How not to fail exams....
Hello All!
As your Academic Rep, I’m here to talk you through the most boring and
dreaded (but vitally important) part of medical school – exams. I know, I know,
we don’t like talking about the E word, especially before Christmas, but they are
coming and it’s best to be prepared!
This is where I let you in on a deep dark secret about myself. I have failed
exams (pause for audience gasp). I have even failed one of my finals! However,
the fact that I am currently in fifth year, and have never had to repeat a year,
shows how this is NOT the end of the world! So, these are the tips I would
recommend so that you do not end up like me!
Kevin Harkin, 5th Year
Medical student (and LMSS
Academic Rep!)
1. Keep on top of things from the start of the year – generic advice I know,
everyone says it, but it really does help. What this doesn’t mean is staying
in the Library every evening and every weekend from the start of the year, it
just means making sure that when you finish a block, or a clinical
placement, that you are comfortable with the topic you’ve just covered. If
you’re the type of person that takes notes, make sure you have your notes
ready so that you can just review them before exams, without having to
learn the information from scratch.
2. Find a study group – I acknowledge that this won’t work for everyone, but for
me I found that doing some group work really does help. Not only does it mean you
get to steal your friend’s excellent notes, but it really helps to show your own gaps
in knowledge. Everyone has different ideas of what’s core and essential info (damn
that lack of curriculum), so having a group come together should tie in most if not all
of the stuff you need to know.
3. Create a revision list – For the same reason’s as above, this works better if you do it as
a group, to make sure you cover most things!
4 .
Questions, Questions, Questions – I used passmedicine
(www.passmedicine.com) a lot, and also past papers. There tends to be a lot of
past papers out there, passed around from student to student, so make sure to ask
around.
5. Older years help – One of the best sources of help is from older years! Most of us
have had teaching from older years and are happy to repay the favour when we can.
This can be either through your mentor, at LMSS teaching events, or just through
friends you have met in other ways (sports teams etc). Even just approach some older
years in hospital, we are generally a friendly bunch!