Exam update

Today for me is a good day. After all the heartache of Tuesday, I finally think all your combined prayers and all those long nights in the library paid off. The exam today was on 'Neurodegenerative Disorders' and I gave it my best shot. First there were some short answer questions all about regeneration within the CNS, and then an essay on astrocytomas. On the advice of friends from a USMLE prep forum, a while back I bought HY Neuroanatomy and all the main information was there. Thanks so much!

Yesterday's exams were tougher. For some reason I still don't understand myself, myopic me had completely ignored revising head movements, the vestibuloocular and optokinetic reflexes and they came up! I was desperately racking my brains and moving my head from side to side trying to see which semicircular canals would be stimulated when. The afternoon was nicer though, with stuff on schizophrenic hallucinations, alcohol's effects on the brain and Huntington's ethical implications.

I got back from our post-exam get together a couple of hours ago, and feel really refreshed. It was great seeing friends from med school again after being by my shelf(!) these past few weeks. We're all still really tired though. All the revision-time beards had been grown as we moved and most of us could barely keep awake. In the desperation of the time though, I'd started taking Proplus, a caffeine pill. I never normally even drink coffee, so I now can't get to sleep at all. It will allow me to put some more work hours in tonight, though. It's USMLE all the way until ... Monday. That's when we start our nine weeks in the lab, but I should have a lot more free time. The plan is to start with my second listening of Goljan on the way to college, get a couple of hours of Kaplan done in the morning, and trying as many questions done in the evening as I can. Hopefully I too will book that exam date soon. And I'll start updating my progress daily! Gotta be more accountable. Your plans?

Stay well,
Moc