DAY 407/408

Oct 12 & 13

1) Today was our first Card Signing of the semester! Quick recap: card signing is like a viva/oral exam, where an examiner asks each student content on anatomy. Bones, prosections, X-rays, CT scans, the cadavers themselves – anything can be tested, depending on which surgeon prosector you get.

2) Anatomy practical classes last 1.5 hours; our time slot for today was 11.30-1.00pm. I remained in the anatomy room after that, right until our card signing at 2.00pm. It may seem a tad extreme, but I was joined by many students who were eager to run through their anatomical knowledge one more time, just before the test.

3) For our card signing, we got a new examiner (someone who hadn’t taught our group before). She reassured us that everything would be fine, and told us not to panic. And so it began! Eight or nine lectures on the anatomy of the head and neck, each lecture densely packed with info – all condensed into a Q and A session lasting less than 3 minutes.

4) And the best part? Card Signing is worth only 1.25% each! The difference between an A and a B is less than half a percent! So why bother so much? It all comes down to two things: a) the herd mentality, and b) preemptive/ prophylactic planning. When everyone is studying so hard (both in the library and in the anatomy room), it is difficult to lax about and as a consequence, our peers constantly keep us on our toes.

5) What do I mean by prophylactic planning? At the end of the semester, there is a full anatomy practical exam, worth around 12.5%. This is the real reason we go through all the lectures so fervently – to prep for this practical, as well as all the MCQs and SNQs which test the limits of our knowledge. It is not an easy task, but thankfully, with a lot of peer collaboration, as well as student assisted learning (by our seniors), things are not as bleak as they seem.

6) In the end, I did reasonably well for my oral. All the hard work had paid off. And what do we have immediately after card signing? You guessed it - more lessons. Until 5.00pm, to be exact. There just isn't a break, is there? XD Jokes aside, I've spent the remainder of the day finishing up various tasks, and didn't touch any of our lectures tomorrow. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a good one, and see you next time. Cheers!

With Panchanit "Ice" Horsaengchai - just before anatomy lessons today

Nothing like a full Irish breakfast to get ye olde noggin' runnin' XD

As if one skeleton wasn't enough...

My illegible notes