first time I broke 90% on an examination in medical school (excluding histology and anatomy practicums)!


I can't tell you how reassuring this was. I really needed to see something positive come out of all of those hours of study. My spirits needed a lift and that high score supplied it. Now, with my spirits lifted, I'm ready to face the next challenge. I've seen what's possible.

During medical school, and indeed during life, there are going to be many ups and downs. "What goes up, must come down." That's just one of the many universal laws. Let's just hope that I get to coast up here for a while -- and that the drop to come is more like a dip.

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