Exam Center: Chicago Exam Date: 5.August.2008 Result: Passed Weeks for Result: 6 My Experience: I was nervous when I arrived and it didn't help that most of the other students/doctors seemed extremely relaxed. The exam seemed harder to me probably because of how nervous I was. I guess I would have done an even better job if I had practiced physical examination more because there were 3 cases where I was unable to finish the examination completely. But I made sure to close each case even if I ran out of time in the quickest way possible. Most of the time, the patients asked me their questions well in advance so I was able to clear their doubts. Most of the patients were friendly. A couple I felt were either told to be somewhat difficult or answer slowly and take their own time but you just have to try and engage them and get them to feel good with you. I wasn't excessively smiling nor was I excessively serious. I always took permission before sitting down and taking notes. Don't forget to ask permission and if you forget, just apologize and ask them again. By the end of the exam I was pretty confused how I did mainly because of my incomplete cases. But I guess it wasn't too bad since I managed to pass. :) My total study time was about 3 weeks or maybe slightly less but I had done my research on cs well in advance so I didn't waste time when I started studying. Take a full month and dont take it easy. My Advice & My Errors: Just to highlight things people really stress about: 1. The coats that most of the people wearing at the test center (AMGs) were long coats and the people who borrowed coats also were handed out long ones. So please don't stress about the length of your coats. 2. The time literally flies and you wont have time to study or you'll be too nervous to study. But I did spend some time going over differentials in my head that I had missed in case I got similar cases later on and it definitely helped. 3. I was able to finish majority of the cases within time. Maybe I couldn't finish about 2 or 3. 4. There was one case which I wasn't sure about the diagnosis at all. There were no real clues in the history other than the presenting symptoms and most of the cases, not just this one, patients hardly have any positive symptoms. Make sure you don't get nervous constantly hearing no. 5. If you remember a question you forgot to ask, you can do use while hand washing or even during examination but try to limit it to just a few. 6. If the time is up, shake hands, thank the patient (you get points for this as well as it counts as closure) and if you can throw in a "I hope you understood everything we discussed today" as you shake hands, you would have asked one more question on the checklist. DONT try to stay inside until you are dragged out. You will only be hurting yourself. 7. Once you are standing in front of the door of the patient, block everyone out. Don't look at what they are doing. Don't bother worrying about how many came out before you did. Just keep your focus on YOUR exam. 8. If they tell you pens down, put your pen down. If you are typing, STOP. DONT risk getting a word in. It's not worth it. 9. Don't worry about your race, religion, sex, etc having anything to do with your passing or failing. Be professional, curteous, gentle, and EMPATHIC - practice your facial expressions if you have to or make someone watch you and your body language. If you fake emotions, the patients can tell. I'm not sure how much it matters but if you patients feel you are genuine they might actually answer on their check list that they would actually come back to see you. 10. If you are worried about your accent. Just talk slower and louder. Practice with someone of a different ethnic group to see if they understand your accent. 11. Finally, practice practice practice. Try to finish your history/examination in 12 mins so that on the actual day, even if you DO forget something, you will still have time to cover it up. 12. If you finish early, dont try to rush out of the room. Take a few secs to make sure you haven't forgotten anything. One problem I had was I asked the patient some questions but forgot to note down the answer and when it came to the patient note, I went blank to what they had said. It's a good idea after the history to read back to the patient what you've written. That way if you forgot to note something, you can ask immediately. My Stay / Cost / Travel to Center: I stayed about 40 mins away from the test center at the Baymont Inn & Suites. I had made sure to drive from the hotel/motel to the test center to figure out how long the trip takes and so that I don't get lost on the exam day. Don't remember the charges now but the place was nice and quiet (perfect for studying) and had lovely free breakfast like most places do. It also had free internet connection in every room which meant I could continue studying with an online study partner till the last min. One thing though, the first room we went into kinda stank (cigarettes or something) but the staff were happy to let us shift to another room. If you have relatives, it would be good to ask them to help you find a good place in the city. Or alternatively you could read online reviews of places, call them up and find out the charges during a particular time period. Also find out if they have a pick up service from the airport or how much it costs to get there. Since we had rented a car, I didn't have to worry about transport. It would be a good idea to call a cab service to pick you up to make sure you get there on time. Get to the city a few days early - that way you don't have to worry about any jet lag or any other problems you face and you get time to get adjusted to your environment. Finally chill out after the exam because the waiting might just give you ulcers. ;) Name : Helpful Adviser

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