Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Black Bag

Anthony Rudine -- Well, I am in our school’s histology laboratory, along with many of my classmates, attempting to get ready for this coming week’s block examinations. What a stressful time this is. Next week we will have 4 exams – Clinical Medicine, Pathology, Epidemiology, Pharmacology.

Luckily, there is some overlap between the topics, so it makes studying a little easier – but no less stressful.

This time, I have tried to implement a new study tactic in order to reduce my stress load. I call it the "I don’t care" philosophy.

Briefly, here’s how it works. I know that most residency programs look relatively lightly at my first 2 years of non-clinical grades. Most of it is based on Step I. So why worry about the exams themselves, if they matter little in the scheme of things? To begin my studying for the weekend, I went to see a movie – Syriana, and loved the relaxation.

Don’t get me wrong, I am still studying at a level that I need to, just worrying less. After all, we’re here to live life, not live in a continual state of fear. If I don’t make an A on a test, you know what, it's not the end of the world. Bye bye worries, you have met your match.