The Aftermath...

The exam is done. Thanks to a confidentiality agreement signed before we sat down to write, I can't tell you anything but the vaguest of accounts. So here it is:

First of all, to any of you writing an exam in a city where you do not live... as tempting as it may seem at the time, do not attempt to do ANYTHING with that weekend other than write the exam. I made the colossal mistake of inviting Mr. Couz to bring the Bean to COTU for the weekend. That way, I figured, the day that I was doing my written, Mr. Couz and Bean could hang out with family, and the next day after my oral we could enjoy the city. Big mistake. Huge.

Mr. Couz got sick. Bean does NOT travel well, and screamed the better part of both nights. Seeing as how Mr. Couz could barely get out of bed, that left me to tend to screaming baby. So no chance for any last minute review, no chance for clarification of concepts, no 'one more chapter'... hell, there was barely even any sleep. So I did both parts of my exam in a semi-comatose state, with a head cold to boot. I croaked my way through my oral, and blew my nose through my written.

If I fail, I wish I could blame the circumstances. But I can't. I know I wasn't prepared enough.

The oral was actually surprisingly straightforward. Which makes me think that I missed a few 'tricks'. The written, on the other hand, was incredibly vague.

A 60 year old man presents to your emergency department with some mild fatigue X 1 week, malaise and one episode of diarrhea. What is your ONE most likely diagnosis?

Are you freaking kidding me?

What 5 questions (list ONLY 5) will help you to narrow your differential?

Gah. Totally not representative of reality, and a lot of the "guess what I'm thinking" game.

I find out, for better or for worse, at the end of October. I have yet to decide if I'll confess if I fail. Although it's fairly anonymous here (more or less), it's still a huge hit to the pride. Plus, since my program didn't want me to write early in the first place, it will suck to have a big "I told you so" hanging over my head.

But now on to other things. I feel like my life has been on hold for so long I don't know what to do with myself. Although I know I won't suddenly feel like I have tons of free time (having a baby sure took care of that) I can't wait to get some aspect of my life back.